by Tiffany Tao
Hey, it’s Tiffany! You probably haven’t heard from me much before and that’s because I’ve never actually written for our issues or blog, which is weird considering that a solid 90% of my time is spent thinking about Bossier and putting together what we publish. Combine this with a deathly fear of sharing my work and a feeling of having nothing to write about and what we’ve ended up with is a particularly mute co-founder of a magazine intended to amplify the voices of women.
That’s all changing though! Michele has roped me into writing this weekly series and so I’ll be here twice a month, sharing my thoughts on the personal and the political, on the frivolous things that cross my mind but also the topics that have been bothering me for a long time. This post itself isn’t going to be super heavy (it’s a bit of a cop-out intro), but I want to use this space to commit myself to being a bit more open and vulnerable and willing to air out what I feel with the world.
I’ve been thinking specifically about Nora Ephron’s documentary, aptly named Everything Is Copy after the quote she used frequently. “Everything is copy” was a phrase that defined Nora’s writing and career, because for her, all of her experiences formed a memorable narrative—and this way of thinking was exactly what made her work so special. My takeaway is this: maybe I won’t have something profound to say every single Thursday and that’ll be a bummer. But maybe it’s time for me to rethink my perspective a bit, so that I look for the story in my everyday life and begin to consider that the mundane can actually be really, really exciting. This could be through defining one of my weird habits, describing my family, or writing down that rant that’s been brewing in my head for days. And if I push myself to do this twice a month, even when school and work and other clubs are demanding my attention, I’ll be able to observe a little more deeply, develop a newfound appreciation for my life as is and finally get over my fear of sharing my work.
If you’re reading this, I hope this post is a little cue for you to do the same! This experiment in vulnerability and writing about myself will be a lot less scary with more people by my side, and hey, I’m really excited to see what we create together.