A Word About THAT Photo of Me
A Response to the Person Who Criticized Me
I quickly perused his response about my most recent Medium story. His words pierced in a different way than any of the other 70 responses.
Some people think in the shower. I tend to self-reflect when I’m driving. I had hours to let those words sit with me as I traversed east down I-10 in the misty afternoon yesterday.
Why was I having such a strong reaction to a stranger’s comments? Was he right? Was he?
I realized I was teary-eyed. Not because he was right. Because I realized he only knew the tiniest sliver of who I am. He had no idea what that photo represented. How much hard emotional work it took for me to take a photo like that. Much less how far I had come over the past 8 years to share that photo.
He couldn’t know that I had reached out to the owner of Assemblage as soon as I sent my draft story. Jonathan Greene and I aren’t just Medium pals. Our friendship transcends online antics. Like me, he is an INTJ. We shoot straight. I specifically mentioned the photo and told him I understood if he felt I should choose a stock photo instead. If he said the photo was tacky or egotistical, there would be no argument. I trust his taste completely and would have swapped it out.
