In the 24 years I’ve been breathing, the most frequently said words to me have been “can’t,” “won’t” and “shouldn’t.”
When it comes to academics and memorizing textbooks, I am utter shit. I’ve always needed extra help with left-brained activities, but anything creative, no problem! So of course I was constantly reminded by family, peers and even teachers of how I wouldn’t be able to pursue a computer science college education, something I always aspired to do.
My mom has always been a beacon of light, encouraging and loving me for doing my best. Her favorite phrase, that’s somehow become motivational for me is “do what you gotta do kid.” Hi mama bear — I’m doing it!
(pictured above: Mom and me having professional photos taken while wearing matching cat sweaters)
I’d like to think having an Internet addiction was somewhat beneficial. Staying indoors during grammar school I self taught basic web development by playing Neopets and building Vbulletin forums for my Internet friends. My mom constantly worried about the “people” I was talking to in my headset. Now she gets really worried when I go on Tinder dates.
There was a few years after I dropped out of college (school wasn’t for me) when I had no fucking clue what I should do. It was a very weird time, so I moved to California to make a success out of an online game community I helped build and manage, Lasuni. My vision for the game failed, but I wouldn’t let myself fail. I moved back home shortly after, and that’s when I had a thought (the entire “Sex and the City” series later) I need to move the island of opportunity; New York City. I’ve had many jobs and apartments in my last two years of living here, but finally can say I’m comfortable in my career and life choices.
Okay, enough about.me
Allow me to femsplain.
A while back, a few friends and I had the big idea of what’s now known as Femsplain, but only recently it became a project I was ready to emotionally and physically invest in. Good friends, countless cups of coffee and many many iMessages of encouragement have attributed to gathering the courage to make Femsplain exist. It’s overwhelmingly a huge “first” for me, and I’m really fucking proud of it.
Publishing sites which are solely fem-powered are scarce. They shouldn’t be, and we all know this. Femsplain wants to feature all different types of content coming from anyone who identifies as a woman. Femsplain has zero intention of excluding voices, but rather highlight women in the online community who might have less visibility. We’re welcoming everyone to give their opinions on all topics to be discussed.
From experience; communities aren’t built in a day, and I don’t expect ours to either. What I do wish is for anyone who finds our little website to feel welcomed and inspired. We’ve had over 100 talented women reach out to inquire about contributing content for our launch. In addition, I’ve received over 200 emails of encouragement from both women and men. As a good friend of mine often says, “What? That’s amazing!!!!!”
Yeah, it really is.
You are invited to shape and participate in important conversations and to support one another’s contributions. So hi, hey, hello let’s talk, but more importantly listen to each other. Who will if we won’t? Literally nobody.
Let’s build Femsplain, together.
