Dear Readers,
I was always kind of a weird kid.
Left handed, painfully disorganized, always asking a million questions. I could never figure out if I was left-brained or right-brained, as my love for painting and affinity for words seemed to equally rival my fascination with science and proficiency with numbers. I got strange results on all those personality tests they make you take at school. I was nicknamed the “Walking Menu” for awhile because you could tell everything I ate that day by what I had spilled all over my shirt.
While I still feel like the weird 6-year-old that stuck a corn kernel in her ear during nap time and had to go to the emergency room to get it removed, when I look at myself today, I recognize that I’ve come a long way. For example, I’ve learned to put a napkin on my lap and I’ve learned that just because you want to know everything about the universe, doesn’t mean you can bug the shit out of people with questions all the time.
When I look at myself today, I see a person shaped and smoothed by life experiences the same way rushing water smooths out a stone slowly over years at the bottom of a stream.
Unlike most people, a serene walk in the woods or an oh-no-college-is-almost-over crisis didn’t prompt this sudden bout of self-reflection. Strangely enough, it has come during a time of utter pressure, excitement and uncertainty. I am 10 days into a 30-day Kickstarter campaign with a goal of $50,000. Yes, 50k in one month. All or nothing.
With over 540 Facebook shares of our project over the past few days, my name, my face and my words have been witnessed by people far and wide. My identity changes based on who you talk to.
To the random strangers and industry professionals that watch the video, I’m the 21-year-old CEO of a startup media company with a bright future ahead of me.
To the 110 Scene writers all over the southeast I’m an unorthodox editor that is a little too flexible on deadlines and has a propensity to swear too much in important announcements.
To the readers of GainesvilleScene, I’m a writer that views the world a little differently, weaves serious food for thought into not so serious stories and again has a propensity to swear too much.
To my friends, I’m a sarcastic and loyal companion that is always up for a spontaneous adventure, meaningful conversation or glass of red wine.
To my family, I’m a free-spirited college kid that sleeps too much and gave up on being a doctor to create a bunch of websites.
This revolving door of different perceptions has been a lesson that true identity cannot be defined by anyone else. Perhaps I am all of those things and none of those things all at the same time.
Kickstarter has been so much more than a means for raising money to expand our passion project, Scene. It has been a test in vulnerability. The fierce sense of independence I have clung to in my own definition of myself has dissolved as I reach out to people and ask for help. Only the kindness, generosity and support from others will bring us to our goal.
So as you view our campaign and track our progress, I ask you to put perceptions aside. As a CEO, editor, writer, friend, daughter and weird kid, I want to create a meaningful and beautiful platform from which other young people can be vulnerable too.
Help our generation be Scene and be heard.
Cheers,
Emma
You can find our campaign at www.OurScene.net . If all of you, our readers, simply pledged $1, we would easily reach our goal. So, if Scene has ever given you a laugh, helped you find a good restaurant, or if you’ve appreciated the words of one of our quirky writers, please consider backing our project.
