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Some personal news (this is how you do it right?):So, I graduated. Also, today is my first day as a staff writer for @ringer.
Wanted to take a chance to thank all the people who’ve helped me beyond expression along the way. First, thanks to @MalloryRubin and @cbengaines for hiring me as an intern seven (!) months ago.
Also a special thank you to all of the amazing editors I’ve had a chance to work with over the past half-year, especially @BenGlicksman who insists that he’s alright with me (I don’t believe him).
Also, also, shoutout to all of the wonderful writers who’ve allowed me to send them annoying texts about writer/non-writer things, most of all @TylerRickyTynes. Ok and final thank you to everyone whose taken the time to read any of my pieces.
A year ago, while I was interning with USA Today, one of my editors looked me dead in the eye and, completely unprompted, told me I couldn’t do this for a living. Among other totally helpful and not at all condescending tidbits she suggested I go back to my school newspaper...
Again… she said this while I was sitting at the headquarters of a national outlet… having passed their criteria to be selected as one of only two interns… in their entire sports department. I’d love to say that that shit bounced right off me...
... but truth is they really had me doubting myself, and if it wasn’t for the support I’ve got over the years — support that I am so grateful to have — but support that is mine at least in part because...
...I’m not the first in my family to go to college, because I’m a heterosexual cisgendered man, because I’m light enough to make some white folks comfortable; idk I guess what I’m saying is that if I didn’t have that, I don’t know if I’d be here.
And what happened to me wasn’t some unrivaled offense, you can ask every journalist whose identities fall outside of traditional American power structures and they’ll have similar (and worse) stories.
Anyways here’s my point: there are so many people who could do what I do. Maybe not the same way (at least I hope not, if so I need to readjust how I does the writing thing) but they could do it, just differently. So maybe, for once, since we just sat through a whole summer...
... of folks swearing they cared about these things, we could put together a pool of journalists who look, love, and live like the communities we cover. And then when we do that, maybe, for once, we could support them.
Anyways I’m gonna leave Twitter until Thursday or Friday when I return to shamelessly self promote my next article, but thanks for reading my ramblings which I definitely should have put “Thread:” at the top of but chose not to.
