Finding an outlet: An introduction

A few years ago, the word "blogosphere" made me shudder from its pretentiousness. And yet, here I am...so why?

First, I have an amazing daughter. Eric and I were just talking tonight about how we swear she's really five or ten years-old, but trapped in an eight month-olds body. She's beautiful, and I completely underestimated how much fun it would be to be a mother- and how much it would change my life, and my perspective on the world.

Second, we live far away from our families and most of our close friends. This way, we can keep in touch.

Third, and this is completely different: I'm an aspiring academic (re: doctoral student) wondering if there's not something better she could be doing with herself than aspiring to be an academic. What I mean by this is, I entered grad school basically to be a writer with an education. I want to change the world. And I'm beginning to see that academia isn't necessarily the place this happens, and that instead, it sometimes works to reinforce those things I wish to change.

Fourth, I want an outlet for my thoughts. This has a practical motivation: I need to be published, so I'll do it myself, darnit. And, I want to share my thoughts...so please understand that this blog will consist of Katie updates and political writing. But I'll be sparing and deliberate when I bring anyone's attention to this blog...

So this brings me to this blog: I'm a writer. I'm a journalist. I'm an activist. I care deeply about human rights, but I don't see how writing research papers for the rest of my life accomplishes that, by itself. I'm a feminist. And I'm a mother (and a wife). Put this all together, and I need an outlet- what better place than the democratic internet(s)?

In short, I'm a mother wondering how to raise her daughter using the tools of my education. How can I set an example, and help Katie become a self-assured, self-reliant, independent assertive woman? I'm also searching for ways- via little acts of subversion- to engage in praxis: how can I practice what I learn?

With that, I'll end with my favorite quote:

Those of us who stand outside the circle of this society's definition of acceptable women; those of us who have been forged in the crucible of difference...know that survival is not an academic skill. It is learning how to stand alone, unpopular and sometimes reviled, and how to make common cause with those others identified as outside the structures in order to define and seek a world in which we can all flourish. For the master's tools will never dismantle the master's house. They may allow us to temporarily beat him at his own game, but they will never enable us to bring about genuine change. -Audre Lorde, Sister Outsider