As a twenty year old, growing up really scares me. I’m constantly grappling with, what do I believe? How do I want to live my life? And how does one even go about answering these questions?
In the first episode of the season (click here to listen), “Purpose: You Are Wrong About What You Want to Be When You Grow Up,” our first guest, Emily Hardy hit me with a question in the pre-interview. My answer didn’t make it into the episode, which focuses on Emily’s journey along with our second guest Professor Shareen Joshi, but I thought I’d share it in this first newsletter. She asked me, “what is your purpose verb?” (purpose verb is a concept she explains on the podcast, essentially de-centering purpose from career). Emily had said before that most people she’s talked to, just intuitively knew, and sure enough “to slow down” came to mind.
My purpose verb is: to slow down
In recent years, I’ve come to identify as a late bloomer. I have a slow soul, if there’s such a thing. Any one of my friends or family members can tell you; I’m indecisive, a slow walker, a slow eater, a slow-getting-ready-er. At almost every milestone of growing up, I’ve found myself lagging behind my peers, watching them drift farther and farther off into the distance as I play catch-up. Oftentimes, it feels like the world is rushing by too fast; can we slow down? My nature has always been to smell the flowers, yet, as I get older, I increasingly get impatient with this slow-going attitude.
As silly as it sounds, calling myself a late bloomer has been strangely freeing, insinuating that perhaps I’m not “behind,” rather I move at my own pace. It’s taken me quite some time to accept this slow-going nature of mine, but, I’ve increasingly found it to be an asset. Moreover, I’ve noticed that my purpose verb, as does everyone’s, also affects others. My purpose is not necessarily to slow myself down (I do that anyways), but to slow down those around me, which may not be such a bad thing. When my friends hang out with me, they are forced to dillydally, forced to take forever to eat a meal, essentially, whether they like it or not, forced to spend time with me. Even in professional or academic settings, I love to revel in a singular topic or ask my professor to slow down/repeat/clarify a concept. It is who I am. I like to think things through; I like to take my time. As I relayed all this information to Emily over the phone, she noted, “that’s why you created a podcast; podcasts are all about slowing down.”
Thus, not only is Season Two of StarkMarkings a manifestation of my purpose verb, but it is also an opportunity for me to think through this whole concept of growing up. Essentially, I have a personal stake in StarkMarkings’ Season Two concept of “growing up is timeless.”
StarkMarkings is an opportunity for me –and hopefully you listeners (and readers of the newsletter)– to explore the grey-area between childhood, adolescence, and adulthood. These hazy intersections are where we begin to figure out “how the world works,” the injustices embedded in society, the value of joy, the reasons people are hurt and the reasons people hurt others. When we get older and look back on our youth, what do we see that we missed the first time around? Those on the other side of coming of age are able to look back and see patterns, pitfalls, and inflection points. Compared against the frantic, chaotic perspective of being young, there’s a nostalgic appreciation which shades adults’ hindsight. This season, StarkMarkings hopes to both explore coming of age by anchoring ourselves in the fact that growing up is universal and –timeless.
If you just stumbled upon this newsletter and are unfamiliar with the podcast (you can find the StarkMarkings podcast on Spotify and Apple Podcasts), here is some more information:
As we embark on Season Two, our new theme is: growing up is timeless. I am thrilled to introduce my new co-host Angelena (she will also write for this newsletter)! We met working together for the intersectional feminist magazine on campus and have been collaborating on Season Two since December. She's introspective, creative, and extroverted! You’ll hear from her soon.
Moreover, this season’s episodes will take a new form, which consists of two halves: one half centers someone smack-dab in the middle of growing up —most likely someone who’s in their twenties, and the other half centers someone who is a little bit older with the advantages of hindsight, life experience, and maturity to offer when reflecting upon their own coming of age. Our first episode came out today (Feb. 17, 2023) and new episodes will drop every other Friday afterwards.
We also have a website (starkmarkings.com), and you can also find us on Instagram, Twitter, and TikTok
Finally, leave a comment: What is you purpose verb?
We want this newsletter to be a place where we can engage with our audience! Tell us about what growing up was like for you, and chat with us in the comments!
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