Ers and ists

At the relentless encouragement of several of my siblings and friends, I have decided to join the blogosphere just like everyone else.  Here’s the thing though…I am not a writer.  Nope.  Not me.  No writer here.  No sirree.  Not yet at least.  So with that in mind, I am calling it “I Am Not Writing a Blog”.  I wanted to call it “This Is Not a Blog” but that name was taken.  Having never written anything besides the casual Facebook post, I cannot in good conscience call myself a writer despite what other well-intentioned people might say about me.  The title of “writer” implies a certain level of performance as does any label and creates a high level of pressure even if that pressure is self imposed.  So I avoid labels.  Like the plague.  I try to anyway.  I have managed to create the occasional piece of decent art that I am reasonably proud to show off to people but that does not make me an artist.  The second you call yourself an artist people get the wrong idea.  It works with anything really…the wrong idea.  Add "er" or “ist” onto the end of something you like to do and suddenly you elevate yourself to a higher level and then it’s not as much fun anymore.  Photographer. Singer. Pianist.  Mountain biker.  Rock climber.  The list goes on…  Once you’re on that higher level of achievement it’s hard to go backwards. It’s like the kid that gets an “A” on his report card and then can never get a “C” again because he’s not meeting his own potential.  Sometimes it’s better to under-achieve. “Er” is a word best used only when not sure of what to say or in the event of referring to a 1990’s TV show about a hospital and not attached to a skill you possess.  Case in point…”were you ever a writer for ER back in the 90’s?  Er…No.”  So how does anyone ever get to be anything then?  Well, I guess people are what they say they are.  No doubt not using such labels is self-limiting and self-defeating, collectively self-destructive.  I guess I am being self-destructive.  Maybe some people actually want that higher level of distinction and are perfectly ok with ists or ers and then they inadvertently make something of themselves.  Maybe that’s all it takes…a personal decision to be elevated?  Maybe it’s as simple as an acknowledgement of one’s own skills or just a universal intention to be greater that gives people the right idea.  No doubt there’s a self-fulfilling prophecy at work here.  Ugh.  I am feeling very internally divided. The voices in my head are having an inter-cranial argument with each other…my inner critic is screaming “labels suck!  You’ll never be a writer!!” and my inner therapist is calmly answering Ms. Critic with “you can do anything you want as long as you put your heart in it, be vulnerable”.  Which is the louder voice here?  Ok fine.  I give in.  I give up.  I sort of, maybe have a skill or two I can put to good use.  I will write.  I will be a write-er.

Of course there is one er that is NOT elevating. In fact it has an opposite dregs-of-society-bowels-of-the-earth effect. Anyone who likes to sew should NOT under any circumstances add an er no matter how badly you might want to participate in such an activity. Please call yourself a "sewist" instead.