Hi Mark! Thank you so much for taking the time to read this long story. I’m glad the bandwidth metaphor resonated, and I truly believe this is one of the biggest challenges of how we navigate our lives in the digital age of information. Our brains were never meant to process this much information, this much input, and it leaves less and less bandwidth available for basic daily tasks.
And that’s awesome that you’ve embraced your inner thespian! So you know from experience how psychologically liberating it can be to not only put on the mask, but follow a whole separate script and explore another character’s identity.
What plays have you been in if you don’t mind me asking? I’ve mostly done Shakespeare and musicals—the singing and dancing adds a whole extra layer of fun to the experience!
Looking forward to reading more of your work and I really appreciate you sharing all your knowledge as you breathe life into your Children’s books! 🙌🏼📖
I'm afraid I don't have any famous titles to drop re my stage efforts. I was in three original musicals written by a friend of mine named Mike Cohen. ("Moon Fever," "The Neon Coconut," and "Transference") He and his wife Liz Sumner have since moved to Italy. Those plays were some of the best fun I ever had.
It's been a while between Substack posts re my children's book (blush!). I've been researching About The Author pages and what's called a Review Request Page, both of which appear at the back of the book.
That in turn has led to research re setting up an author website. It all ties together since you're suppose to include a link to your site on your About the Author page!! Bit of a chicken-or-egg scenario!! Hopefully I can see my way to posting an update soon.
Thanks again for your kind comment and support!! 🙏
Love this piece and your wicked tales 💕 Also, learning new words again from Ms. Ambrosia: maskenfreiheit and "enclothed cognition!" It's great to learn terms for these things I've noticed but not sure how to describe it. I loved how you interwove the dress rehearsal, masks, stage symbolically throughout your whole narrative! (P.S. I think we've gone through very similar life stages around the same time!)
To answer your question: as a mid-age child, I frequently dressed as a court jester for Halloween-- my mom made me a custom costume so I wore it multiple times. At the time, I was really into the Harley Quinn character in the Batman TV series (this is back in the 90's before her mainstream adaption). Thinking about what must have appealed was her rebellious nature and break from conformity, she seemed liberated and at ease. I don't integrate that quality into my adult identity full-on but I still admire those attributes.
Courtney! This is such a thoughtful comment - thank you 💕 I love that you dressed as a court jester multiple times! And the Harley Quinn connection makes so much sense - that rebellious, liberated energy is such a compelling thing to try on as a kid. It’s interesting how some of those qualities we admired stay with us even if we don’t integrate them fully, right? They’re still there, still part of our repertoire even if we’re not accessing them as often.
And yes - I think we ARE in very similar life stages! There’s something about this particular moment in motherhood that makes these identity questions feel so pressing. Thank you for reading so carefully and for sharing your own costume memory with me 🎭
I feel this. Perhaps a better question is: have you shown *yourself* the real? We’re all just works in progress. That’s what I’m starting to realize. None of us have it “figured out,” but hell, as long as we’re learning, it’s still growth.
In bits and pieces, but I’ve gone through a long time of being under the impression that person should be different so I put him away for ages. Just trying to let him know it’s ok to come back out.
That’s a really compelling insight! Hell to the yeah, let him know it’s okay to come back out! This level of self reflection is exactly why I write on this platform—to connect with other authors who are willing to explore these types of questions and think more deeply about their path in life.
I’ve definitely compartmentalized pieces of myself as well. Kind of like a chameleon seamlessly blending into whatever my environmental influences are at the time.
Omg, “little human exclamation mark” — I love that! My son is exactly the same. In school plays I was everything from a flower to Snow White to… a potato. Not sure I carried any of that into adulthood, though I definitely feel like a potato sometimes 😂
🤣Oh my gosh, Valeria, I’m giggling so hard I almost just spit out my coffee! I love your theatrical repertoire🌻👸🏻 🥔 🙌🏼 I, too, feel like a potato sometimes in my adulthood, and you know what? I’m not mad at it! And I’m so glad the “human exclamation mark” resonates—they definitely have a way of keeping us on our toes with all that !! energy.
"I am so focused on meeting expectations that I have very little bandwidth available for that type of exploration."
Ha! Love the idea of "bandwidth availability"-- that's definitely a problem for a lot of us these days!
I've done some community theater, and yes, it's a real kick to "put on a mask" and be someone else for a while. 🎭👍
Hi Mark! Thank you so much for taking the time to read this long story. I’m glad the bandwidth metaphor resonated, and I truly believe this is one of the biggest challenges of how we navigate our lives in the digital age of information. Our brains were never meant to process this much information, this much input, and it leaves less and less bandwidth available for basic daily tasks.
And that’s awesome that you’ve embraced your inner thespian! So you know from experience how psychologically liberating it can be to not only put on the mask, but follow a whole separate script and explore another character’s identity.
What plays have you been in if you don’t mind me asking? I’ve mostly done Shakespeare and musicals—the singing and dancing adds a whole extra layer of fun to the experience!
Looking forward to reading more of your work and I really appreciate you sharing all your knowledge as you breathe life into your Children’s books! 🙌🏼📖
What a lovely reply!-- thanks, Courtney!
I'm afraid I don't have any famous titles to drop re my stage efforts. I was in three original musicals written by a friend of mine named Mike Cohen. ("Moon Fever," "The Neon Coconut," and "Transference") He and his wife Liz Sumner have since moved to Italy. Those plays were some of the best fun I ever had.
Mike's a gifted songwriter with a very unique vibe. You can listen to some of his work here: https://lizsumner.bandcamp.com/album/almost
It's been a while between Substack posts re my children's book (blush!). I've been researching About The Author pages and what's called a Review Request Page, both of which appear at the back of the book.
That in turn has led to research re setting up an author website. It all ties together since you're suppose to include a link to your site on your About the Author page!! Bit of a chicken-or-egg scenario!! Hopefully I can see my way to posting an update soon.
Thanks again for your kind comment and support!! 🙏
Love this piece and your wicked tales 💕 Also, learning new words again from Ms. Ambrosia: maskenfreiheit and "enclothed cognition!" It's great to learn terms for these things I've noticed but not sure how to describe it. I loved how you interwove the dress rehearsal, masks, stage symbolically throughout your whole narrative! (P.S. I think we've gone through very similar life stages around the same time!)
To answer your question: as a mid-age child, I frequently dressed as a court jester for Halloween-- my mom made me a custom costume so I wore it multiple times. At the time, I was really into the Harley Quinn character in the Batman TV series (this is back in the 90's before her mainstream adaption). Thinking about what must have appealed was her rebellious nature and break from conformity, she seemed liberated and at ease. I don't integrate that quality into my adult identity full-on but I still admire those attributes.
Courtney! This is such a thoughtful comment - thank you 💕 I love that you dressed as a court jester multiple times! And the Harley Quinn connection makes so much sense - that rebellious, liberated energy is such a compelling thing to try on as a kid. It’s interesting how some of those qualities we admired stay with us even if we don’t integrate them fully, right? They’re still there, still part of our repertoire even if we’re not accessing them as often.
And yes - I think we ARE in very similar life stages! There’s something about this particular moment in motherhood that makes these identity questions feel so pressing. Thank you for reading so carefully and for sharing your own costume memory with me 🎭
I don't know if I'll ever be able to show someone the real...
I feel this. Perhaps a better question is: have you shown *yourself* the real? We’re all just works in progress. That’s what I’m starting to realize. None of us have it “figured out,” but hell, as long as we’re learning, it’s still growth.
In bits and pieces, but I’ve gone through a long time of being under the impression that person should be different so I put him away for ages. Just trying to let him know it’s ok to come back out.
That’s a really compelling insight! Hell to the yeah, let him know it’s okay to come back out! This level of self reflection is exactly why I write on this platform—to connect with other authors who are willing to explore these types of questions and think more deeply about their path in life.
I’ve definitely compartmentalized pieces of myself as well. Kind of like a chameleon seamlessly blending into whatever my environmental influences are at the time.
It is a blessing to find somebody who resonates and can understand a bit of what you are saying.
Indubitably! Always love reading your reflections oh here, Jay.
Omg, “little human exclamation mark” — I love that! My son is exactly the same. In school plays I was everything from a flower to Snow White to… a potato. Not sure I carried any of that into adulthood, though I definitely feel like a potato sometimes 😂
🤣Oh my gosh, Valeria, I’m giggling so hard I almost just spit out my coffee! I love your theatrical repertoire🌻👸🏻 🥔 🙌🏼 I, too, feel like a potato sometimes in my adulthood, and you know what? I’m not mad at it! And I’m so glad the “human exclamation mark” resonates—they definitely have a way of keeping us on our toes with all that !! energy.