Being Known

Summary

The author of the website has overcome personal fears and vulnerabilities to share their writing publicly on Medium, leading to the creation of a new publication called "Being Known," which emphasizes authenticity, connection, and community through shared experiences and emotions.

Abstract

The website content details the author's personal journey with writing, from dictating stories as a child to privately journaling through difficult times in college. Despite fears and insecurities, the author has chosen to embrace the courage to be known, stepping into the public eye with raw and honest writing on Medium since May 2020. This decision has not only facilitated personal growth but also fostered meaningful connections with other writers and readers. The culmination of this journey is the launch of "Being Known," a publication that encourages writers to express their true selves, share their life experiences, and support each other in a judgment-free, nurturing community. The publication aims to celebrate the power of vulnerability, authenticity, and transparency, drawing inspiration from humanistic psychology and the belief that self-disclosure is a sign of health and vitality.

Opinions

The author values the importance of sharing personal stories as a means of healing and connection.
Writing is seen as a therapeutic tool for the author, helping them process and overcome personal challenges.
There is a belief that facing the fear of being known is essential for personal growth and forming genuine relationships.
The author emphasizes the significance of a supportive community in the journey of self-discovery and expression.
"Being Known" is presented as a space that values emotional honesty and the courage to share one's true self.
The publication is open to diverse forms of writing, including microfiction, suggesting a flexible approach to creative expression.
The author draws on the work of Sidney M. Jourard to underscore the idea that self-disclosure is indicative of a healthy personality.
The act of writing and sharing is portrayed as a way to feel alive, liberate oneself, and make a positive impact on the world.

Why do you share your writing?

When I was five years old I dictated stories to my parents for hours, who patiently put my imagination to paper and helped me illustrate my works of art. I have been writing for as long as I can remember.

In college I took Creative Writing and Poetry courses mostly just to get an easy A and eventually resorted to writing only in private; filling countless journals throughout my college years as I struggled with eating disorders, sexual assault, and too many heartaches.

As life twisted and turned I continued to write, adding a published dissertation to my childhood novels, writing for local parenting publications, and dabbling in my own blog for a while. But I always held back.

My dreams of writing a book “someday” became more distant as life happened and as my fear of being known, despite my simultaneous yearning for it, got in the way.

And then one day, following an experience that shook me, I was ready; ready to step out into the world with all of my imperfections and say — here I am!

I was ready to share of myself and ready to be known. I started writing real and raw on Medium in May (2020), and I continue to challenge myself daily despite the discomfort, for this is where my growth lies. By authentically sharing of myself with the world, I have fostered meaningful connections with other writers, now friends, for which I am ever so grateful, and gotten even closer to my true self.

And so, as a natural next step, I have birthed a new publication.

Welcome to Being Known where we bring forth our courageous authentic selves and experience the range of human emotions together; sharing our experiences of being alive with one another and giving our words wings. Writing real and raw from the heart most of the time, and sprinkling in some microfiction fun, we come together in joy and in pain and we lift each other up.

We struggle, we heal and we grow together; holding hands on our ongoing journeys of becoming perfectly imperfect.

We connect through shared experiences, through shared meanings, and we build sacred community together. We cry together, we laugh, and we celebrate one another’s victories.

We accept one another without judgment. We encourage self-inquiry and we come to know our deepest selves as we journey inward, holding safe space for one another.

We value vulnerability, authenticity, and transparency, recognizing their power of healing, of connection, and of making a difference in the world.

Humanistic psychologist Sidney M. Jourard, in The Transparent Self (1971), spoke of self-disclosure as a symptom of personality health that requires the courage to be known by others as one knows himself to be.

We share ourselves from the inside out because we deeply believe that sharing connects us. We write to feel alive; to get in touch with our emotions, to set ourselves free, to tell our stories.

We write to be known as we are.

Being Known will be adding new writers soon. In the meantime, we hope you’ll follow us.