NEWSLETTER: GROWTH AND CHANGES

Change in Perspective

Embracing New Thoughts and Ideas Will Promote Growth

Why are so many humans obsessed with cats? Cats are moody creatures who prefer to be left alone to just be, and if you disturb their peace, they might retaliate by extending their claws, scratch you, and then move on as if nothing happened. Oh my goodness, I think I just unknowingly described myself 😂😂😂. Perhaps I am a reflection of the domesticated animal that scares me the most. After a few scratches from cats over the years, I have learned to leave these felines alone.

I went down the rabbit hole by digging around on the internet hoping that Google had the answers I sought. Unfortunately, I don’t believe it provided the answer that I needed to wholly justify the unbridled love that humans have for their cats. However, on the edge of that rabbit hole, I was reminded how much cats were worshipped and revered by the Egyptians. Their most famous feline goddess Bastet, who was half woman and half cat and a goddess of war, was also known for being a guardian against evil and a protector of the home. And I discovered that most Egyptians had cats living in their homes. Do I need to get a cat?

Though I can’t say that I have a newfound love for cats, over time, I have formed a new perspective about them. I admire the relationships that many of you have with your feline companions. I will not become a cat owner now or in the near future, but I certainly can respect and show reverence to them. Shout out to all the cat owners, as long as your cat doesn’t try to scratch me, I can be cool with them.

Have you ever had a change in perspective after acquiring new information? Humans are complicated beings and though we might be presented with facts or hear someone’s experiences, many of us choose to remain in dissonance by doubling down on what we believe. Why do we do that, why is it so hard for us to adopt new opinions and new beliefs? We are highly intelligent beings so why do we choose such rigidness? By exploring new ideas, theories and being open to changes in perspectives, isn’t that how we grow to become better humans, to become better versions of ourselves?

Growth and Changes, Trolling, Editing, and all the Drama, and 1 Conspiracy Theory.

Ok ok, enough with all the philosophical mumbo jumbo, let’s not waste any more time. I am merely here to present you with another edition of what I am calling a newsletter for Unpopular Opinions, here’s the latest:

• Growth: The pub has grown to almost 200 readers, “followers” if you will, which proves that writers are interested in reading opinions that may or may not line up with their own. I would like to continue to build this community as a reputable space to exchange positive discourse.
• Trolling: If your aim is to troll our writers, we prefer not to entertain you, but occasionally we will find the time. Trolls need to be heard as well, right, they’re obviously mad about something.
• Editing: Editing still poses a challenge, but my aim is to work with the writers as much as possible to gain their trust. Please don’t take anything I have said or any recommendations that I have made personally, trust me, it ain’t about that. My efforts are in your best interest, and I am excited to say that the feedback has been good thus far. Therefore, I look forward to our continued efforts to work amicably with each other.
• In Pursuit: Last month, I declared I would like to get a top writer to submit an opinionated piece. Well, I went straight to the top of the pyramid, but Ev Williams has yet to respond to my private note. Does he even read them? I assume he’s busy as sh*t, after all, he barely writes on his own page. I have not given up hope though because I believe it is a fantastic idea, so back to the drawing board I go.
• What’s New?: I created a new section for rants called “Tell Em Why You Mad”. To all the Medium grammar police out there, I am well aware that this is slang, so please no corrections are needed here. Plus, if we’re ranting against the madness who gives a f*ck about correct grammar? Oops, I cursed, sometimes you gotta unapologetically drop the f-bomb to get your point across. So, dear writers as you rant, don’t hesitate to curse ‘cus I ain’t judging you and please don’t judge me either. Just be respectful if you can, lol.
• Sorry not Sorry: Now speaking of rants, I will no longer accept pieces that directly target other writers on Medium. UO is aimed to promote healthy discourse not to create unnecessary friction. However, rants about Medium are welcomed, we all have them and lately, it seems like they have increased. Wait a minute, have we become disgruntled writers? Medium should really start paying attention to these concerns/complaints because many of them are valid.

Medium Staff, please listen to your writers so that we can avoid the great resignation here, or is that the plan 👀👀👀? Will AI become the new wave of creative writers, damn those conspiracy theories, lol. Calm down algorithm, #humor.

Rules, rules, rules. Are rules meant to be broken, what are your thoughts? Let’s chat a bit about the UO guidelines.

Because I am a “rebel” and I don’t particularly like rules, I have been lax about some of the guidelines of the pub. However, there are a few that I ask that you please keep in mind:

• Tags: Please select unpopular opinion as one of your 5 tags. If you don’t, I will be forced to adjust one of your own tags. I don’t know if this is done on purpose, but one of the writers uses 4 tags when he submits, so it makes it easy to just add the 5th tag onto his piece.
• Length of articles: I have made some exceptions and have been accepting long-form pieces that surpass the limits that I previously set. What the hell was I thinking people, 500 words just ain’t enough. Therefore, I have decided to expand the read time of the articles to no more than 5 minutes long. I hope that is enough words (about 1000+ or so) for you to state your opinion and move right along. I know some of you prefer to write longer forms, but this is what is manageable at this moment, so please understand that. Perhaps, as we expand, I will revisit this guideline again in the future.

Sh*t, I think I am way over the word limit with this newsletter, look at me breaking my own damn rules, ugh, it is what it is. For additional guidelines please see below:

Finally, the good stuff — Celebrating the Wins.

• The Pub’s Stats: This publication has had a fantastic 2 months and the writers have certainly kicked ass. The stats have been astounding as we have racked up thousands of minutes of reading time and have consistently attracted hundreds of views each day. It’s busy over here y’all, the traffic is crazy, we stay grinding. Thank you for all the support.
• Writers/Poets: Congratulations to all the fantastically bold writers and poets on all your extraordinary accomplishments. Many of you have written some amazing pieces that have gained well-earned traction on Medium as well as with external readers. I hope that you continue to elevate your voices and let your opinions be heard.
• Readers/“Followers”: We can’t do this without you as you are an important part of the community as well. We appreciate all the support that you have shown, whether good, bad or indifferent, and we are looking forward to growing this pub with you; perhaps, one day you too will transition to becoming a writer.

I have learned so much from you all while reading your articles/poems and interacting with you each day. Thank you for being part of such a dynamic community of thinkers and “rebels”. As we continue to grow together, I hope that some of us will gain and embrace new perspectives. It will help us to break down the walls of some of our traditional boxes.

“You can’t put extraordinary people into traditional boxes. “ — Deon Cole

Hey, one last thing, I would like to hear from you. What would you like to see happen on this platform? Perhaps a Slack group so that we can interact and bounce ideas off of each other? Or, I was thinking of presenting a monthly topic(s), a prompt if you will, that would create some friendly or perhaps even fun exchange. What are your thoughts, please leave a suggestion in the comments? Sometimes the chatter gets heavy in here, we ain’t trying to fight all the time, right?

Ok, I am done, enough rambling already. Don’t forget you can email me at [email protected] if you have questions or send me a private note and I will respond as soon as I can. I’m also open to one-on-one conversations via phone call because I find that verbal communication is the healthiest means to exchange thoughts and ideas.

Thank you to all the writers and readers of the pub, and if you would like to read the previous newsletter, it can be found here:

Until next time my UO peeps…keep spreading those unpopular opinions because we care about being real, not popular and your opinions matter.

Tagging all the writers and poets who have contributed to UO. Thank you and I look forward to reading more of your pieces: Harry Seitz | Diepak Paul | Nichola Scurry | Michael Trigg | Joselromero $$$ | Marcus | Mihai Brinas | Maxwell Jordan | Patrick M. Ohana| Kevin Jahleel Ishimwe| Dazzling Shene | S K| Anthi Psomiadou | Margie Willis | I. Trudie Palmer| Greg Proffit| Anthony Eichberger| Lila Juno| Terry L. Cooper| Shaun Banks| Bhavna Narula| Kira Dawn| Nah.| Alwia Al-Hassan| Nombuso Makhubu| Jace Loi| Gemini McCain| Calvin Lassiter| Carolyn Hastings| Ilana Lydia| Annelise Lords| Sahil Patel| Ivette Cruz| Bobby Kountz| Anastasia H.| Mary Kay Ranger| Christophe Gagnon| Imad| K. Barrett| Taylor Moran| TC Hails| Diana C.| William Spivey|

Thank you for reading this second edition of the Unpopular Opinions newsletter. MJ