Summary

JoAnn Ryan, a writer on Medium, invites readers to participate in the "Selfie" challenge on the "In Living Color" publication, encouraging them to share personal photos and stories to introduce themselves to the community.

Abstract

JoAnn Ryan, a contributor to Medium's "In Living Color" publication, has issued a "Selfie" challenge to the community. She shares her own personal photos and anecdotes, ranging from dressed-up selfies to childhood memories and recent experiences as an expat in Trinidad. Ryan emphasizes the fun she had with a similar challenge in the past and sets out a few simple rules for participants, such as no stock photos, obtaining permission for any photos shared, and keeping stories concise and true. The challenge aims to foster a deeper connection within the writing community by allowing writers to express themselves through both words and images, with the goal of saying more with less.

Opinions

JoAnn Ryan expresses a love for personal photos and stories, particularly those that introduce individuals to the Medium community.
She fondly recalls a previous challenge by Mary Chang Story Writer that encouraged writers to post self-photos and provide personal information, highlighting the enjoyment it brought.
Ryan values the combination of writing, traveling, and cooking, suggesting that these are her favorite things in life.
She reflects on her life experiences, including working for the Department of Energy and living as an expat, with a sense of pride and satisfaction.
Ryan encourages writers to be creative with their story titles and to focus on truthful storytelling, as fiction is not accepted in the "In Living Color" publication.
She promotes the idea of brevity in storytelling, advocating for an eight-minute read limit as a writing exercise and to keep the stories engaging.
Ryan's opinion on the importance of obtaining permission to use photos, especially those including others, is clear, as she stresses the necessity of respecting privacy and copyright.

Writing — Photography

Introduce Yourself With the “Selfie” Challenge on In Living Color

And let us get to know you better!

Probably one of my favorite photos — Photos by JoAnn Ryan

There are two things I love… well, as far as writing on Medium goes anyway. I love checking out people’s personal photos, especially their “selfies” and I love it when people introduce themselves, whether it be through their About Me Stories or the Writer Spotlight Series on my travel publication Globetrotters.

About a year ago, I still remember a related challenge by Mary Chang Story Writer at Six Word Photo Story, wherein writers were asked to post a “self” photo and provide a little info about themselves, and it was so much fun!

So, here is my own challenge post as an example of how this could go, followed by just a few ground rules… only so that the fun factor is accentuated as much as possible.

Have you ever just gotten all dressed up just for the heck of it?

The first photo above is the one I’ve probably gotten the most compliments on ever. I put on a nice dress, a little make-up and did my hair — for no other reason than… just for the heck of it — and to take the photo of course.

All dressed up with nowhere to go can still be fun!

Back to the beginning…

Me… sometime in the 70s — Photos property of JoAnn Ryan

I was the little red-headed child with two rowdy big brothers, and I always felt like I was a bit cursed not to have a sister. My middle brother was always a great protector though.

And yes, I loved my dollies. It’s ok to admit right? Although, if my brothers caught up with them, they would often decapitate them and put ketchup around their necks.

No wonder I grew up so messed up! Yikes!

At grandma’s house

My grandma passed on back in 2004. Prior to that time, we used to travel to Arizona once or twice per year just to see her. Miss her and my grandpa! I miss having a reason to travel to Arizona every year.

Miss the red rocks, cacti and the smell of the Mohave Desert.

I think I must have been about 16 or something in this photo… wow… I always thought I was so ugly and had terrible self-esteem. Sad to think about now.

All grown up

My favorite things in life? Writing, traveling and cooking… when I can combine all three, I am happy!

Two years in a row I got a well-paying gig baking cookies for Santa Claus at the Rockaway Mall in Rockaway, New Jersey. It was about a 30 or 40 mile drive north from where I was living at the time.

I love cooking… especially baking.

My one regret is that I didn’t get cozier with Santa. See how cozy my coworker got with Santa. This is probably because I wasn’t raised to celebrate Christmas… so I was a little unsure of what to do… I do love Christmas now though!

Baking cookies and sitting with Santa at the Rockaway Mall in New Jersey — Photos property of JoAnn Ryan

What I’m most proud of in life

My daughter of course. I’ve done a lot of different things in life. For a while, I worked for the Department of Energy, and one day I took my daughter on a big tour of the nuclear energy facility.

We tried on these safety suits and had fun doing it!

A few years later, when she was a teenager we took the second photo while visiting some friends.

JoAnn and Alana — Photos property of JoAnn Ryan

Me and hubby in Trinidad

This is my favorite photo of me and my husband Andy. We were enjoying the day at Maracas Beach in Trinidad & Tobago, where I’ve been living as an expat for about a year now.

Not hubby though… he’s a dual citizen of TT and the U.S… what a lucky fella!

Random silly photos

Here are two where I’m eating carrots… kinda dumb right? And OMG I’m getting fat since moving to Trinidad. Good living does that to a person!

Me being a silly dork eating carrots — Photos by JoAnn Ryan

Now it’s your turn!

Rules

I’m not that big of a fan of rules so much, however, just to make things as fun and interesting as possible for both writers and readers, I will ask the following:

Absolutely no stock photos. Sorry, but In Living Color is a photo story publication, after all.
Photos can be taken by you, as in true selfies, or they can be taken by other people. Posting photos on In Living Color implies that you have permission to use whichever photos you are posting.
Having other people in the photos along with yourself is perfectly fine. In posting the photos on In Living Color, you are attesting that you have permission to post the likeness of whoever else is in the photos with you.
Feel free to give your story a snappy title: “Cookie Maker, Beach Comber and Carrot-Eating Lover of Life?” Ok, that might be a bad example. I’m sure you can come up with something better.
Would prefer to have stories that are eight (8) minutes or less. I’m a big proponent of saying more with less… this is a great writing exercise as well. Let us get to know you better, but don’t give us an autobiography. You can always publish future stories.
All stories must be true. We do not accept fiction.
For more pub guidelines and to be added as a writer please visit:

Submission Guidelines For In Living Color

Telling stories through words and photos

medium.com

Also, don’t forget that there is a fun A to Z photography challenge going on here on In Living Color as well:

Eating Apples and Avocados While Arranging Alligators and Autumn Leaves in Atlanta?

An A to Z challenge: Finding interesting new ways to enjoy photography

medium.com

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