“Name Game: Its Like Peeling An Onion
Play the Name Game — AKA — Anatomy of an Acronym
Getting to know someone new is like peeling fruits and vegetables. Sometimes you are trying to understand the fruit that person is offerings and other times you need to see the root that share the Essence of who they are and where they are from. Through playing the name game I hope that you get to see some other layers of who I am.
S — — Sassy (sophisticated, social)
H — — Happy (Herbalist)
A — — Adaptable
N —- Nuanced
T -— Tenacious(Talented, Thankful)
E -— Eclectic( Effervescent)
N -— Noetic
I -— Independent (intuitive)
X -— Xenacious
O —- Observant
N —- Nonconformist
S. H.A.N.T.E. Sassy, Happy, Adaptable, Nuanced, Tenacious, and Eclectic
This is an interesting challenge. As I have analyzed myself for this game, I realize that challenge speaks to my eclecticism. If you meet me in person, most people think I am reserved, quiet, timid, and shy. I am observant, and that requires me to keep my mouth shut a lot.
However, when there are attempts to push my boundaries or invade my person, it is quickly discovered that I am on the other side of the spectrum. SASSY. I am actually offended by the definition of the word, which means improperly forward or bold.
When is it improper to be bold?
Is it when your boss is bullying you to work for free?
Or is it when you are at an event and someone is attempting to coerce you into doing something that you are not comfortable with?
What is proper?
I am actually very HAPPY and excited for life. I have the privilege of being on this planet and meeting the people that I do, and I want to explore and enjoy my time here. What I learned in my mid-30s is if I am miserable doing something, then why do it? If I am around people that make me uncomfortable, then why am I there? Life is too short to spend it unhappy.
My dad has two life mantras that are constantly with me: “adapt or die”, and “do what you have to do to get where you have to go”. Both allude to having a life where you are ADAPTABLE, fluid and moving with life. If you get stagnant, key opportunities in life will pass you by. I try my hardest not to miss my moments or where I am supposed to be at any given time. I do not consider myself an optimist but more of a realist.
My dad trained me to three-word sentences, and yes, I am training Lady J.; I will not be the only one in the family line tortured this way. He had words like use finesse, persevere, and be optimistic. However, for this exercise, being NUANCED and TENACIOUS are words that are drilled into my being. The older I got, the more he stressed the importance of being a multifaceted individual. He twisted the quote to read jack of all trades, master of a few. That it was important not to have skills and talents that were not linear. If I have a gift, I need to use it. I think because of him pushing me to constantly try different things, I am always trying different things.
With all of that, it leads to one very ECLECTIC person. I can make my own confectioners sugar, “lavender, or rose sugar, and anyone”? Hike a mountain (I cannot do trails higher than level 5 right now). I designed a baby or toddler room and, as you guys know, played with tech to create the images needed to enhance my storytelling.
N.I.X.ON. — — Noetic, Independent, Xenacious Observant Nonconformist
All of these words speak to my need to grow. One of the things that I value about myself is my mind and intellect. I am always attempting to grow my knowledge base about various subjects so I can be a well-rounded person.
I would love to be considered a Renaissance woman; however, there are a few more skills I need to gain in other areas before I can be considered that. I beat to my own drumbeat, and now that I have a child who does the same, I can only imagine how much I drive my parents nuts sometimes. I get bored and need to change regularly. I think that is why I am always learning and evolving. Some find comfort in that small-town environment where everyone knows who you are. I find comfort in being in a crowd of people who do not know me, and I am trying something new.
I am an eclectic family, and I do a lot of free writing about whatever I am passionate about at the moment. I started writing again on Medium in June 2022. There are a few posts and interviews with NICU parents from my previous venture with start-up life.
The only thing I don’t write about that I am passionate about is cooking. I don’t write about that because sharing recipes requires some level of precision. My cooking is homestyle and old-school, with lots of pinching, eyeballing, and taste testing to ensure my dishes turn out tasty and perfect. If I am using someone’s recipe, I get the base idea and tweak it to my liking.
If I talked about cooking, it would be like picking up early cookbooks, where they would just give you the ingredients and presume you knew what to do with them. I personally keep my kitchen stock to cook Italian, Mexican, certain Chinese dishes, soul food, and certain Middle Eastern, and West African dishes. I have also been learning the basics of herbalism for the last 2–3 years.
WHY I WRITE:
My writing process is to throw my thoughts onto the screen, and then edit. Some pieces I release within 24 hours; Some are in my drafts right now waiting on me to finish writing and editing, others have taken me upwards 3 weeks. Depending on the level of research needed, it depends on how long the piece will take. I bounce between my dining room table and my desk in my bedroom. I am homeschooling Lady J, so I typically write after we have done our activities for the day or when my husband gets home.
To me, my writing on the medium is all about having a conversation. Whether it is me sharing new information or an article like this one where I am literally sharing tidbits about myself, I want to connect and be part of a community; that is part of the reason I am still on Medium. I am also taking this budding writing skill and sharpening it.
I was still working full-time, my kid was regressing, and my husband was working on his Ph.D. in research at the same time my health was deteriorating. At the beginning of the shutdowns, as some had to worry about furloughs and layoffs, my workload increased. Last August, I literally could not continue to do everything I was doing anymore. I made my return to Medium last year because I was under a lot of stress and needed an outlet.
If I had to categorize my writing here on Medium into a theme, it would be conversational education. The areas that I tend to write about to are pertaining to my journey in life and lessons I am learning. Whether I am writing about my lived experiences, history, society, homeschooling adventures with Lady J., or poetry, the frames that keeps the lens of my glasses in place is of one who is of the African Diaspora.
These are my thoughts,
Shanté
© 2023 Shanté Nixon. All rights reserved
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We want to hear from you!! This is how you play:
This challenge was issued by Toni The Talker, however I would love to see how you describe yourself as well!! please feel free to tag me once you complete this challenge!
STEP 1: Decode Your Acronym Vertically, write a self-descriptive word for each letter of your name.
STEP 2: Q&A
- Who does your acronym say you are? Apply the answers from Step 1. 2. What genre(s) do you write across or your stance on writing? 3. When did you start writing on Medium? 4. Where do you write from in the real world? 5. How do you write? Showcase your process. 6. Why did you choose to write on/and or continue to remain on Medium?
STEP 3: Promote Your Presence
✔️ Submit answers to your favorite publication. 🟢 For maximum exposure my recommendation is “Illumination.” ✔️ Tag me ➕ writers you want to know more about. ✔️ Organically grow your following with an invitation to play along.
