Make Room for Growth by Sheri LeClair Banitt

Pull the weeds, fertilize the flowers.

I am part of a new community that is giving me space to grow. I am learning what it means to have white privilege in America and how life is more difficult without it. I am growing my empathy and understanding for people whose experience is different from mine.

Many boomers are faced with the reality that we can no longe ignore the racism in our society. Some double down on long held prejudices and harmful ideology. Some insist they are not racist while upholding systems in place that limit the potential of our neighbors of color. Some, like me will be thankful for the space to learn and grow.

I thought it was good that I never considered race when meeting or interacting with people. But it was only good for me, because being ignorant about race and color is accepting the systemic racism that is part of our American culture. In the aftermath of the George Floyd murder, and the media coverage of the Black Lives Matter movement, I am becoming more aware of the racism surrounding me and more sensitive to how that affects people of color.

I am fortunate to be taking a class learning about digital media offered by Dr. Stacey Patton. My daugher who follows Dr. Patton on twitter shared a link with me where I signed up for the class. 300 students were enrolled and we began a Zoom journey together to learn how to manage a blog on Word Press. It was timely for me because just weeks before I started a blog on Word Press. I didn’t have any experience and didn’t know how to proceed. I could only add ‘New post’. Now I have learned to embed videos and sound tracks. Next week I will be creating a timeline of my own life.

While I appreciate learning about the technology that will help me with my blog, I feel that the greater value is in the community and fellowship of the other creatives in class. It is a new experience for me to be in the minority where I am one of a handful of white students amid a majority of people of color. I am immersed in a class of people who are the same as me and different from me. We are the same because we share a common interest. We are different because we experience racism in different ways.

The assignments we are given are creative and meant to teach us about technology. The topics are personal and we choose them ourselves. This is where I feel uncomfortable, privileged and frivolous. My life experiences feel normal to me; entertaining and fun. When I look at many of the other submissions, I see something more. I see people being vulnerable about themselves, their lives and experiences. I see pain and anger and activism and advocacy. I see real people dealing with real trauma that is happening in the same spaces where I live but that I don’t experience. And maybe that is why I scratch the surface in my writing, so I don’t have to deal with the hard problem of racism.

I want my classmates to know that while I do not experience the same difficulties, I have experienced some difficulties in my life, and that creates a bridge of empathy. I want to share with you the things that make us the same so we can laugh and enjoy each other. I want to learn about the things that make us different so I can understand what you need and how I can help you get that.

My heart is full of love, even when my actions have fallen short. My mind is full of ideas, even when I have not said them out loud. I am starting where I am, with what I have, doing what I can. I am a Digital Media Bawse in progress. Bear with me, I’m growing.

Class with a Digital Media Bawse by Sheri LeClair Banitt

I am so fortunate that I was chosen to take a free Digital Storytelling Workshop Series with Dr. Stacey Patton. She is also a Generosity Bawse and I am so appreciative of the help she is offering.

My blog site is already set up but I barely know how to use it, so I am looking forward to what I can learn. This is a super fun workshop and Stacey has shown 208 people how to set up a free site on WordPress and had us all write a first post including a fancy, dancy hyperlink.

I love the beginner friendly tone of instruction. We were on a Zoom call and could see each other as we worked through the steps. Stacey was very patient and took the time to stop and answer questions as well as share her screens to help work through troubles. She encouraged other participants to help each other and every question was answered with a sincere desire for success.

My daughter is visiting today and was sitting quietly while I took the workshop. She is a first grade teacher who has just gone through distance learning with 25 littles. As folks chimed in with questions, she chuckled periodically and said, “She has more patience than I do”. That’s a lot of patience, Stacey! You are truly a Bawse of many trades.

We learned how to embed a video and a gif.

What Shall I Be? aka I Need Your Help by Sheri LeClair Banitt

Hello Millennial Boomers! I hope you’ve had a happy day. Mine was great considering all day yesterday I thought it was Thursday. I sent out my Thursday emails and everything. Only found out I had it wrong when I sat down to emails this morning and realized it was still Thursday. I’m not really sure if that was an actual ‘Senior Moment’, or a lapse in focus from too many emails. Either way, I made it through the day with all my emails and started planning for tomorrow.

Now that I have the bones in place, I need to flesh out this blog. That’s where you come in. I need help making this a fun place to spend a bit of time. I will learn about adding pages and cool formatting and such. But first, I would like to know what you’d find interesting.

Here’s my ideas:

Share random stories that highlight the fun and folly of getting older in a younger world. work, family, friends, finances, health

Discuss age-related topics in a respectful, uplifting way.

Share old-timey pictures of fun stuff people don’t do anymore.

Links to stuff that is interesting – your ideas here.

The truth is, I could ramble on and on about nothing for a looong time. In fact, I might do that sometimes. But I also have to ask myself, “What would Oprah do?” I’m not exactly sure because I don’t really follow Oprah, but I think she would tell me to do what I love, celebrate who I am, focus on where I want to be and get going.

With that sentiment, I am going to continue like it’s Thursday and focus on this blog until I get it right!

Leave your ideas in the comments please!

Beginning in the Middle by Sheri LeClair Banitt

Spent a bit of time tonight trying to figure out what I had done to this website that was making it inaccessible. Who knows? Actually, who even cares? Just make it work, right? Turns out they have Support to help me with that. In just a few short minutes, the website was fixed and all is well.

So this is the world we live in. We often know what we want to do, but have no idea how to do it. If you want to know the secrets, you have to learn and study and practice your craft. Such is the world of technology.

I think it is confusing to an old beginner like me because I don’t want to start at the beginning. I want to start my blogging journey at the end, with the professional bloggers. I want to produce the finished product without taking the time to know the ingredients. Adult learners do not have the patience of young learners. Millennial techies played with computers, internet, smart phones and such the way Boomers played cards, board games, and neighborhood outdoor games. Young people know technology and old people know people.

Many young people seem to have anxiety and discomfort in social situations and being with people. I think it’s because they are trying to start at the end, where everything is figured out and it all works the way they imagine it should be. But relationships take time, practice, error and diligence. You have to spend time being with people and weaving your way through failure and success. What you end up learning is that the best relationships are never perfect. There is no need for perfection; just a desire for meaningful human interaction.

I am going to stop trying to approach technology at the end. I am going to embrace the unknown and learn the ingredients of a successful blog without agonizing over the mistakes along the way. But I really don’t have time to start at the beginning. This world is moving too fast for that. I am going to try beginning in the middle and asking my Millennial friends for help when I get stuck. We all need to call Support sometimes.