Hello New Friends!

[howdidufindmehere]

Thanks to everyone who found me in the "add me" community! I really appreciate it, and your comments were all the kinds that I really missed back in the good old days of Live Journal. I also appreciate everyone who read and commented on my sad first entry. I've been in a kind of transformative process for the last few years and I'm still figuring quite a few things out.

A bit more about me:

I teach drawing and painting full time at a state university in Pennsylvania. I arrived there two years ago after 18 years at another state university where I taught art history, which I loved. I love teaching studio art too, but I kinda miss art history. (I don't have a PhD, which is a thing my current university wants for Art History). I don't miss the administrative mess that was my former employer.

I am a witch. I was part of a rather large Trad for a number of decades. I was very active with them, but found the structure had become restricting (for me) and I wanted to be more open to pursue my art and writing. I am also married and polyamorous and part of a quad.

Facebook can be fun, but there are too many family members, current and former students and coworkers there, and I wanted to find a place where I could safely be myself. I am out of the broom closet all the way, not quite all the way out of the poly closet. (Frankly I wouldn't care if people knew if I was poly, but I also don't want my life to be a distraction in the classroom, if that makes sense).

I'm also wanting to be relatively anonymous because I'm still working on processing a lot of the things that went on when I was in my previous trad. Recovery from narcissistic abuse, recovery from cult-y thinking, stuff like that.

I am recently diagnosed with ADD and I'm learning how to navigate that at my advanced age. It does indeed manifest differently in women then it does with men.

What else? I'm really really into the Qabala, I love studying magickal systems. I'm currently reading a lot of Damien Echols' and Jason Miller's books. I am listening to a number of podcasts, especially ones that deal with recovery from narcissistic abuse and cults. I'm still trying to figure out if I actually was in a cult.

My mood tends towards optimism. I think sometimes I am too intense for people as my optimism kinda borders on Ted Lasso levels most of the time.

Thanks for being here. I soooo appreciate this platform and thanks for reading!

Comments

Re: Thoughts

[ysabetwordsmith]

>> I actually met Isaac Bonewits back in the day <<

I got to meet him too, back when I was editing PanGaia. He was a sweet guy. If I remember right, I was trying to talk him into letting me reprint "Cats Against Civilization."

>> and I know his little table of culti-ness, which is one of the things that led me to questioning stuff. I've become fairly educated since then and trying to pay attention mostly to what is going on.<<

That's good.

>> Thanks for the ADD info. I have two more weeks of this semester and then I will have a lot more time to do deep dives into stuff.<<

Almost done! :D

Oh, something else I forgot to mention -- you're at a university, so check their clubs. Some have an inclusivity or disability activism club, and those are often good places to meet other people who are figuring out how to work with the brain they have. Art or other creative clubs are also worth considering, basically anywhere with a high proportion of unusual folks.

Re: Thoughts

[howdidufindmehere]

Our school is really awesome regarding Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion, although it is a little different being on the faculty side of things. I also live an hour away from the university - I was hired last year because the art major closed down at my last university, so I'm still finding my way around things. I'm not sure how students feel about faculty being involved in their clubs without being the faculty advisors. I teach drawing and painting, and again - the art clubs are more for the students, who seem weirded out if faculty try to relate to them too closely, or engage in spaces that they feel are private for students.