Awareness « maternalmedia

I received unbelievable news earlier this week from the top-ranking female administrator in athletics at my collegiate alma mater. She called to let me know I will be receiving the school’s Leader for Life award on May 3, an honor that she herself had received in 2007.

To say I was caught off guard is an understatement. In fact, I believe my immediate reaction went something along the lines of, “Seriously?! I thought people had forgotten who I was after I had kids.”

This annual award is given to an individual whose actions have made a lasting impact on women’s sports at Creighton University.

I don’t know why, but hearing this news made me flash back to my senior year of college when a teammate of mine thanked me for everything I did for her. She confessed that she didn’t know if she would have made it through the softball program had it not been for me. I looked at her dumbfounded, completely caught off guard.

She has no idea, but that remains one of the best compliments I have ever received.

I didn’t really think about what I wanted to become post-college other than a wife and a mom (those roles I knew for sure). I was fortunate to secure a job in a field that fit my educational strengths. I could easily answer the question, “What am I good at?” but never paused to ask myself, “What inspires me?” Over the years, I’ve discovered there is a vast difference between those two questions and finding an answer to the latter has become more important to me.

So upon hearing that a committee voted me to be the recipient of an award for having a lasting impact, I felt truly humbled. It solidifies my belief that I am inspired when I can make a connection with people. It reminds me to take the time to thank those who have rallied behind me to help me become the person I am today.

Earlier this year, I asked my boys to build their “walls of importance,” which simply are poster boards that they’ve glued pictures and written words on to symbolize what is most important in their lives. I built one too.

Things I've done that make me happy and people I love who make me complete.

We went through this exercise to remind ourselves that whatever we place on those boards are the things/people we value the most. The boards also serve as a visual reminder to avoid those situations in life that might jeopardize what is important to us.

To quote Oprah, “What I know for sure is that you feel real joy in direct proportion to how connected you are to living your truth.” I don’t think I’m living my truth 100 percent yet, but I’m getting there slowly and surely.

If you care to share, leave a comment about what inspires you.

What started out as a fun hobby between best friends has grown into a passion that now seems impossible for me to repress. Melissa and I’s first co-blog debuted in April 2009, branded with a name that no one could remember (marketing 101)… http://tsibananas.blogspot.com. We boasted 15 devout followers and were overwhelmed by fan mail.

In December 2009, we were chosen to be part of a team of mom bloggers for the Omaha World-Herald’s momaha.com, a social networking site “where moms connect.” We submitted our applications jointly and asked the editor to either take us both on or reject us as a pair. Fortunately, she chose the former and we’ve been blogging for the site ever since.

A radio deal followed in January 2011 that gave us the opportunity to chat every Thursday morning on the Pat&JT Show on Q98.5 FM. Later that year, I got paired up with a local dance professional and competed in “Dance for a Chance,” representing momaha.com and raising money for Youth Emergency Services. It was on the night of the actual dance competition when a light clicked on in my brain. The social media channels I was part of (namely blogging and Facebook at the time) allowed me to raise awareness and a crazy amount of money for charity.

I realized then and there that social media involves more than sharing status updates and laughs. It is about building a community. A community of people who share your same interests and take your word for it if you say something is worth backing.

I just returned from the 5th annual social media for PR and communications conference last week in Vegas and my head is still buzzing. It was there when I heard one of the speakers say that, when it comes to social media, content is no longer king; context is. Yes, we have to continue to write well. But we must be extra mindful of how we are delivering our message because we are tapping into our reader’s already limited space. And if we aren’t relevant, there is a whole slew of competing messages that can snatch up our spot.

It is my goal with this site to be relevant in that sacred space of time I have with the reader.

Maternal Media is a phrase I’ve coined to describe the power and influence of moms in the social media landscape. You need not be a mom to participate in this blog.

Archives For November 30, 1999

Ever ask yourself, “What inspires me?”

It’s about time I visited your sacred space

Follow Blog via Email

FUN GAME: Insert word or phrase below. See if I’ve written about it.

Categories

Archives