Created and hosted by the Ninja himself, Alex J. Cavanaugh, the Insecure Writers Support Group posts the 1st Wednesday of every month. Click here to learn more or sign up.
Optional Monthly Question: Describe someone you admired when you were a child. Did your opinion of that person change when you grew up?
My answer is also available as a YouTube Short I’ve shared on social media.
So for me, this was kind of a difficult question. I think I’ve always looked up to the adults in my family, and those throughout my family history. It’s hard for me to pinpoint whether or not there was someone specific, outside of my family that I admired; however, I know there are so many noteworthy historical figures that I’ve learned about throughout my life. They cover many facets, like, science, politics, literature, and entertainment. I’m human, like everyone else, so I have different people that I prefer over others in terms of celebrities and public figures.
I think for me though, what it boils down to is that growing up in Texas meant that I had Texas history. When I was around 11 or 12, I moved to Virginia and I started getting Virginia history. There are a lot of similarities but the most resounding thing that sticks out to me, is how a lot of the figures that I was taught as a child were so great and noble, as an adult I’ve learned that they’re not so great and noble. Some of them I learned about before I was even an adult. So much of history is based upon where you’re getting it who you’re getting it from. So while these people may have done a lot for their communities, what they did was based on greed and oppression and suppression.
So, there’s no one person, but there are a lot of people that I may have admired as a child that I don’t admire anymore, but there are a lot that I do still admire.
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Personal Updates…
1) Here’s a post you may have missed where I give an update about my Mark of Bletsian series.
2) I’ve moved my personal updates over to Patreon. Anyone can access this post because it’s public. And though it requires a one-time login, so does Substack. In any case, my feelings will not be hurt if no one is willing to click through.
I’d love to grow my Patreon community to 100 free subscribers by 2026, but I’d also be happy with one more than I currently have. It is what it is.
My Patreon community was able to watch my Counting My Blessings video three days early, but now its public if you’d like to see it and don’t want to go to Patreon. There’s also a short for it, in case the full video is too long for you.
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Commerce update…
If you’re interested in the featured item or other clothing, click to visit Sell My Tees.
I’m happy that people are starting to show interest in my merch. The stickers of this design have been doing well. It also comes in white letters on a black background. It’s the only thing I currently have that’s selling. The stickers and other accessories can be found at Redbubble.
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Do you still admire someone you did as a child?
It may take some time, but I promise, I will eventually stop by your blog.
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After hanging out with Alex, be sure to stop by and visit this month’s co-hosts:
Rebecca Douglass,
Beth Camp,
Liza @ Middle Passages,
and Natalie @ Literary Rambles!
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Click here to visit other IWSG blogs and sites to receive and share more inspiration and support. (This month, I’m #23).
Did you know you can join my community for FREE over at Patreon to receive a monthly update on the creative projects I’m working on? I tell you the truth, it’s better than a newsletter!
Thank you for making it this far down the virtual page. Kudos to you! I’d love to know what you thought of this post in the comments below. Stay safe and be blessed.
20 replies on “#IWSG Jan. 2025- Who did you admire as a kid?”
Many historical figures weren’t as admirable as they seemed, but some of that is a reflection of the time. Just shows that no one is perfect.
Yes. I don’t think there’s anything wrong with seeing the good and bad people have done. It keeps us all grounded.
Do you have a LinkTree (free) set up for all your various platforms? It might make it easier for people to then sign-up where they want to follow you. Add the link to all your social media for people to find and follow. (I have mine on Instagram if you’d like to check it out.)
Thanks for the great review of my book — even if you mangled my name. LOL. It was a lovely surprise to start the day with.
Ronel visiting for IWSG day An Author’s Goals for 2025
Thanks, Ronel. I do have Linktree. I have it on Insta, FB, and pretty much everywhere. I really did enjoy your book.
I’ve thought about Patreon, but I decide to start with Ko-fi. I made the decision based on doing commission art and fees. Though I haven’t started doing commissions yet.
That’s cool. I follow a few artists there. Thanks for stopping by.
I follow a couple groups and Patreon – I’ll go follow you, too.
Thank you. I really appreciate that.
Oh, yeah. So much of the history we were taught as kids was bull (and I’m older than you so you can imagine how much worse it was then). And just about everyone was a lot more nuanced than we were led to believe, at the least.
Yeah, I don’t mind pointing out the good people do, but let’s also acknowledge the bad as a way to say “let’s not make these mistakes.” I really think we need to diminish the “celebrity” concept. Not get rid of it, but stop putting people up on pedestals they are bound to fall off.
I totally get what you mean about how we may have admired historical figures in the past but not anymore.
Yeah, it’s good that times change and improve, but too often we try to hide the past instead of sharing it and learning from it.
Humans are flawed. In a way, I sometimes find it reassuring to know that the “great” historical figures I learned about in school were not perfect.
I agree to a certain extent. I don’t think there would be anything wrong with just saying up front “this person did a lot of good but they also did some bad.” My reflection is based on people I was never told did bad things until later in life because “people” didn’t want that person to look bad or they wanted to pretend like it wasn’t a big deal.
I purposely didn’t choose a famous person because all of them have flaws – just like regular people do – but some of their flaws seem just as huge as their accomplishments, so I get what you mean.
Sorry I missed so many updates, but I’m headed over to Patreon now. 🙂
I don’t have a problem with people having flaws, I have a problem with trying to hide flaws or give the impression that the flaws didn’t happen or aren’t important be the person was a celebrity/public figure etc… Thanks for joining me over at Patreon.
Thank you for a fascinating reflection on how our views of who we admire change as we learn more about them! I’m still inspired by so many. Maybe it’s okay to put aside some of the darker realities, for I need hope for now and the future. And thank you for visiting my blog as well. Have a good new year and continued good productivity!!!!
Thanks for the well wishes. Here’s to hope for the future!
Thanks for commenting on my blog post for #IWSG.
When I get discouraged by the flaws of the people we’d like to be able to look up to, I can always turn to the fictional characters I admire.
I like that perspective. There are many fictional characters I admire.