Birthdays. Reagan. And the Future of Work.
I was born on a cold and snowy day in December. December 10th, 1980, to be precise.
It’s about to be my 43rd birthday.
I remember my mom telling me early on that the timing of my birth felt auspicious to her. December 10th 1980, was inside the brief window of time after Ronald Reagan had been elected to his first term as U.S. president, but before he was sworn in (January 20, 1981).
Jimmy Carter was still technically in office, although at that point, a lame duck. The Iran Hostage crisis of that same era loomed large for 444 days. And this former actor whose wife loved planning her days via her astrologer was about to step onto the national scene.
Also big in international cultural news, John Lennon, famed peace activist and member of the Beatles, was assassinated by a lone gunman December 8, 1980. I don’t totally know what I believe about the universe and souls – but I do find it interesting when some souls leave just as others are becoming earthbound.
Last piece of birthday trivia is that I was born 150 years to the day after Emily Dickenson. I don’t know what that does or could mean. But on Apple TV during the pandemic, I certainly did binge both seasons of “Dickenson” featuring Hailee Steinfeld, as Emily Dickenson, Jane Krakowski as her mother, and Wiz Khalifa who played the part of Death. I highly recommend!
So, December 10th, 1980.
It was a heavy time.
It’s never not.
It also felt like a time with a lot of hope for the future.
That’s often true, too.
My birthday nostalgia makes me think about the era we’re in now, and the era my people have lived through thus far. I had one grandma born in 1905. My dad was born in 1945. And my nieces started coming on the scene in 2010. No matter what era we were each born into – we had our proverbial hands full.
For me, the 1980s was punctuated with memories of bright colors, big hair, and major technological advances. I recall thinking that the brand-new car phone bolted to the floor of my dad’s Oldsmobile was so cool! Whenever I sat in the middle seat, often squished between him and my sister on a Saturday morning while we drove to the Super America gas station for $0.29 raised glazed donuts – I had to be careful not to accidentally kick the phone off the receiver with my feet.
So, here we are. It’s 2023 and I’m about to turn 43.
Not all the people I have loved made it to this age, so I’m primarily feeling grateful, lucky, and yes – also a little creaky ;)
For a while now, I’ve been feeling called to write again. Alfonso and I completed Hiring Revolution in 2021. So, it’s been a couple years.
Although some other books are stirring somewhere deep inside, I’ve been wanting to try something different. I’d like to try essays. Writing on one topic, or about one tool at a time.
My calling continues to feel clear - digging deep on race, gender, and the American workplace. I am endlessly fascinated by work and culture in the U.S. The future of what work is, what it means, and how it fits into our lives is – once again – up for debate.
If I was a sociologist or anthropologist, the nexus of my area of study would be racism + sexism + colonialism + capitalism AND community, wholeness, vocation, purpose, and impact.
I’m itching to put pen to paper, fingers to keyboard, to find out if I can make a contribution.
My plan, as of this moment, is to write and share a weekly essay for 52 weeks in a row. One full year. I’d appreciate you being my accountability buddy :)
I’ve been watching a lot of stand-up comedy lately – it soothes me after long days ruminating on various inequities. And a comedian I like described everything he does as a “self-assignment.” And that’s part of what makes it so hard. No one is demanding that he write jokes. No one is forcing him to observe his surroundings and then repackage those as stories that make other people laugh. It’s all self-assignment. Well, so is this. My essay project is self-imposed - it’s a self-assignment. Ultimately, I hope these essays will add value to important conversation at what is yet another important time.
Every Thursday, for 52 weeks, I will share some current thoughts in essay form. I will also post snippets on LinkedIn (www.linkedin.com/in/trina-c-olson-9646303). I’ve got a friend willing to teach me how to use Substack – so that may join the party at some point along the way.
As creator and filmmaker Van Neistat said in an eleven minute and fifteen second video entitled “Why Veteran Artists Don’t Quit,” featuring his friend and mentor, the prolific artist, Tom Sachs, the difference between the probationary artist and the veteran artist is that they “commit to making the thing.”
So this is me – I’m committed to making this thing. My commitment to you is that next week I’m going to finish and share an essay about expectations and resentment in the American workplace.
Stay tuned and much love,