They Want to Hear Your Voice!
By Ry, Aka
RHATH
G’day folks, Ry here.
I've got a little blog post for you, and it’s the first one I’m writing, so let's see how we go! We weren’t sure exactly what we were going to do with the blog, but I thought I’d kick things off with a…. get ready…. think piece. Just what you wanted, I know.
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A thought that has sat uneasily on my mind and that of many other mates of mine who create has been, “Does anyone actually want to hear from me?” or “Are any of my stories worth telling”. Classic, self doubt. Fear putting your thoughts and feelings out there. Nothing new.
But it’s something I’ve thought a lot about and talked a few friends through, specifically when it comes to poetry. We all speak, write, and articulate our thoughts differently. At poetry nights, I fluctuate between being enthralled and completely zoning out. Even with poets that other people are captivated by. And I certainly know that my writing is going to resonate with a certain audience and not others. It's not a crazy revelation; it's pretty obvious.
However, I think that simple observation lends itself to the self permission we have to give ourselves to create and to tell stories. We tell the same stories over and over again. We have very similar experiences as millions or billions of other people around the world. But to hear a story, perhaps as simple as triumphing through an internal struggle of self doubt for example, from a voice that resonates with you, is the key you need. Marvel movies aren’t cutting it for a lot of people. Just as some wank lyrically dense song about heartbreak might be utterly off putting to many, the pop song on the same subject is how they need to hear that message.
I would say my advice for myself to follow, which I often poorly do, is to flip the narrative in my head.
If millions or billions of people are talking about the same thing and telling the same stories over and over again, then people want to hear those things over and over again. Perhaps exploring these simple ideas is not about being ground breaking but about maintenance. Setting your mind in the right direction once again after being consumed by, oh, I don’t know, capitalism or something.
If you’ve thought something, someone else has thought it too. And writing about it in your way of speaking will allow yourself to be seen by them, and show them they’re seen. It gets the thoughts that we all can be consumed by onto the page or into a song, and out of our heads. On to the next one.
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Writing this has conjured the same stupid fears in my head, that this is not worth putting out there. I’m not saying anything particularly profound here. But to take my own advice, if I’m thinking it, someone else is thinking it. And maybe hearing it from me works for you, maybe you need to hear it again from someone else.
Keep making shit, it’s fun and liberating. You never know who is hearing your messages and stories that NEEDED to hear them from you, right at that moment.
If any of this resonated with you, leave your thoughts in the comments below and we’ll respond in a future podcast episode!
-Ry
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Graphics by Rhath
