This past weekend I went to the Type A Parent Conference for the first time. I had heard such great things about previous Type A conferences that it was a must do for me. While I was expecting a wonderful conference, I had no idea what I was getting!
There were so many awesome sessions that taught me so much (and so many I didn’t have time to go to)! Lynnette Radio taught a great session on Goggle+. Melanie Nelson blew my mind on maximizing my Facebook pages. There was some awesome knowledge that was passed on! Knowledge that calls for action! In some cases that pushed me to considering action that left me emotional. To the point that in the Speaking Engagement class it left me on the brink of tears. But that wasn’t the most powerful part for me….
In the days and weeks before leaving for Type A I have felt like I am in a hard place in some of my “real life” relationships at home. So when I walked into this environment of understanding and acceptance, I was overwhelmed. I was a little emotionally overwhlemed to be in an environment where people just get me. Not that we are all the same by no means! But an environment where differences are cherished and the fact that we, as bloggers(or what it is that makes us odd bloggers), often seem on the outside looking binds us together.
I have never quite gotten over being a loser in grade school so I was nervous about how I would be accepted beyond my friends like Anne and Robyn. I mean, granted I had met quite a few people at other conference before but I was sure they wouldn’t remember me or care to talk to me. But as I met new people and reconnected with people I met before (or talked to on Twitter) I was more and more at ease. And I have to emphasize that it isn’t because we are all the same! We are all from different religions, geek levels, political views, the whole gamut. It seems like acceptance was based on merely being nice! And while you just need to be nice, they all seem to value your weird and quirky interests even if they don’t share them! Imagine!
It was so hard to leave all my new friends, partially because they are so great but also because I am left with a frustrating conudrum. I don’t understand why. Why do these twitter/conferences friend that I have just met make me feel so accepted yet the people in my day to day life just don’t seem to get me? They think I have weird interests and that I am weird, nice but weird, able to do things but weird, really just kind of odd.
Oh well, BlogHer is in a month. And as soon as Type A Parent Conference passes are on sale for 2013 I will be buying 1. And until then I will continue to live on Twitter and with my virtual friends…
Jackie, It was great to meet you at Type-A. I’m glad to have found a new friend.
I told you that you would love Type-A! One of the biggest parts of that at ease feeling is that, as a whole, I think the women that attend these conferences tend to be fairly open minded while still being firm in their own convictions. We are not afraid to speak our opinion, even when it differs from others, but at the same time we will sit and listen intently when others give their opinion as well. Plus we all understand the need to check our smartphones, have our heads down at the keyboard, and to speak a geek talk that many in the outside world still don’t get. This group also tends to be far above average in intelligence I think also. While some may have struggled being the brainiac in other settings – here it is applauded!
Jackie, it was a pleasure to meet you & thank you again for the dinner invite. I enjoyed talking with you and hope to get to know you better. I understand where you are coming from with feeling better understood and more accepted by other bloggers, because my family and friends still don’t get me. They think it is “cool” but many of them really don’t have a clue what I do or how hard I work at it or why I do it. So it is great to be with others who are in it and understand it and know the ups, downs, joys and frustrations we go through and that for many of us it really is a “job”, no matter how many friends and family think it is just a little “hobby”.
I look forward to seeing you again at BlogHer!
I’m so happy you had suh a great experience! It was a fantastic weekend. I feel much the same way about the connections. It’s just so EASY to be with blogging friends!
Jackie, you are an amazing woman! Your totally NOT weird. I wish I could “get” how to blog….I totally think you have an amazing talent. Sorry I’ve never left comments…I am just so computerly dumb.
I’m going back to Type A next year. I hope it stayed in Charlotte.
Thanks for being such a fun roommate. I’ll see you at BlogHer next month!