Snowflake-itis

People remark that I’m easy to talk to. Personally, I’ve always taken pride in that fact. I like the fact that people open up to me. I like to help, even if it’s just to listen. But a byproduct of being easy to talk to is that people also say some strange things. Long after the conversation ends, the strange items people have dropped at my feet remain in my possession. It’s my absolute favorite collection.

One such strange comment was from a man 20 – 30 years older to me who stated children of the 80’s were all taught to be “delicate snowflakes”. (This was prior to the lovely new addition of incels into our national government.) He went on to explain that children of the eighties were all raised to feel special. He scoffed at the idea, and the generation, and walked away. Conversation concluded.

Am I Special?

I have been trying to drum up some freelance work. Today, I got a new bite – a potential editing job. They wanted me to take a whack on a test project and sent over the files.

The incredibly simplistic sentence structure… The repetitive word choices… The strange, unrelated sentences… The fact that the company name was nowhere on the first sheet… What I faced when I reviewed the test files made me suddenly truly understand that what I do is both difficult and valuable.

Within two hours of receiving the file, I had put together a rough draft of an editing job. I refined the sentences to be both easy to read and eloquent. I replaced repeated words with SAT-worthy adjectives. I strongly suggested their company name be clearly displayed in the graphics. I followed up by incorporating the name into the small amount of rewriting I allowed myself to do.

I could have gone on and would have liked to, but I reminded myself that they were not paying for this time. And that taking a softer approach would probably be better than to say “I could write this so much better. Tell me more about the brand. Describe the audience. Let’s design a marketing scheme.” I forced myself to stay within very strict boundaries and returned the edited document, with visible edits, to demonstrate my general evaluation. If they wanted more intense work, we could discuss my rate.

Let’s Not Forget

It can be easy to forget that not everyone can do what you can do. I have been hesitant to apply to some jobs due to insecurity! What I have passed up on? Not everyone is capable of crafting a phrase. Not everyone can see the way a brand has to tie around everything like a bow. Now everyone is excited to build a website. Not everyone truly enjoys pivot tables.

We all have gifts and talents that are unique and valuable. We all have something to offer. We are all special. Whether you’re a child of the 80’s or not.