Milestones – Wednesday Blog by Seán Thomas Kane
Today it’s my birthday. So, some words about milestones.
It’s not often that my birthday lines up with a Wednesday, in fact except for this one circumstance the occurrence of my birthday on a Wednesday would hold no significance, unless I happened to find myself in a Wednesday afternoon camel ride to mark midweek. Yet baring a visit to the Sahara in one of those often photographed camel rides, or better yet a visit from the rare descendant of Hadji Ali’s camels in the Arizona desert, a Wednesday birthday has no significance to me.
In most years, I can expect what will occur in the coming year, where I’ll go, who I’ll see, what I’ll do, and where I’ll work in the coming year. This year now ending was in one part predictable and in another surprising. I returned to Kansas City expecting to speak at conferences in Puerto Rico, Europe, and across the United States during the first year of my thirties. Yet I didn’t expect to work at the Kauffman Center, let alone that I’d possibly find myself teaching middle school history and geography full time. This year now ending held a great many surprises for me, which I embraced as unexpected turns in the road.
This birthday is also significant in that it coincides with my last day in that middle school position. Today marks the end of the first semester, or the second quarter as we’re officially calling it. I have many mixed emotions about my decision to leave this role, there are parts of teaching these classes that I loved, and the people are charming. Still, my 31st birthday feels like one that will come and go without much fanfare. Perhaps I’ll take some quiet time to myself in between leaving my desk at midday and the usual birthday festivities in the evening and relax, something I haven’t done much of lately.
The thing I’ve learned most over this past year is that I’m more resilient than I’ve traditionally given myself credit for. In spite of the trials that I’ve put myself through each year I find a way to rebound and redouble my efforts and to rise above the trouble I’ve put myself in. This year is the perfect example of this; while I didn’t accomplish all I hoped to do as a thirty year old, I still achieved a great deal. Working in two intensely public roles has brought my gregarious side out far more than before. In past years I could be outgoing and even bubbly from time to time, yet often my doubts and fears kept me quiet as a church mouse in public, preferring my own counsel over others, and stumbling over my words trying to impress the people around me.
I realized in high school that a great tool I could use to get my point across was humor. If my audience would laugh with me then they would be able to connect with me directly. The first problem to solve in public speaking is figuring out how to speak to your public, how to get your message across. I’ve continued to use humor to do this, to varying effect. Yet relying on one technique without exploring more options can fashion a tool into a crutch and prove limiting.
As much as I enjoy making jokes, and love getting laughs, I’ve grown as a professional and found that my work is beginning to speak for itself without the need to frame it in jokes and gags. I may find life to be humorous in our human complexity and folly, yet this doesn’t feel like the day to praise our innate charm. There will certainly be another.
Wednesday Blog by Seán Thomas Kane 