The cost of genunity

Dear reader,

I was chatting with one colleague about being genuine and not a fake. I concede, it is hard to be a genuine person.

Basically it involves surrendering one's mask and outward appearance for people to know the real person inside. The benefits include building trust among students and colleagues.

But the fact is there is a cost to it. Being genuine puts us in a place of vulnerability where we may feel uncomfortable because it can be used against us. Will people really like the real you?

That is why sometimes I feel I am the biggest fake of all.

Whose side are you on?

Dear reader,

Sometimes in the workplace I do not know what to do. When my students want me to take sides, how neutral can I be?

It is far too easy to take the populist side and ignore the cries of the discriminated. Yet it is equally dangerous to help the alleged oppressed without getting the full details.

I pray for wisdom to do what is right, and not what is instinctive or popular.