“Kansas is a place I couldn’t fckn wait to leave growing up. And I did leave, the first chance I got after college.”
This statement launched my “Kansas Is” speech when it was my turn to present during a Leadership Kansas adventure this year. I’m sure it was shocking to some, either that I opened with a negative or that I used some explicit language, or both. I wasn’t going for shock value, though. I just needed to be real.
I’ve spent a decade doing my best to live authentically and combatting “Kansas Nice”. I refuse to speak hollow platitudes and niceties just because they’re palatable. They lack the depth of feeling and it’s too easy for them to be used as a protective mask for what’s genuine. Turns out, I really no longer know how to pretend to be anything other than REAL.
The chuckles and nods I saw from some of my classmates on the bus, all facing me from their seats while I stood awkwardly at the front with a microphone, told me I wasn’t alone. That was all the support I needed to not sugarcoat the rest. For the next few minutes, I stood, vulnerably facing about 40 people, and hit the main points of what I’ve captured here:
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