“Kansas is a place I couldn’t fckn wait to leave growing up. And I did leave, the first chance I got after college.”
I launched my Kansas Is “speech” with this statement when it was my turn to present during a Leadership Kansas adventure. I’m sure it was shocking to some, either that I opened with a negative or that I used some explicit language, or both, but being provocative wasn’t my intention. I just needed to be real.
After more than a decade doing my best to live authentically and combatting “Kansas Nice” which requires not speaking palatable platitudes that ring hollow and act as a protective mask for what’s genuine, I really don’t know how to pretend to be anything other than REAL. The laughs and nods I saw told me I wasn’t alone, so I didn’t sugarcoat the rest either and continued, hitting the main points in a condensed version of what I’ve captured here:
Read More →