Last night I went out with a college friend of mine whom I hadn't seen in way too long (entirely my fault, but that's another story). She's currently working in a Teach-for-America-style program, stationed in a class of emotionally troubled kids in Harlem. It's challenging, she admits, but rewarding, and it has taught her a lot about empathy...and about authenticity. These kids live in the moment, and if in that moment you're not being real, they'll see right through it and tear you to shreds.
It got me thinking. Really, what does it mean to be authentic?
Social media is the same way. The first rule of online interactions is that you've got to be real. The minute you become nothing more than a brand, or a mouthpiece, or spam, you turn people off.
How, then, do you negotiate the space between revealing nothing and revealing too much?
With Stereo Sinai, I often wear these funky colored wigs in concert. On the one hand, it's my little twist on the already somewhat bizarre tradition of Orthodox women wearing sheitels to cover one's hair. On the other hand, it's kind of a commentary on real vs. fake. Stereo Sinai performs pop - the most synthetic music around. We sing in biblical Hebrew, a language rich with meaning. Putting them together, I think, pushes the boundaries and forces questions and to what's really real, what's authentic.
Being real, being true to ourselves and others, is something we all are (or should be) struggling with. It's an ongoing process, and not one with a definable product.
What kinds of questions do you ask about authenticity? How do you keep it real?
It got me thinking. Really, what does it mean to be authentic?
Social media is the same way. The first rule of online interactions is that you've got to be real. The minute you become nothing more than a brand, or a mouthpiece, or spam, you turn people off.
How, then, do you negotiate the space between revealing nothing and revealing too much?
With Stereo Sinai, I often wear these funky colored wigs in concert. On the one hand, it's my little twist on the already somewhat bizarre tradition of Orthodox women wearing sheitels to cover one's hair. On the other hand, it's kind of a commentary on real vs. fake. Stereo Sinai performs pop - the most synthetic music around. We sing in biblical Hebrew, a language rich with meaning. Putting them together, I think, pushes the boundaries and forces questions and to what's really real, what's authentic.
Being real, being true to ourselves and others, is something we all are (or should be) struggling with. It's an ongoing process, and not one with a definable product.
What kinds of questions do you ask about authenticity? How do you keep it real?
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