Guest Blog – Southern, Gay, and Grown: A Look Into My Ties to D&I

The Zoom call had ended, but the sensation of extreme exposure still lingered. And, predictably, all the repressed feelings of shame, fear, and guilt flooded in. She said it with such a cavalier attitude; This might not be a culture fit. They’re very traditional, and you seem fun. You’re just fun, and they aren’t. That’s why this isn’t going to work.

It wasn’t two weeks ago that she was singing a completely different tune, praising the writing materials I had submitted for the prompt, insisting they were anxious to meet me. She said they’d been looking for a candidate for months and that I checked off all the boxes.

I was crushed, but not surprised.