111422 — Blog — Rulerless

What people get wrong about imposter syndrome

I don’t remember when I started hearing about it, but soon I started hearing about it everywhere.

Suddenly, imposter syndrome was the thing, even though the term has been around since the 1970s. So many people in my circle were writing about it, talking about it, and apparently suffering from it.

However, I have observed a distortion in our collective discussions about imposter syndrome. People are using the label to describe feelings of insecurity about their inexperience or lack of qualifications.

Casey von NeumannNovember 9, 2022111422, 012423Comment

The unapologetic schoolmarm

As many women do, I found myself recently in one of those cocktail party conversations that I didn’t realize until later that I could have ended much sooner.

I was working to maintain a comfortable distance from my conversation partner, who had apparently been drinking heavily. Unconsciously, he closed the distance every time until he had backed me directly into a tree.

Casey von NeumannOctober 28, 2022111422, 112222, 112922, 120222, 010523, 020923Comment

Inspiration vs. aspiration

Catching up with TikTok friends on a Sunday morning, I was intrigued by a tag on a new acquaintance’s post: #skoolie.

Clicking on it, I found myself in a world of people who are taking #vanlife to the next level by converting old school buses into tiny homes and using them to explore the country.

I don’t think I’ll ever be one of them — driving is one of my least favorite activities. But I watched several videos and enjoyed them for a number of reasons.

Casey von NeumannSeptember 27, 2022110322, 110622, 111422, 111822, 112222, 041423 Comments

Creating, not consuming

In 2003 or so, a site called Friendster appeared, reconnecting me with my high school and college classmates in a way that was exciting and novel even though we were so young we’d barely lost touch yet. It was a delight to see familiar faces reappear and find out what people were up to.

Casey von NeumannSeptember 20, 2022092722, 102122, 110622, 111422, 020723 Comments

The reluctant leader

Awhile back, the parent of a student at my school learned some concerning information about another student.

She had this information because her daughter had shared it with her. She sat on it for weeks, hoping that another parent would come forward with it so that she wouldn’t have to.

Eventually, this parent, Amy, got in touch to pass this information along to me. But why was Amy contacting me and not the parent of the other student?

Casey von NeumannApril 15, 2022051322, 061322, 071222, 080122, 102822, 111422, 020323Comment