Bigger than Myself

I feel very lucky to have been chosen as a guest blogger for the lovely blog NeverSeconds by young foodie and philanthropist Martha Payne (aka VEG). When I approached Veg and her dad about being a guest blogger, I thought it would be a fun way to share a bit about the food served at Texas Tech University with fellow NeverSeconds readers. Then I realized... her page has had over 6,000,000 (yes, all those zeros are correct...) views! I have actually been given the opportunity to be an ambassador for my school, my state, and even my country, as I represent the only U.S. school chosen so far. What a privilege and a responsibility!



I know that I often represent things bigger than myself. I am a student who represents her school. I'm an employee who represents her place of work. I'm a member of a church, active in several arts organizations, most recently a blogger, etc, etc, etc. Have you ever stopped to think of how much you represent outside of your day to day self? I'm sure you have a bigger impact than you realize, too.

The reason I'm bringing all of this into a blog concerned with nonprofit theatres is that all of us who are involved in the arts, from the smallest community organization to the largest nationally renowned organization, are in essence PR reps for our orgs. Whether or not we carry the official title, we represent something larger than ourselves.

I have to keep all this in mind as I guest write for a blog with a large audience, many of its members kids, and much of the work it accomplishes philanthropic in nature. NeverSeconds raises money (Over 100,000 pounds, so far) for Mary's Meals, an organization dedicated to feeding hungry school children in some of the world's poorest areas.

I just became not only a PR rep and ambassador, but one with deep ties to the very connected world of social media. I am truly looking forward to the project.

I suppose the point of all this is that we should always think of ourselves as PR reps and ambassadors for our theatres, and we should be as active in social media as we can, representing our organizations well. I suggest keeping a blog, encouraging and responding to comments, commenting on others' blogs, keeping an active presence on Facebook, Twitter, and other social networks, and reaching out to be a guest blogger when you can.

You might just get to do something so much bigger than yourself it will inspire and scare you. That's pretty much how I feel about my upcoming project, and I am so looking forward to the experience!

Until next time...
Ro Huizinga