What font are you?
On authenticity and owning it
The other night I was grabbing drinks with my friend at a bar neither of us had tried. It was dimly lit with several fluorescing neon lights that adorned the walls, snaked under retro booths, and around the Victorian looking bar. There were Pothos plants dangling from the ceiling, overflowing out of handmade macrame holders. A band was setting up in the back with a table of their vinyl’s out for purchase. It was a vibe. We’d come from a supper club style restaurant before. My friend looked at me and said, “This is more my font.”
This is more my font.
I love that. I love that she knows that– what her font looks like, what it feels like, what it means to embody it in a space, group of people, place in time. No, this is not an essay on kerning, serif or sans. It’s about how we are the utmost authority figures on what we like, despise, admire, our preferences, worries and despairs. Our presentation of this, these selves we inhabit, is varied and particular given the audience, acquaintance or app. You might be Times New Roman with your parents, Arial with your best friends and Comic Sans on Twitter. Or maybe Calibri across the board, italics when you’re in a mood or bold when you’ve been drinking.
Fonts aside, I’ve been thinking a lot about authenticity– how to recognize it in myself, present it, and champion it in others. When I look at my little nieces and nephews it’s so clear who they are. Their unbridled enthusiasm, not yet quieted by judgment, rings through in everything they do. It’s not a source of tension, shame or despair. There’s tremendous freedom in that. Perhaps that’s a reason why children are so quick to laughter and joy.
Authenticity feels harder to come by as adults for many reasons, one being the pervasiveness of social media and the ample opportunities it gives us to edit. Yet, there are real communities established in those spaces. Creators and Influencers garner friends, followers and even fans for their ability to share what it feels like to be them in a candid, funny, or relatable manner. What font would Taylor Swift fans align themselves with, I wonder?
Still, it is hard to know who someone really is from their online presence alone. This is not a bad thing! People are complicated and that is part of what makes them so wonderful. As I inhabit this space more (gestures widely to the whole internet) I continue to navigate questions of authenticity, honesty, and integrity. Writing is a revealing act. A necessary one in my opinion, but sometimes scary, nonetheless. I’m still getting my feet and my font underneath me.
As the last flames of summer smolder and burn out, I hope you’re able to do something that feels authentic to you. Maybe that’s checking out a hip bar, going to the farmers market or a cozy night in watching a movie. You do you boo. Regardless, I think there’s a lot to be said not only for recognizing what makes you feel good, but also for doing it without judgment, and owning it.
With gratitude,
Cooper
P.S.
Comment your font if you know it!