Origin Story
I know two things:
- I like to write.
- Writing, especially online, helps people connect.
My first decision in creating this publication was to adopt a pseudonym. Authors always adopt them, especially those writing in other genres, after getting known in another. JK Rowling is a current example, but I remembered Stephen King/Robert Bachman. On Medium, I learned Aubrey Gordon’s name well after writing “Your Fat Friend.” She was younger than me, but she pulled herself out of the tailspin I am now unravelling as a middle-aged woman.
The other reason for creating Viv Compton involved my real name, my different and foreign-sounding real name. After going back to school in my thirties, I had emails addressed to me offering all sorts of International Student programming and wondered why I was getting it. It dawned on me-my name. All sorts of assumptions are based on my name.
I liked Viv after hearing the name Vivian and shortening it. It also forms the basis of the French “Vivre,” like “Joi de Vivre.” I needed some joy in my life, and writing gives me that, whether here or in my journals. The Compton part came from True Blood, Bill Compton, and the joining of the two sounded right, so here I am.
Currently, I am over 50, working an academic support staff job at an institution in Canada. That’s two things rendering me invisible. I watched two women younger than myself get opportunities to flex their skills. I politely ask and usually get nothing or the scraps nobody wants, but I do well with my positive outlook. I always had a positive outlook because I got into some dark moments, made some decisions not to stay there, and made that decision repeatedly. I watched men advance with fewer skills and no need for a critical component of Emotional Intelligence, empathy. I have a feeling whatever I write will resonate. For now, I will write to the void.
