Hello everyone! Shawna Lee here.

I haven’t posted much on this sub yet, but I wanted to share something I’ve been working on.

I wanted to have a discussion with you all. I believe there are many forms of humility, and it can be very easy to misconstrue another form of humility for vanity.

I’m a bit of a talker, and slightly random in conversation at times. If you slap together an extrovert, crippling social anxiety, and Impostor Syndrome, you get me. Those who know me probably know this about me, or at least know I like talking but get super anxious about it.

This was inspired by helpful discussion with some friends, who helped me think about various forms of humility that I hope you would be interested in discussing. At the end of each section, I put some discussion questions, if you're interested. :)

I hope you like what I’ve written for you today. I'd like to put out a special thank you to the awesome people putting in lots of effort reading and helping me write this.

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On Humility - A GWA Essay

Written by Shawna Lee

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When dealing with any community, especially with an art form, you’re opening yourself up to world of emotions and personalities. Being humble is key—but what it means to be humble can be easily misunderstood.

In my (very short) time in the GWA community, I’ve come to discover many wonderful people. There are so many personality types within any community, and GWA is no different. One of my favourite things when I look at an audio or script, is seeing the praise they get. I love seeing friends praising each other, helping elevate one another to infinity and beyond. I am no stranger to Impostor Syndrome, and I’m sure there’s many of us with that voice in our ear telling us anxiety-laid falsehoods.

Anxiety bleeds into my social life quite a bit—I’m an odd ball at times. I randomly bring topics up in conversation; it was how I was raised. Everyone did it. I discovered recently that it may cause issues and stresses in communities, as it can be seen as dominating a conversation, when for me it was just a natural path for conversations to take. It could be perceived as thinking too highly of myself, as well. Sometimes I’m questioning other creators, asking about their process, or what they’ve written, and it may come off as sudden and nosy.

On that note – I’m talkative, at least, when I’m not subject to crippling social anxiety. I like talking about my day, what I’m doing, what I’m enjoying, and most of all, what creative endeavors I’m working on. I rarely, if ever, speak of the quality of my work—such as my scripts for GWA. I like talking about the subject, what research I’m doing for them, or funny tags I made up because, just maybe, others might find “71% covered in water” funny for a planet girl script or “It’s not cheating if I’m invisible” for a ghost girl.

Humility is an important trait to have—but it’s complicated. It’s having a modest view of yourself. There are so many things that would imply a lack of humility—if someone constantly compares themselves and questions others, if someone boasts of works that they are connected to, or if they are loud about what they make. However, all three of these things, I argue, is a misinterpretation or assumption we make. There are darker sides of each point, but all could be used to show that someone is indeed humble.

What I’m trying to say is: There are multiple forms of humility that are not our own.

Comparing and Questioning

Comparing oneself with others can sometimes be an inevitability. You see someone’s work, and you compare. As much as you ignore it, it’s subconscious. I would argue that comparison is not a lack of humility—it’s natural, but there are types of comparisons that are healthy and normal. I compare myself to other writers. How could I not—there are fantastic script writers everywhere. I see them conquer the sub, and I compare myself. However, I’m not upset—I’m interested. This tells me something.

It tells me that I can learn from them, and I’m humbled by their experience and skill.

Some would be put off by questioning, as it can come off as ‘stealing secrets.’ Personally, I am a very inquisitive person. I ask if I can read a script, I ask them how they came up with the idea, and more, because I am interested. To the creators reading this: You are knowledgeable, you are experienced, and you are talented. I have much to learn. There is so much I don’t know in this community, and each creator, I think, has something special they can teach someone. When I ask you questions, it means I respect your work and I hope that you’ll teach me.

Some would view comparing oneself as a lack of humility—they may assume you watch the points and feel you deserve more, or maybe that you feel other creators shouldn’t be as popular as they are. Those are both traits of vanity—but comparing yourself, in its essence alone, is a different form of humility when used in a way to learn from others and compete against yourself alone.

Discussion: Do you ever get upset with your upvotes? Have you felt that you should be doing better, or feel yourself better than others when you consistently get high points?

Boasting of Allies

But, in this community, we are not alone. There are so many creators, so many people that support one another, and I love it. I may love talking, but I love cheerleading for my friends and other creators. I absolutely love telling people how amazing their work is. Surely, you have spoken out at some point about a friend who you really want to pump up—and it could be anywhere, twitter or gwa or anything, but it’s one of the most important parts of a creative community.

However, it may be taken in a different way. Should you praise someone too much, is that overdoing it? I have a question about a writer’s work—if a writer boasts about a script fill—now, I’m speaking of talking about how amazing the performer was, is that bragging, or is it elevating a friend? Personally, I love talking up the fills I get because I truly want to appreciate the work the performers put in, and how much I appreciate them choosing something I wrote. I simply provide the paints—the performer and editor create the beautiful work of art. I don’t speak of my own contribution. As far as I’m concerned, when I talk about the fill, I don’t exist.

The work of the performer and editor humbles me. I want to elevate them.

I created words, but they created life. Now, you may disagree, but this is my approach to fills. I don’t talk about my script at all, aside from the fill being from my script as a point of reference. I don’t like taking the spotlight from the performer and editor who spent hours upon hours dealing with my jumbled mess. However, there is a time and place for praise, and I’m still learning this. All in all, to me, praising your allies is a way for a person to be loud in the community, yet still some may believe that it’s a lack of humility due to how much one speaks—especially if your work is connected.

Discussion: How do you feel about different levels of praise on your work, as well as the work of others? Also, for those with Impostor Syndrome, how do you fight it?

Silence and Excitement

Loudness and talkative behaviours are commonly misunderstood. Personally, I am an excitable person. I get excited about my friends’ success, I get excited when I get to see my dog when I get home, I’m excited to eat sushi, and yes, I get excited when I’m writing scripts. I like talking about them. I like speaking about what funny tags I’m using, I like discussing endings and themes, and I like discussing what I plan on writing. I like being a part of something. When I talk about my work with others, it makes me feel like I’m a part of a community. It gives me a sense of warmth and belonging.

But what does talking imply? Does this imply a lack of humility? Some say not speaking of your work is humility—and with this, I agree—but that’s simply one form of it. The real question is: when considering how much someone talks about their work, what is the difference between someone who is humble, and someone who isn’t?

I argue that talking about your work does not signify a lack of humility. It simply signifies a person that talks—someone who is excited. Bragging is something more sinister—it implies they think they’re better than others. It implies they rub it in someone’s face.

Tell me—if someone talks about what they’re working on, the tags, what issues they’re having with the script or audio, the title they wrote and think is funny—does this imply a lack of humility?

I argue against it. To me, the core of bragging is shoving it in someone’s face, stating how much better than someone else they are, or highly overstating their own talent and skill. If someone presents none of these things, I’d say they are not being overly prideful—but I’ll leave that for you to discuss. Talking may be misunderstood as this, but there are other reasons of why one talks more than others—such as the raw production volume, or the number of established relationships they have.

If someone remains silent about their work, and is private, I highly respect that. This is a form of humility. However, there is more than one form. Being talkative does not make someone prideful. Everyone writes at their own pace, and those who produce more quickly, I’d argue, are more likely to speak about their work than another who takes their time creating their piece. This also must be kept in perspective.

Art is a very sensitive genre of work. It’s personal. One of my favourite writers in the community told me that writing scripts was like exorcising demons. I loved it being described that way. We bleed out creativity onto a page, creating something personal and close to us, and we’re putting it out there for the world to see. If a friend of mine does that, I’m proud of them.

Discussion: How do you think the amount someone does or does not talk about their work reflects their sense of humility? From your own experience, do you worry about how the amount of discussion you have about your own work is taken by others?

Discussion and Conclusions

When looking at the different mentalities in the community—one that is inquisitive, to learn, another that praises their friends, and a third that simply speaks about what they create—there are more forms of humility than just one. Different forms are for different personality types—one size does not fit all. Please, take consideration when assessing humility, as it comes in different forms.

We truly have to consider the differences between how we perceive others, and what they intended to show us. Everyone speaks in different ways, and we must understand one another to communicate properly rather than assuming the way we perceive others is correct. I’ve had difficulty with a gaming friend of mine, as we interpreted each other badly. However, we worked on it, and now we can sort of ‘translate’ what the other implies, rather than using our own base interpretation, to get to the core of what they intend. I learned a lot from this experience, and I’m still learning.

In GWA, we’re a family. A weird, diverse family that creates very interesting things. Some of us like chatting about those things, and others like keeping them quiet—but that doesn’t mean we can’t listen to the talkative ones or respect the privacy of the quiet ones. I argue that listening to the talkers is the same as respecting the privacy of the quiet ones. They both involve respecting their social style.

We elevate one another and appreciate our differences – regardless of our style of humility.

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To those who read this, I appreciate you taking the time. If you have any feelings about it or would like to discuss the questions I posed throughout the essay, please do so below, whether you agree or disagree with me! :)

To creators, you inspire me. I have so much I’d like to learn from you. You are all fantastic, and I hope you’ll teach me new lessons in the months to come.

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Thank you.

<3 Shawna