Blatchford taught me success is being heard, not liked

Growing up, there were two women I worshipped: Margaret Atwood, and Christie Blatchford. It wasn’t that I wanted to write exactly like they did, or that my identity was mirrored in their work and ideas — I idolized these women because when they spoke, people listened.

I’ve never accepted a victimized identity as a woman seeking success in an intellectual field. The examples set by women like Blatchford, who simply do great work without stopping to pay much mind to the (undoubtedly real) disdain women face in professional industries, have propelled me forward as a writer with no time or regard for roadblocks.

People routinely react to me as though they’re surprised that I have a brain and can hold a highbrow conversation. It doesn’t help that I’m youngish and blonde and wear lipstick. In response to my writing, they say, “Good for you, keep it up,” as though I were not already aware that it’s good for me and that I should keep it up. I take the compliments and toss out the rest. I don’t internalize other people’s prejudices. This would be a waste of my time. I’m a writer. This is what matters. Individuals are welcome to consume my work however they will. It’s neither for me to determine, nor to concern myself with.

Writers like Christie Blatchford have taught me to do my job and give little reverence to drama.

Whatever the topic, whatever her opinion, I always relished listening to Blatchford’s voice on the radio, but I can’t say I followed her work religiously. I don’t follow anyone’s work religiously, even my own. There are writers I like, and that I’ll be sure to read when I spot them, but I take a fairly organic approach to news media. Sometimes I go off the news grid entirely to focus on my other work, or simply immerse myself in my personal life, and then some days I spend getting up-todate on and contemplating current events.

I’ll never be just like how I imagine Christie Blatchford to have been — a laser-focused career woman — nor do I seek to be. Every moment of every day of my life, I am an artist. I think as an artist, speak as an artist, and dream as an artist. However, my career is not my only major priority. I try to lead a balanced existence, and not to stress if I miss a professional opportunity (which happens often) or spend a day relaxing, maybe watching Netflix or playing video games, or doing a house project with my husband. Just as I take compliments and dispense with condescension, I take inspiration and dispense with the notion that as a writer, I should spend the bulk of my time each day writing, researching, or otherwise actively working on my craft and professional projects.

Having a lifelong appreciation for Blatchford doesn’t mean I have to live, work, or write like she did. It does, however, mean that I have the great fortune of cultivating my own career in the light of her example. Growing up reading and listening to her elegantly self-assured words, I never doubted that I, too, could one day be respected and appreciated not just as a woman writer, but as a writer, period.

I don’t mind when people disagree with me or dislike my work. I’m neither so arrogant nor so insecure as to believe that I need to be exclusively liked in order to be proud of what I do. In fact, I invite diverse perspectives, as criticism provides opportunities for growth.

Thanks to Christie Blatchford and other women in the upper echelons of Canadian writing, my sense of accomplishment doesn’t come from people liking everything I say — it comes from them listening regardless.