Allow me to (re)introduce myself.
I am Becka. My full name is Rebecka Macon Shumate. This name is still very new to me. I married the love of my lyfe’ in a castle in Colorado, March 2024 and I still mistakenly recite my maiden name when asked on a whim. The spelling of my first name was decided when my mom was pregnant with me in college and her history professor made a bargain with her. He offered to pass her in his class if she named her first born daughter after someone they had studied that semester. She already had the name Rebecca selected. When my mom saw that Pocahontas’s English name was spelled with a “ck” it was from that point on I was stripped of the pleasure of personalized mugs or gas station key rings. You may also read my other essay: Macon Bacon: What's in a name that which we call "POCA-HOTT-ASS Oh, and my mom passed her college history class.
The short version: here’s a glimpse of things I share about on my social media platforms the most. You can also follow my blog on the gram.
The long version: The carousel horse has become a special part of my brand. It is something I’ve taken clear ownership of as describing ME…I use the “🎠” when it’s a nod at something I truly align with. It represents a lot of things actually. I think it’s time I share:
🎠 Little Becka
One of my earliest memories as a little girl was riding around on a white horse and waving at my mom. I remember a well lit carousel. It was cold outside and starting to snow. I had a big puffy jacket and the sun had just set outside the commissary on a military base in Germany where I grew up. I was 6 years old and I’ll never forget how beautiful I thought it was…at 33 I still think carousels are complete magic.🥹✨
🎠 Multi-passionate girlie
When I picture carousels they are often intertwined with a variety of animals + whimsical horses all going in the same direction under the twinkling lights. This visualization for me represents my multi passionate spirit!! I am an extremely dynamic and ever evolving woman. It’s only been the last few years that I no longer try to screen or diminish this side of me. Someone tried to insult me one time by saying I was “overzealous” about everything I did and how that it annoyed them. I felt embarrassed and the need to not be “too much” for this person and for many different people in different seasons of my life. I understand this side of me much better now. I’m really proud of that part of me; it’s part of my true genius.
🎠 Projector
If you’ve ever studied human design and energy types it should be no surprise to my close friends and family that I am a Projector. 📽️ I have a gift of seeing things in ways that others can’t. My gifts include being able to tweak, improve and make things more efficient in specific ways. I’m able to devise SYSTEMS. I’ve been working on quite a few things behind the scenes that I plan to share more of 🔜! For the metaphor of the carousel, many people get lost in the bright shiny lights and the spinning horses that they often times get overwhelmed by all the busyness. My projector gifts not only give me a Birds Eye view with things, but I am able to give insight to people on how to look at something differently. Once I learned that I am valued for what I SEE rather than what I DO, it became much easier for how I showed up on social platforms and in life in general.
🎠 Break free from the Mainstream
In 2022, I sketched a woman splaying open her chest with a carousel twirling inside of it. One of the horses had just broken free with the bars snapped and shards of metal flying off as the horse was making a mad sprint off the page. I have been that sprinting horse more times than I can count. It’s really interesting to think back to the things I have sprinted away from and how quickly I was able to add distance between things. I’m even more pleased to reflect on the things I’ve sprinted toward in life.
I stumbled upon Substack in May of this year. This space has allowed me a safe space to write and continue to process this journey of finding harmony with myself in a very noisy time. I truly want to thank you for allowing my essays to take up room in your email inbox and in our thoughts. Before you go, can you take the deepest breath you’ve taken all day?
Breathe in, Breathe out Gently,
Becka
So good and relatable ❤️ you are exactly and I love reading your content 😊