Did you know I'm a philosopher?

No, me neither.

Every year on my birthday, my husband writes me a card listing certain things that I’m doing, or have done, in a rather tongue-in-cheek manner.

It started with something like: Dear Annie (journalist, poet, mother).

And then it became: Dear Annie (journalist, poet, mother, published author).

And then, when we raised several thousand pounds for Refuge through selling online courses during the pandemic, it became:

Dear Annie (journalist, poet, mother, published author, philanthropist).

It’s all a bit of a joke because we both know that our professional achievements - and even our charity donations - don’t make us who we are.

They might be a reflection of our values or passions but it’s not who we are at our core.

To my husband, I’m just me. Annie. The woman he has sat next to in life for the past 15 years: laughed with, talked with, argued with etc.

But these annual lists of what I have going on now serve as a comedic reminder of all that I have been doing, work-wise, until that point.

And this year, I’ve discovered there will be a new one added to the list that’s a bit of a surprise to us both:

Philosopher.

You see, my Substack (the platform I send these emails from, if this has landed in your inbox) has been sitting in the global ‘top 20’ Substacks in ‘philosophy’ for months.

At some point, I must have chosen that as a category for my weekly essays, as there wasn’t another one that properly described what I write about.

(Womanhood, motherhood, work-life, home-life, neurodivergence, success, self-development, personality types, money, friendships, love, marriage.)

But it’s not that I actually refer to myself as a philosopher, it’s just that philosophy is about the meaning of life and that’s what I’m often writing about.

I occasionally refer to my ranking on Substack, with some pride, but otherwise, I’ve shelved my identity as a philosopher.

Well, until yesterday, that is.

I was reflecting on my childhood and this obsession I had with ‘quotes’, when I was around the age of nine of 10.

I was given a book of inspiring quotes and I read through it multiple times, delighted by these different perspectives on life, creativity, intention, mistakes, success, growth.

Soon, I was scribing these quotes onto my bedroom walls in fancy handwriting.

I’m still obsessed with quotes. But now I know it was at that age that I began to show an interest in philosophy. And you know what?

I think I have (or at least, had) a sexist view on that term and have always believed it’s the men who philosophise, not the women/girls.

After all: how many ‘great philosophers’ can you name who are female?

Probably none.

I certainly can’t.

We might think of Aristotle, Plato, Socrates.

If you google it, the top 42 - listed - are all male.

If you put it into Canva, to try and find an image to illustrate this post, there are images of old men.

So instead, I used a photo of myself. Annie Ridout: journalist, author, mother, philanthropist, philosopher.

(Joking. Kind of.)

---

Instagram

People keep announcing that they’re leaving Instagram and that’s fine but I’m definitely not.

Because I’m at this wonderful place with it where my feed is full of inspiring quotes, footage of creatives sharing their wisdom and people’s art work.

All the ‘suggested posts’ are brilliant and I go and follow those creators.

I am loving Instagram. And now, all I share is meaningful words - poetry; poetic passages - and, very occasionally, a Reel where I recite my poetry or perform a song.

It was only yesterday, when I was talking about this with a friend, that I realised this isn’t everyone’s experience.

I’ve consciously curated my feed by being selective about who I follow and what I’m left with is a feed full of philosophy and art.

Perhaps in the same way that anyone who writes regularly is welcome to refer to themself as a ‘writer’, so we are are allowed to be ‘philosophers’ if we philosophise.

I do sometimes think about changing that first category on Substack but I’m not sure what I’d change it to.

I write about life, and its meaning. And that - I suppose - makes me a philosopher.

Annie x