From Potato Salad to Social Problems
By Pauline McCollough — May 27, 2025 Writing Workshop
Written during a Speak Up writing community workshop.
Do eggs go in potato salad? Do raisins? What should/shouldn’t go in potato salad?
This is most definitely a “agree to disagree” discussion. And I hope that people agree that eggs should NOT go in potato salad! There are things that may sound like they go well together. Like, whoever thought this may have thought that because scrambled or whatever style eggs that you like for breakfast, with a side of hash browns, hushpuppies, and anything else potato based go well together, then every way you put together potatoes and eggs would work. But with one’s proper tastebuds factoring in the other seasonings and things that WOULD properly work in potato salad, like mayo (only Duke’s mayo, but that’s a whole other discussion), mustard, chopped onions, relish, some salt and pepper, maybe some paprika—the added taste of mashed eggs would just be off. And the vision of it all mixed together would be off. And whoever thought of putting raisins or craisins in potato salad is just crazily insane.
You wish that everyone knew this...
I wish that everyone knew that those who need help aren't dumb, stupid, or ignorant. We--me being part "those" maybe not in the same but in different ways--know what we need. We know what is needed for us to only meet our "basic needs" but what is needed for us to get on with our lives. And I also wish every one of us who are in need realize we have more strength, power, and voice than we realize.
Write about blindness. Interpret this how you want.
"The only thing worse than being blind is having sight but no vision." - Helen Keller
I think blindness physically, mentally, spiritually, or emotionally means that you're not only kept in the dark in those ways, but it's that you're not willing, wanting, or scared to try to see.
Write about a fix to any problem, wide-scale, every day, complex, simple, important, or unimportant.
The fix to any problem starts with listening, hearing, and empathizing to what the person/people with the problem has to say. It doesn't mean you have to agree with it. It doesn't mean you have to have been through the same problem yourself. But speaking for myself as someone on both sides of the spectrum of someone who people came to as a problem solver and as one with problems, it helps others when someone truly attempts to listen and hear what the person is struggling with. And I just want someone to listen and hear me. Someone to not only sympathize but empathize with me. And if not only the leaders but us as well could do that for each other, I believe that even though problems and hardships wouldn't 100% go away, the problems would be easier to evaluate since we wouldn't be going through problems alone.