Authenticity, humor and defiance of labels will be my calling cards as a new columnist:

Beginning this week, cleveland.com and The Plain Dealer will feature work from a rotation of community columnists, each of whom will tell the stories of our region through their unique prism. Below is the introductory column of Leslie Kouba.

CLEVELAND, Ohio — When space and time separate voice and listening ear, it’s challenging to convey a message. Here I am, keyboarding these sentences about three weeks before you see them. I wonder who you are and why you are reading this introduction, and wishing you were sitting here with a cup of coffee so we could chat instead.

But we can’t do that, so I’m trying to take on a reader’s view, a reader like you, hoping I will sense what you would like to know about me. I do hope we get to visit through this media outlet for quite some time, so if I miss anything out of the gate, I’m sure it will be revealed in the long run.

I’ve always struggled with labels. Monikers like woman, wife, journalist, joker — create pigeonholes of expectations, and I tend to run counter to expectations. Am I a rebel? Maybe. But that’s another label you’re free to apply in due time.

My favorite quote is by Asha Tyson: “Your journey has molded you for the greater good. It was exactly what it needed to be. Don’t think you’ve lost time. It took every situation you’ve encountered to bring you to the now. And now is right on time.” I wear the last phrase in ink on the inside of my forearm so I can read it whenever I doubt my place and timing in life. See? Tattoos can be a major pigeonholer, and so can the blue highlights in my hair or the motorcycle in my garage, but they do not define me. I define them.

Here’s a snapshot of me. I’m a lifelong Northeast Ohio girl, my dad was a carpenter for the city of Cleveland, and my mom was a homemaker. I grew up with adults, as my sister was 16 and my brother 13 when I was born. I was rightly labeled precocious, teachers called me gifted, but now my wife calls me incorrigible. I quite agree.

I am a queer white woman, who lived straight for 40 years and therefore, have four grown kids, four grown kids-in-law, and six growing grandkids. I came out to myself over a 10-year period of massive internal processing leading up to going public a couple years after my 50th birthday. Living authentically meant risking the loss of those I loved and everything I had established, but I couldn’t live any other way. I’m real.

My fear was misplaced. Today my children and I are close, and most friendships survived. My career continued, and I discovered community. Although I was afraid, I was too old to start over. I dated and even got married again. My wife and I now live with five cats (too many) and a fat-tailed gecko in a snug little bungalow in the Jefferson neighborhood of Cleveland. I’m very grateful.

From the mid-80s to the early aughts, I homeschooled my children. I taught three of the four all the way through while the fourth one went to public high school. Despite my failings, they’re all well-adjusted intelligent people with great families, good jobs, and their own share of youthful mistakes. Most people can’t even tell they were homeschooled, which really makes me doubt all that effort I put into them.

From the aughts to present day, I’ve held the following jobs, in order: medical receptionist, title office assistant, barista, park district development officer, elected official, nonprofit consultant, economic development administrator, marketing consultant, real estate agent, reiki master, writer for Cleveland Documenters, job coach for developmentally challenged adults, and now, it looks like I’m a journalist. I’m amazed.

I want to assure you that I’ll never take lightly this opportunity to write thoughtful and, hopefully, thought-provoking columns. My topics will be mindfully mined from my life – like how parenting evolves over time, coming out queer late in life, and following up on the children who were homeschooled 30 years ago. I want to highlight unknown nonprofits doing good work and offer personal observations of Cleveland life. My articles will typically be humor-tinged perspectives, unless the subject stirs up my ire.

My energy gets riled by injustice, ignorance, and greed. My energy is fed through good conversation, laughter, and being out in nature, especially under a brilliant blue sky showcasing white cumulous clouds. My views are shaped by 60 years of living many different chapters and caring deeply about my family, friends and community. I doubt I have many answers, but I sure do have a lot of questions and more than a few insights and opinions. Welcome to my headspace – where word choice reigns supreme and ideas grow like mushrooms, one spore leading to another, story after story.

You can reach columnist Leslie Kouba at [email protected].