Old Joys, Rediscovered

Have you ever rediscovered something that slides back into your life like an old friend?

There is so much joy in experiencing things that bring us happiness after a time of absence. Consider the first popsicle of summer, reuniting with pets after vacation, the first shock of green grass in spring. It’s the perfect combination of seeing something anew with the excitement of already knowing how it feels. Our memories dull so quickly that, thankfully, our worlds can continue to expand by doing the same things over and over.

Writing is an old love that I left behind a few years ago. I don’t know why, we just kind of… drifted apart. In the past few years I would periodically journal or write poetry, but I couldn’t for the life of me write anything long-form. I could blame my Masters program or being a high school English teacher (pointing fingers make me feel less guilty!). So much of my life in the past decade has been spent reading, revising, and assessing other people’s work— and my own— that the thought of doing it for fun was ridiculous. I knew it could bring me joy, but so does exercise, reading and basically everything I *know* I should be doing but never prioritize. So the drifting felt natural.

I decided to write again in a newsletter format because writing in isolation just doesn’t hit the same. I’m fine keeping my deepest darkest feelings confined to my journals (which will all be burned before death!), but when it comes to processing the world, sharing my opinions, asking for advice, and sometimes just *angrily shaking my fist at the sky*, all of that deserves to exist in a shared space. Even if it’s just for my benefit.

I’m starting this newsie because, in many ways, a lot of my life is absolutely all over the place, and writing has always been a stabilizing force. I’m going to write a few times a month, when I can, because ohmygod life is crazy (thank god for Gcal and color coding). There’s no promise that anything I say will be mind blowing, just a promise that it will be honest and real. Which is what I want this next decade to be, too. I hope that through this conversation we can realize that most experiences are shared experiences, even if we don’t like talking about them. I hope that we can laugh at our past selves, give them grace, and move on. I hope that, no matter what, this is a space for us to do life together. If you’d like to be a part of it I’d love to have you on the journey.

My first full post is dedicated to turning 30, which, woof. Feelings. Coming soon.