Connection over Everything
This all started with a persistent feeling, and a very important piece of advice
In the last two decades, I’ve published writing pieces in several different places.
It started with scrawling feelings and ideas into notebooks during middle school. It was transferred to word documents on my very first laptop during my teenage years, and around the middle of my college years, it moved to a home on MySpace. (If you’ve never heard of this platform before, don’t worry - it’s sadly been irrelevant for a long time now)
Sometime years later my writing moved to a blog hosted by google, and although that URL no longer exists anymore either, I have all of those entries published into a hard bound book - just for me. And I’ve learned over time that some of what I think is my best writing is stored there.
Since then, I’ve started and stopped writing in a variety of places - on wordspot, as lengthy Facebook or Instagram captions, and most recently on Medium.
1. Why this, Why now?
What I realized is that I want my writing to have a home. To build a collection. To share the things that weigh on my heart - both the heavy and the light. The last few months have by and large marked an intentional season of transition for me for the first time in my adult life, and as I navigate all of the changes that are happening around me and inside of me, the intense work I’m doing in therapy and trauma recovery, and the slightly terrifying emotional planning for the future - I want to write. I want to write for other people who can’t find the words, who are searching for the words, or who simply want to connect with someone who feels and sounds like they do.
2. Community is Connection
This isn’t just meant to be a newsletter, or a blog, or a piece of static writing that is skimmed and filed away. I want to start a community here. A place where you’ll be seen for your heart and intention. I want this to be a safe space, where we can talk about hard things. I want comments to be open. I want dialogue to occur.
I’ve often looked for community during different parts of my life, and it has either been hard to find, or has felt like I pour in and receive little to nothing in return. I don’t want that to feel like either end of the spectrum for you all.
A good friend of mine recently passed, and in several conversations we had leading up to hear death, she used to use the phrase “connection over control” - mostly when it had to do with parenting, but also in the many spaces of life and community it exists too. So the name of this space, it’s an ode to her, to the love we give, and to showing up even when it feels messy or uncomfortable or too hard.
3. Writing with Purpose
I’m currently only offering a free version of my substack, and all subscribers will have access to everything I write and share. If this changes in the future, and I decide to try the paid option, I promise I’ll write all about it and answer any questions you may have.
For now, I will be writing to you. I’m hoping to write at least once a week, but sometimes it might be more and other times it might be less. I never want to feel like just another email you have to read. I want to feel like I’m giving you something to hold onto, something to validate your own feelings, something to connect to, or something that feels like a warm hug.
I also live with a tiny human (my daughter just turned 4) who I owe most of my mental energy to, I work full time and I live with several chronic illnesses, so life can unfortunately be unpredictable. Thank you ahead of time for understanding this :)
