I think I’m making this too hard…
Almost exactly a year ago, I posted that I’d been gone for a while, but was back and ready to resume writing this newsletter regularly.
And then I DIDN’T.
Last night, I found myself typing out my entire life story to an AI chatbot with the hopes it would somehow magically tell me exactly what I should do with my business, life, and personal brand.
And it hit me that… maybe I'm making this way too hard?
I originally started this newsletter/blog/journal as a way to combat the constant creative roulette that is my brain. It was supposed to be easy and fun, something I can use to write about WHATEVER it is that’s caught my interest this month (week, day, millisecond).
And then all the sudden it turned into another thing I had to do. I put too much pressure on myself, tried to make it a brand, and immediately lost sight of why I started it in the first place.
I have been sharing my life on the internet for nearly 12 years now. No one asked me to do this, for the record, I just willingly supplied it because oversharing about things I enjoy is my love language. In that 12 years, I’ve been a blogger, freelancer, designer, business owner, influencer, personal brand, marketing strategist, social media manager, podcaster, shop owner, and briefly, a “business coach.”
I’ve always had a level of personal and professional indecision, but it’s been at its worst this past year. Constantly second guessing myself, my decisions, and my goals. It feels like the landscape of social media and creative businesses has changed so drastically since I started that I’m just clinging to the old ways (Instagram) and getting frustrated when it doesn’t work like it used to.
Anyways, if you were wondering, the AI chatbot was all but useless, but I came to my own epiphany as I painstakingly typed out The Whole Story starting back in 2013 when I started my first blog – I was not born to do one thing. I was born to do a LOT of things.
So, on the heels of this epiphany, this newsletter is going back to its (very shallow) roots of being about all sorts of things (which, for the record, is my dream blog name if Amber Lewis hadn’t snagged it first).
I’ll be turning paid subscriptions back on shortly. If you were already paying, you’ll have the option to renew or cancel. No hard feelings. If you’re ready for lots of parenthetical statements, recommendations, asides, and rambling rabbit holes, then I hope you’ll stick around for the next chapter.
See you again soon (REALLY).
Things I’ve Enjoyed, Read, or Pondered Lately
Heather Taylor Home, queen of gingham, collaborated with my favorite pet product brand to create the cutest cottagecore collars, bandanas and bows for fall. Phoebe is already sporting hers.
This recent post on Trying in Public by Lexi Merritt, which pretty well sums up my thoughts about this whole endeavor.
I thoroughly enjoyed browsing through this website about ranking apples. This guy has some STRONG opinions and to be honest, he seems 100% right.
I tried this Strawberry Crunch Salad recipe for lunch a few weeks back and it was outrageously delicious.
I bought this Fall Out Boy x Oxford Pennant collab so fast. When I first moved to Chicago, I made a playlist titled “Chicago is So Two Years Ago” (bc I was quirky and ironic okay) so I knew this pennant needed to be mine immediately.
