What a Week
From London to the DNC and thoughts on life
I will never get over going to The Eras Tour and DNC within one week. I cried more than once last night. It was so uplifting and inspiring, and I got to listen to some of the people I am most inspired by. Oprah, Amanda Gorman, Elizabeth Warren, Gretchen Whitmer, and of course, our VP and the woman I hope is the future leader of our country, Kamala Harris, among many others.
I sat in a room a few feet away from Jessica Yellin but was too nervous to say hi, but walked right up to Blair Imani who I’ve loved and followed for years, said hi to TLG, and I MET Glennon and Amanda. Shannon Watts walked right past me. These people are incredible and doing the work and making a difference.
The last few nights and really, the last few years, make me want to do so much more. It got me thinking about what matters and what lights me up inside. Margot getting sick left me with no choice but to make a difference for pediatric cancer. And last night made me want to do something meaningful that makes the world a better place.
Connection. Helping others feel less alone. Which I suppose is why I’m about to start working on this project.
I’ve had this feeling of being at a crossroads for a while. It’s not that I’m unhappy where I am and I don’t need a full 180, but I can’t shake that there’s something else – that there’s more.
Can anyone else relate?
I met a new friend at the DNC and she asked me why I wasn’t a journalist. My first (obvious) answer was that I wasn’t a “writer” or a journalist because I did not study it. There’s someone I used to work with who always made me feel like I didn’t have the voice or skill since I lacked the Journalism degree. I’m sure that’s part of it.
And to that she replied “ but you’re a storyteller.” I’ve had literary agents reach out to me but the thought of a book completely overwhelms me. What would I write about? Who would even read it?
Connection is something I really value. I hate small talk, but love connection. Like really connecting with people. Talk to me about what matters. I think that’s why I feel so icky when I get messages that have no greeting and say something like “link” or “where’d you get that” but I love when someone wants to talk about their life or struggles or experiences.
But I look at people like Kamala who have devoted their life to making a difference for others and it makes me want to do more. To be better. I don’t use the term “better” to imply that we aren’t enough. But it feels like there’s more.
What’s new on the blog this week
Your ability to connect and tell stories is a gift - both online and in real life! Love everything you wrote here 💙
You're a writer! :) And a good one. Don't let not having a journalism degree stop you! I have a friend who's a writer. She's had a number of fiction books published, and she also taught creative writing at a large midwestern university. I met her online a zillion years ago when we were both bloggers in the early days of blogging. She liked my writing and occasionally asked me if she could use posts that I'd written to help in teaching her classes. I felt honored by her request, and told her so. She responded with something that really made an impression on me. She said, "Look, you write well. It doesn't matter that you don't have some sort of degree in writing. You write better than 90% of the students who come to me who already have a degree in English, or creative writing, or journalism." I pass that compliment and advice on to you.