Happy Wednesday Everyone!
I feel like I am finally recuperating from the holidays and finding my center again, which is such a blessing. Yesterday in my therapy session, my therapist (who I have been seeing for a month and I love by the way) was saying it seems like “everything is going okay right now” and I’d have to agree. Even today my paycheck was almost $200 more than I expected, wooooo! Trying to keep up with this upward momentum.
I FINALLY got a job (baring I pass the drug test…send good juju!). It’s just a temp position, which wasn’t ideal but the pay was so good that I couldn’t pass on the opportunity to make some extra change, even if it is only for 16 weeks. Money is always such a big stressor in my life so I am excited to feel secure for the next couple weeks.
Also! My best friend and I have finally planned our Iceland trip in March. As of yesterday, we are all set to go. Bless her soul for fronting the cost of everything until my first paycheck clears. But I’m super excited to go and already told my future supervisor that I’ll be gone for a few days.
I’ve been in a bit of a writing lull for the past week or so but I feel like I’m finally starting to get my mojo back which is certainly adding to the feeling of “calm".
So on that note, here are some Medium/writing updates!
I’ve been having a good few days on Medium, stats-wise. Been crossing about 600 reads every single day which has been wonderful to my bank account and ego. I’ve been having a lot of luck with curation and a lot of people have been interacting with my work, which is the most rewarding aspect of writing.
I’ve even had some external shoutouts that warm my soul. Zuva, who I adore and you should totally follow, tweeted this out the other morning.
AJ is An Injustice! which is my favorite publication to write for and read so this was nice to see first thing in the morning. Speaking of which, you should totally check out that publication too! It is honestly the best and has such brave voices/stories. One of my favorite writers Yael Wolfe also recently shouted me out in her newsletter which definitely made my day.
I am superrrrrr close to 500 followers on Medium, my personal goal is to hit that number by Sunday. I don’t really know how much followers impact my reading stats but it is nice to know people like my work enough to follow my page.
I’ve been kind of taking a step back from UpWork because the grind is real hard and focusing more on pitches to magazines. No luck so far BUT imma keep trying. It’s all a numbers game and I intend to provide the numbers.
Here are some links to my stories! Please check out whichever ones you like, they are all friend links so you can share them with anyone! Thank you in advance for your support and time, I really appreciate all of you 🖤(the brackets are to signify what they got curated in)
As A White Woman, Should I Write About Race? [Race, Equality]
This piece details my journey about dealing with topics of racial inequality on a public platform like Medium. My major take away from the piece being “I also think white people need to have earnest conversations about race with other white people. And when we do decide to speak on issues of race, I think it is important to approach with caution and be mindful of the impact.”
This is a short humor piece about my weekly struggle about going to therapy and ultimately going because I don’t want to pay the $50 late cancellation fee.
I Have A Naked Lady On Me At All Times
I was honestly a bit surprised this one didn’t get curated BUT I had a lot of fun writing it. The piece is about my tattoo of a naked lady on my hip and how she reminds me of female empowerment and beauty.
If You Want To Talk About Obesity…Stop Bringing Up Lizzo [Culture, Mental Health, Health]
This piece addresses the multidimensional factors that contribute to the obesity epidemic in America but are very rarely talked about! I share research about poverty, food deserts, and mental health …urging people to turn their attention away from the problematic “just eat more and exercise” solutions to obesity.
Why You Should Bring Up Your Ex [Relationships]
If you are in the camp of feeling like conversations about exes should be avoided in new relationships, hopefully this article will change your mind!
Curious “Straight” Women Don’t Bother Me [Sexuality, LGBTQ]
This piece has been received really well! Notable quote: “I feel like the further away we get from stigmatization and strick labels, the more we are going to figure out that most people would liberally interact with sexuality if given the opportunity”
Marijuana Saved My Relationship [Relationships, Cannabis)
This was a really personal piece about healing with my partner and how marijuana played a small but important role in that ongoing journey.
Honesty Is Dangerous [Self]
Explores why honesty can be so damn hard and how to overcome those barriers!
Subtitles Aren’t Scary [Film]
I love international film and television but so many Americans are hesitant to watch a film with subtitles! If you fall in that camp or know someone who does, hopefully, this article will change your mind:)
Beware of Propaganda…It Is About To Get A Lot Worse [Politics, World]
I wrote this as a reaction to the Iran-US conflict. It is a historical exploration and warning for everyone to be cautious as this conflict unfolds.
Writer Fantasies Are Big Black Holes
This piece is a reaction to my “Propaganda” piece because I really thought the above piece would go viral and I was very much disappointed in the reality. As a writer, it is important to have difficult but realistic goals.
That is all for this week! Bit longer than usual but I’ve been bad at writing a newsletter every week so there were a lot of articles to share! Probably going to change this newsletter to biweekly instead of weekly because I rarely achieve that goal.
Thanks for following me on Medium, and please consider giving me a follow over on Twitter, too!
You can now also buy me a coffee if you feel like my work deserves more love!
Much love,
Faith