Hello, friends!
I’m trying to be very kind to myself about the fact that it was July when I last updated this page. I’ve been a very busy gal artistically, though, but I feel bad that this has gotten neglected in the process, because I love this space and the community that exists on Substack. So I figured I owed all of you a long overdue update on what I’ve been up to recently.
About a month ago, we closed the first musical that I’ve done in six years. It’s definitely safe to say I have “the bug” again (IYKYK), and I’m already trying to make a plan to audition for my next show. Reconnecting with something that I loved and lost has been such a rewarding experience, but also so deeply challenging for many reasons. Mostly because of the sorrow that comes with feeling like I’ve lost so much time, but at least now I know that I can still do the things I love. Yay for keeping hobbies into adulthood! More people should do it!
I also feel very fortunate to have made some wonderful new friends during this process (if any of you are reading this, hello and I love and miss each of you). This is the first time in my adult life that I have had the opportunity to make friends with similar interests outside of work, and all I can say is that if any of you have the opportunity to go out and have this sort of opportunity with your hobbies, do it. Finding friends in your 20’s is hard enough, let alone friends who share your interests, so if you find yourself with an opportunity like this, don’t let it pass you by. The brief anxiety of putting yourself out there in the beginning is worth it in the end, I promise.
In writing news, I had to make the difficult choice to table the novel that I started earlier this year (for now). I was so nervous to do this, since so much writing advice tells you that you should never table a current project in favor of a new one. And in ways, I understand that, because if you’re getting so bogged down in ideas, you’ll never actually finish a book. But at the same time, I think it’s fully okay (and even important) to recognize what you are and are not capable of exploring emotionally in your art at any given time. (My previous WIP was very heavily based on my often tumultuous relationship with my dad, so naturally, his passing colored this differently for me, and I’ve had to remind myself over and over that it is okay that I’m not ready to really explore that topic again yet.)
So now, I’m working on something much lighter and a lot more fun. I also was very lucky to meet my new writing accountability partner through the show I did, which has been so fun, since I’ve never had many friends who I know in-person that are also writers. (Hi, Molly!)
That’s mostly it, though. I hope to keep updating my Substack once a month, whether that’s with short stories or essays or maybe just these little life updates. Thanks for being here and for sticking with me!