To Who I am & Who I am Not

Friends,

I have a bit of a confession. I’ve been trying to do something I didn’t really want to do because I thought I probably should do it and it hasn’t turned out well for me.

Remember last year when I was like, hey! I think I should start something akin to a podcast here! and then I posted like two reflections only to realize I really despise recording my voice in a podcast fashion?

Here’s the deal about being a human and trying to sell your stuff to an audience: I sit around thinking about how to make my words and stories more accessible, asking constantly what will draw you readers and listeners to me, what will stick.

And if we aren’t paying great attention as writers, we get sucked into doing things we despise. Dear friends, I despise typing these words and then recording them and calling it a podcast. So I won’t be doing it anymore. I’ve given up, thrown in the towel, come to my senses, all of the above. I’m here to admit who I am and who I am not, and I am not a podcaster.

There are so many incredible ways to access words through voice, and if you need it, I know you’ll find it.

But that’s not me.

Here’s who I am:

I’m a poet

I’m a storyteller

I’m a community builder

I’m an essayist

I’m a children’s book author

I’m a retreat leader

I’m a public speaker

I’m an advocate

I’m a ritualist

I’m a constant learner

and so much more.

So here, about two years into The Liminality Journal being an official space, I am leaning deeper into the things that bring me joy as a writer and human, and I’m so glad you’re here.

I’ll ignore the ramblings in my own brain that say they’re probably tired of my mediocre poetry by now or my stories all say the same damn thing and people don’t need to read them (yes y’all, we writers can be terribly awful at self-confidence sometimes).

I’ll trust the joy of writing a poem about boundaries or an entire month dedicated to poetry and community.

I’ll lean into the power of story, and the various series that I love to create—stay tuned for this, I’ve got a big one coming! I’ll be interviewing fellow authors that I love and admire so you can love and admire them, too. I’ll trust my voice and ask you to do the same.

Liminality is about flexibility, remember? It’s about moving and traversing landscapes.

When we get afraid, we lose track of the landscape both behind us and ahead of us.

So, this is me coming back to center to let you know that I’m still here, and I can’t wait to see where we go.

I remember turning to words when I was about seven years old, but I think I probably did before then. I think words were keeping me safe and teaching me how to heal and remember and take care.

And when I wrote words, in my little journals or through poetry and song lyrics, I was building my own inner world, one where I would be held and loved despite missing that in other aspects of my life. Words taught me to build a better world.

Onward, friends, into who we are and hope to be.

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For paid subscribers, join me the week of September 17th for a special seven-day poetry prompt series to celebrate my birthday and the coming of Autumn.

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