Here we go again

Three years ago, before I'd made the move to Australia but after I'd decided to take concrete steps in that direction, I found myself paring down my physical possessions to only that which could fit within four or five suitcases. I'd been living independently for about two decades at that point, and even thought I'd moved across the country a handful of times — gaining 20 pounds at each new address — I'd still managed to accumulate quite a collection of junk that maybe didn't need to cross the ocean with me.

Among them was a collection of journals, most of which were started in January, most of which petered out after 30 pages, all of which started with the exact same sentiment nearly word-for-word: The more time one spends on the computer, the more one yearns for the tactile pleasures of writing on paper, and now that I've spent money on a journal I hope I keep it up.

Plans for blogs would follow a slightly different pattern. For this one, I intended to chronicle the journey of acclimating to to my new life in Australia and my path toward permanent residency and eventually citizenship. The transition took more of a toll on me than I anticipated, and I simply didn't have the headspace to be twee about it in public.

Apart from that, I also wrestled back and forth for literal years on whether to write under my real name or under the name I've been using on the internet since I was in college. To answer that, I had to figure out who my audience was going to be: people who knew me in real life? Prospective employers? Gamers and Twitch friends? That bizarre niche of peers with whom I once shared a fandom space but now remain in their orbit independent of media consumption?

Would any of these people care what I had to say? Did I have anything to say in the first place?

Fortunately the necessary kick in the pants came from tech and philosophy writer JA Westenberg, who I've been following for about a year because I'm partially convinced she's writing just for me specifically. Especially with topics like Nobody Wants Your Newsletter. You Should Write it Anyway and Avoidance Is a Short-Term Loan with Predatory Interest. I write marketing copy for a living, but lord knows I could use the practice honing my personal voice, especially in an age where all the side-writing gigs I used to do have been taken over by AI.

Most importantly, I'm finally in a good place mentally. It took years of trial and error, but I've worked with my doctor on treatments and strategies that are making a real positive difference in my life. In some way, it feels like I'm waking up from a decades-long coma. Part of my path to getting there was reading pieces written by people who were struggling the same way I was. The recognition in others was a huge step in no longer feeling alone, and if I can serve as that signpost for somebody else, then all this void-shouting will have been worth it.

So follow me on my social media, or chuck this site into your favourite RSS reader if you're old school like me. If you subscribe, you'll receive the monthly email digest with a summary of the month's entries. Hold me accountable. Learn the recipes I'm trying. Prepare for lots of cat photos.

Thanks for reading.