Loved this article and I found it at just when I needed to hear it. Two points that especially hit me and you said them SO well. "You’ve rejected your vulnerability so much, that you’re only yourself when you’re by yourself" --- I love my alone time but I know I can also use it as a crutch at times. Here's what I need to ask: Do I love the alone time? OR Is it that I love being myself, which I do more when I'm alone.
Going to think (and write) on that one.
And this one "Maybe if you were more tolerant of your uniqueness, you’d let go of that lonely tower, and you’d finally act like yourself." What a sentiment "if we were more tolerant of our uniqueness" then what? What would follow then? Thanks for writing and sharing!
Hello Dina, and thank you so much for pinpointing out what resonated with you :)
You nailed it with the question: "Is it that I love being myself", and that's also something I want to inquire.
Most of the times, I just want to 'be'. Maybe the 'being' comes down to the absence of thoughts. I think we might be triggered with subconscious beliefs about how to behave, instead of how to just be.
Actually for me, writing is precisely a therapy session, but instead of just spilling my guts out onto the pages I try to organize them in a way that might be powerful, beneficial or resonate with the reader. It’s fun to make art with my guts!
Emilie, thank you so much for liking one of my notes, so that I could have the opportunity to find you! I absolutely loved this. As a writer, as well as a teacher of writing and self-reflection to high school students, I found your insights delightfully illustrative and profoundly true. I can’t wait to share some of these nuggets with my students, especially the part about how their writing is not shining a spotlight on themselves, but rather helping the reader look at their own lives through a different lens. Looking forward to reading more of your work!
Thank you very much Nida. Your comment made my day! It's great to see you're a teacher of writing and self-reflection. We definitely need more learning in that aspect, which I think is often overlooked.
So great to find you're going to show the spotlight theme to your students. As a creator, I find it hard to put myself out there when I believe I'm in the center (the light). I'd rather be in the background. But I try to remind myself that the topics I'm conveying are not mine alone; whatever is going on is probably a common human feeling :)
Thank you for writing this i resonate so much! im using Substack as a place to finally share my writing and am pushing myself to be vulnerable. just put out my fist post today 💪🏼🫶🏻
An excellent topic and piece of writing from you again Emilie. I'm always drawn back to your substack, it's one of my favourites for sure. I get the feeling of being afraid people will judge your work for being too vulnerable. My substack is a pen name for the same reason. That layer of anonymity opens us up to being more vulnerable. But in saying that, it was a personal blog of mine (paired with my marketing degree) that landed me a job in content writing and allowed me to write for a living. If I wasn't brave enough to share my silly little blog back then, I wouldn't be where I am now. Plus. A bit of anonymity isn't a bad thing either. Your friends and family are not the intended audience of your writing. The people who can relate to and connect with the topic and words you write are ☺️
Thank you Tania. Your words are highly motivating. Eventually, if a blog gets discovered by the right people it can lead to great opportunities.
And I agree, people who relate to your topic are the intended audience. It's such a great chance we get to find people we've never even met, who genuinely connect to our stories.
Thank you, Emilie. So many good points so eloquently expressed and illustrated! I laughed out loud when I read: “That’s weird. You should be interested about sports, movies, cooking…You know, normal stuff. You shouldn’t care too much about *insert anything that has to do with human nature, mindset, and introspection*." My very thought. My primary interests are definitely not the "normal" stuff. I'm going to need to read this a few times and do my best to absorb it all. And of course, I'm noticing how I'm proving your point -- writing about the reader. ;-)
Indeed, I find that interests and hobbies are usually seen as practical, visible ones. We tend to talk less about 'mental' hobbies; activities that are still happening in our free time, but in the mind. And I think writing falls into both categories.
I loved this! As an aspiring Substack writer I'm trying to figure out how to balance on this tightrope with a desire to write publicly and a fear of being vulnerable. This definitely planted the seed in me to change the way I think about vulnerability.
PS I absolutely love your illustrations and how they match the theme of your blog!
Thank you so much! Your PS was lovely and I'm so glad you enjoy my illustrations.
You're not alone in this journey. I think we're many writers who are faced with such a dilemma. After all, the mind is a vulnerable place. When our role is to translate the mind into the real world, it's...quite a brave thing to do. So you got this.
Indeed! I enjoy a story for its vulnerable effect. The characters' psychology, as they develop themselves, learn and discover who they are. The wisdom they acquire. It's truly a phenomenal journey to experience this.
Loved this article and I found it at just when I needed to hear it. Two points that especially hit me and you said them SO well. "You’ve rejected your vulnerability so much, that you’re only yourself when you’re by yourself" --- I love my alone time but I know I can also use it as a crutch at times. Here's what I need to ask: Do I love the alone time? OR Is it that I love being myself, which I do more when I'm alone.
Going to think (and write) on that one.
And this one "Maybe if you were more tolerant of your uniqueness, you’d let go of that lonely tower, and you’d finally act like yourself." What a sentiment "if we were more tolerant of our uniqueness" then what? What would follow then? Thanks for writing and sharing!
Hello Dina, and thank you so much for pinpointing out what resonated with you :)
You nailed it with the question: "Is it that I love being myself", and that's also something I want to inquire.
Most of the times, I just want to 'be'. Maybe the 'being' comes down to the absence of thoughts. I think we might be triggered with subconscious beliefs about how to behave, instead of how to just be.
I'm saving it for reading again and again!! It feels someone called me out . I wanna ask : Am I still a writer If I only on substack??
Thank you so much for reading, Muskan. I truly appreciate it.
You're still a writer. A writer is someone who writes, whether in public or in their personal space. And Substack is no different :)
Thankyou for replying!! Actually substack is so much better than any other app .
Actually for me, writing is precisely a therapy session, but instead of just spilling my guts out onto the pages I try to organize them in a way that might be powerful, beneficial or resonate with the reader. It’s fun to make art with my guts!
That's a wise thing to do! Rewriting matters a lot, in my opinion.
The article needs to be cohesive enough so that the reader can connect with it.
Emilie, thank you so much for liking one of my notes, so that I could have the opportunity to find you! I absolutely loved this. As a writer, as well as a teacher of writing and self-reflection to high school students, I found your insights delightfully illustrative and profoundly true. I can’t wait to share some of these nuggets with my students, especially the part about how their writing is not shining a spotlight on themselves, but rather helping the reader look at their own lives through a different lens. Looking forward to reading more of your work!
Thank you very much Nida. Your comment made my day! It's great to see you're a teacher of writing and self-reflection. We definitely need more learning in that aspect, which I think is often overlooked.
So great to find you're going to show the spotlight theme to your students. As a creator, I find it hard to put myself out there when I believe I'm in the center (the light). I'd rather be in the background. But I try to remind myself that the topics I'm conveying are not mine alone; whatever is going on is probably a common human feeling :)
Thank you for writing this i resonate so much! im using Substack as a place to finally share my writing and am pushing myself to be vulnerable. just put out my fist post today 💪🏼🫶🏻
Thank you Stella :) Congratulations on publishing your first post. It's a great step towards your journey as a writer!
Damn!
This was a lovely one! Beautifully said!
Thank you very much Carina! :)
An excellent topic and piece of writing from you again Emilie. I'm always drawn back to your substack, it's one of my favourites for sure. I get the feeling of being afraid people will judge your work for being too vulnerable. My substack is a pen name for the same reason. That layer of anonymity opens us up to being more vulnerable. But in saying that, it was a personal blog of mine (paired with my marketing degree) that landed me a job in content writing and allowed me to write for a living. If I wasn't brave enough to share my silly little blog back then, I wouldn't be where I am now. Plus. A bit of anonymity isn't a bad thing either. Your friends and family are not the intended audience of your writing. The people who can relate to and connect with the topic and words you write are ☺️
Thank you Tania. Your words are highly motivating. Eventually, if a blog gets discovered by the right people it can lead to great opportunities.
And I agree, people who relate to your topic are the intended audience. It's such a great chance we get to find people we've never even met, who genuinely connect to our stories.
Thank you, Emilie. So many good points so eloquently expressed and illustrated! I laughed out loud when I read: “That’s weird. You should be interested about sports, movies, cooking…You know, normal stuff. You shouldn’t care too much about *insert anything that has to do with human nature, mindset, and introspection*." My very thought. My primary interests are definitely not the "normal" stuff. I'm going to need to read this a few times and do my best to absorb it all. And of course, I'm noticing how I'm proving your point -- writing about the reader. ;-)
Thank you for reading J Bradley!
Indeed, I find that interests and hobbies are usually seen as practical, visible ones. We tend to talk less about 'mental' hobbies; activities that are still happening in our free time, but in the mind. And I think writing falls into both categories.
I loved this! As an aspiring Substack writer I'm trying to figure out how to balance on this tightrope with a desire to write publicly and a fear of being vulnerable. This definitely planted the seed in me to change the way I think about vulnerability.
PS I absolutely love your illustrations and how they match the theme of your blog!
Thank you so much! Your PS was lovely and I'm so glad you enjoy my illustrations.
You're not alone in this journey. I think we're many writers who are faced with such a dilemma. After all, the mind is a vulnerable place. When our role is to translate the mind into the real world, it's...quite a brave thing to do. So you got this.
I'm rooting for you :)
This is so true, and good. Vulnerability is what makes characters interesting.
Indeed! I enjoy a story for its vulnerable effect. The characters' psychology, as they develop themselves, learn and discover who they are. The wisdom they acquire. It's truly a phenomenal journey to experience this.
I'm thankful that you relate to this article, Melz :)