When I finally decided to dip my toes back out at the end of last year, I inevitably ran into someone that I knew (because…Atlanta). The first comment or maybe the second or third was, “I haven’t seen a newsletter from you in a while.”
It’s true. I went pretty quiet the second half of the year and allowed life to have its way with me as everything sorted itself out. For some reason, writing a newsletter felt disingenuous. I was doing the same thing most days. I had some musings, but few updates and I couldn’t stand the idea of boring you. I also needed some time to allow myself to process and figure out my future without sharing.
However, I did write. I wrote on my blog a few times per week. Some people noticed, but I wrote mostly to challenge myself to write consistently. Sometime over the summer, someone sent me a fellowship application for Substack. I didn’t get it (whomp), but I was intrigued by the platform. Would people actually want to pay to subscribe to my newsletter? And that’s how we’ve ended up here.
Last year forced me (you, and everyone else) to really think about who I wanted to be. And after a lot of thought, it turned out that my answer was newsletter writer. I laughed as I wrote that sentence, but it’s true. When I started this newsletter five years ago, it was my way of venting about the ridiculousness of running a restaurant (remember the guy that tried to steal my coffee table…argh). I wouldn’t have imagined that it would lead me to what I love…connecting with all of you through my words and your responses. It’s the mini-magazine that I’ve wanted since I was about 13 years old.
So, this year, I’ve decided to dedicate myself to building this amazing community. If you’ve found value in my past newsletters, I’d like you to consider a paid subscription. I’ll still continue to send out one free newsletter per month, but paid subscribers will get all four as well as have access to comments, archives, discounts for events (covid friendly…is that a thing?), etc. The change will happen in February.
Thank you all for the support over the past few years. It’s kept this going even when I had no idea what it was or might turn out to be.
And of course…Happy New Year! I wish you all a great year. If there’s one thing that 2020 taught me, it’s that joy can be found no matter what. Let it find you.
Shannon
P.S. Holy Sip Jamaica is happening February 27, 2021. I was on a giant fence about it, but a few requests made me feel like it was time. If you’re ready to get back out, join us. Tickets are limited.