The Empress & Other Notes
Time for a life update.
It feels like the universe has been winking at me. Everywhere I go I am seeing tarot cards and symbols of beautiful things and they are conveying a similar message of expansion, abundance and space.
A few weeks ago during a routine tarot pull, I found The Empress lying before me. Upright and in all her glory, she stared at me, and I felt a weight lift off my shoulders. I’d never found her before in all of my dives into my decks, or maybe she’d never found me.
This card is usually symbolic of nurturing and nourishment. She is a harbinger of growth, creative energy, and abundance. I welled up, and despite never pulling this particular card before, I felt like I was greeting an old friend.
This all feels particularly poignant. I’ve alluded across your inboxes in some of my last updates that I’ve got some significant changes afoot, and now I can finally tell you about them.
I put in my notice at my design agency job, where I’ve worked full-time over the past two and a half years, and my last day at the agency is this week. After that, I will be a bonafide full-time self-employed freelancer again.
I was primarily a photographer for about eight years before I took on my agency role, and I continued to take on photography projects intermittently over the past two and a half years. My next act will have me taking on more photography clients and strategic creative consulting clients. I’ll also write this newsletter and continue working on a book I’ve been trying to find time for. This newsletter won’t be about my strategic creative work, nor will it be about my photography clients. It will remain a place for me to tell stories, and convey observations on creativity and whatever I find fascinating. Occasionally I might include links to office hours in future emails, but the content of this newsletter will remain mostly unchanged. I just wanted you to know because it’s huge news in my world.
It’s been a long time coming, and I am so thrilled. Thank you for being here and for being a part of my life and my work in this way. Several of you have signed up to be paid subscribers. I don’t have words to convey what that means to me, but it was incredibly impactful in my decision to work for myself again. Your support of my writing is a tremendous gift.
Lately I have been reading a lot. At last count, I’ve finished 11 books since the beginning of the year. I don’t really have a number goal. More than anything, I am just chasing what interests me and holds my attention. Here are some books I recommend you add to your library list or pick up at a bookseller that isn’t Amazon.
Atomic Habits: An Easy & Proven Way to Build Good Habits & Break Bad Ones by James Clear
Chances are you’ve seen this book floating around and being recommended by influencers and self-helpers alike. I regret to inform you that it is phenomenal, and it helped me reframe my mindset around how I get things done and am motivated. In my notes from my reading, I said, “I want to keep this on my desk as a reference book.” I am not a remarkably organized person, nor do I claim to be. I also don’t enjoy anything that could be considered a life hack, as a rule, but this book is something special. It helps answer the question, “I really want to do this thing, but why can’t I get myself to do it?” Genuinely, I could comfort read this book.
Fourth Wing by Rebecca Yarros
This is a book for adults only. On my Instagram, I recommended a Haruki Murakami manga book, and someone asked if it was appropriate for a kid who likes manga. I am so glad I saw it because, wow, that book is not suitable for kids, and neither is this!
This book is 500 pages long, and at no point was I bored. Sure, it’s sexy with a dash of smut, but really, this book is about military training newly minted adults for dragon war. It was a delightful fiction read, and I really enjoyed it. For unashamed fans of The Hunger Games who can legally buy porn now.
Cultish: The Language of Fanaticism by Amanda Montell
Raise your hand if you read this book about the linguistics of cults and realized you almost joined a cult in 2019 🙋♀️
Raw Dog: The Naked Truth About Hot Dogs by Jamie Loftuss
I started this book last year and then got sidetracked by burnout and winter, but for a time, it was in my purse wherever I went, and when anyone would see it, I would read the first page of the book out loud to them. The first page alone makes me want to sit down and write every time I read it. It is a fascinating deep dive into the many hot dogs of America while also being a book about a breakup and the industrial complex of meat manufacturing. It is nauseatingly brilliant.
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