this morning i decided that today would be the day that i finally made a Substack account. after weeks (months?) of seeing other people post videos about their writing and how to get started, i finally decided that today is the day!

so i navigated to Substack.com from Safari on the bus to work (because i simply do not have enough space on my phone to download the app), selected my three interests, clicked on a few suggested accounts to subscribe to and typed in my email… and in red text appeared, This email is already registered with Substack.

i’ve had a Substack account since october 2023.

for just under three years, i’ve had an account here with no subscriptions, no posts, and absolutely no recollection of creating it. now here i am because, after letting this account sit for nearly three years, there’s no way i’m not taking action RIGHT. NOW.

i confess it’s quite ambitious of me to immediately dive into writing before taking in the platform from the perspective of a reader. i promise to engage with the community here that i’ve already gathered to be quite thoughtful, introspective, talented, and simply interesting. while i do so, i hope to find my voice and how i fit among all of the amazing and unique writers here. it’s exactly because of the vast community here that i’m choosing to just jump right into my first post :)

by which i mean i’m writing my first draft and then i’m sure i‘ll do at least a *little* editing and let it fall victim to my overthinking tendencies before quietly sharing it with the world.

i have a number of hopes for this latest endeavor of mine, but i’ll wrap this up nowish. first bit of lore drop for you all… whenever i start a new notebook, i write a letter to myself. my current notebook is about six months old, and i just re-read my letter to myself for the first time today. though a bit cliché, my letter included the following:

…but as stereotypical or cliché it is, i can’t keep waiting for my life to begin. the cards have been dealt, my circumstances have been given, but you can be sure that this is MY LIFE and I’M going to be the one to write it!!

and somehow, i feel inspired by my own six-month-old writing. so welcome (to you, or nobody, or just myself) as i talk myself through growing up, learning, and hopefully becoming a person i would be proud and honored to trust, love, befriend, and look up to. gosh, to think that i could have started my Substack nearly three years ago, but then i wouldn’t be the person i am today writing this to all of you. i’m so excited for all of my potential; aren’t you excited about yours?

enthusiastically,

julia ashley ♥