One Year of Feels Like Home
Reflecting on my first year on Substack
Listen to me reflect on my first year of Feels Like Home (with background music produced by
), or scroll to keep reading.On this day last year, I decided to try my hand at starting a Substack. I didn’t know what it would become. But over 500 subscribers later, I’m grateful for where we are. After spending much of 2022 writing essays on Medium and praying to God someone might read them, I got tired of hearing friends tell me they missed an Instagram post about something I wrote. I didn’t want them to go looking for my writing; I wanted to deliver it directly to them.
For a while, I resisted starting a newsletter because we’re all suffering from email overload. I didn’t want to be another person adding to the noise. But what if I could reach the right people with the right noise? Words that nudged readers to imagine a world beyond this one and fight for it, to practice that future in the present. That’s what I had done on Medium and hoped to continue doing somewhere else in a more accessible way.
On a whim, I began building my Substack and set out to write essays about things I love and the people and moments that have shaped me. In other words, I wanted to write about things that felt like home. Feverishly piecing together my About page, I shared how home is a topic I have consistently come back to during the past decade of me finding my voice through writing. Home has looked like physical places, people, and even the feeling that we are loved and accepted as we are. I believe we can always return to this sense of familiarity.
As I’ve navigated my way through Feels Like Home this year, I’ve primarily stuck to long-form essays and maintaining a fairly regular weekly highlight series. It’s been fun getting to make this newsletter my own and meet people along the way who also love diving beneath the surface and making connections between seemingly disparate things. I’ve gotten to collaborate with my friends and make work we’re proud of together. I’ve also gotten to share my love for writing with people in my city and begin hosting monthly Shut Up & Write events (we just had our ninth meeting last week 🥲).
However you discovered Feels Like Home, I’m glad you’re here. Thank you for subscribing, reading, sharing, commenting, recommending, stacking, restacking, and whatever the hell else you can do with this newsletter. From the bottom of my heart, I truly appreciate it. You’ve given me greater clarity on what’s possible with my writing, and that gift is priceless. As I look ahead to year two, I want to continue delivering thoughtful essays and fun installments of Take It or Leave It. Beyond that, I want to know what you would like to read from me. Seriously, if you ever have any suggestions at all, please comment or email me. Feels Like Home is a blank canvas, and we can make it whatever we want.
This year, I hope to explore some exclusive newsletter posts for paid subscribers only. For as little as $5/month or $50 for the year (17% cheaper than subscribing monthly), you’ll have access to this content. I love bringing Feels Like Home to life, and becoming a paid subscriber is an incredible way you can support me and this newsletter. If you’re not on the list yet, here’s the best way to join:
Whether you have a paid subscription or a free one, here are some of my favorite newsletter posts you got in your inbox this year:
As Feels Like Home stans, can we start calling ourselves Homers?? I know it’s Barb szn but I feel like it’s also Homer szn
Has been so fun to watch you grow this community and share your voice this year. Inspiring me to take my newsletter more seriously. Appreciate you and excited to see your continued growth!