So I guess we're doing this

Starting new things is terrifying, so here I am ripping off the proverbial Band-Aid and doing something I've promised myself for far too long. Here's why...

I've loved writing since I was little. I don't know what fosters a love for the written word; my parents didn't show particular prowess with the pen, nor were we a massively bookish family, but as soon as I could string a sentence together I was hooked. I loved words. I loved being able to vomit my thoughts onto a blank page, or craft an idea, or describe a moment in time with the reckless abandon of prose.

When I was 10 we moved to Ohio from Johannesburg [read enormous culture shock] . With the American schooling system starting in September and ending in June I was thrust forward a year which was a scary thing for a 10 year old. Even scarier was having to catch a yellow school bus to school, remember my locker combination code and immediately be able to speak French. Fortunately kids assimilate quickly and I made friends by being decent with a puck on rollerblades and ice-skates.

I was introduced to an essay writing competition format called Power of the Pen and I entered and placed. I viscerally remember the feeling of pride that washed over my little awkward pre-teen body; it was something I really needed in light of the upheaval my family had endured moving continents to start life over in a place that may as well have been Mars.

We didn’t succeed at being Americans. We missed Africa and her soul too much. And we eventually moved home [via a rather convoluted path, but that’s another story for another day]. And yes I’m aware that I’ve started a sentence with ‘And’ which in South Africa you’re taught not to do, but in America the rules were different and I liked it. This is also my newsletter and I will use conjunctions however I choose.

I also have a vivid memory of me, an emo teenager, sitting at a coffee shop on Green Market Square in Cape Town with a little notebook, watching the world bustle beyond me, writing poetry. Because I’m also a hoarder I’m sure I have that mouldy Moleskine somewhere. The poetry was probably terrible, but I’d love a view into my mind at that age. I also hope my boys aren’t afraid to channel their thoughts through words when they’re older. I have no idea how one achieves that, I’m hoping it’s genetic.

I’m not professing to be a good writer, I’m just here telling you that I love it and that it’s something I’m promising myself I will do more of. This is a start. Truth be told, if this merely ends up a diary that no one but my boys read one day, I’ll be happy. I find writing a cathartic process, a purge, it’s good for my soul. And we should all be doing things that are good for our souls, right?

So what is it that I’m hoping to share here?

It’s hard to try and provide structure to things that are a creative outlet, so this probably won’t be a weekly instalment. If it does end up being one, please someone buy me a beer because then I’m surprising even myself. The kinds of things I’d like to share here are:

• Posts like this one, random musings and words from the heart

• Lists of things I’ve learnt, or like, or have likely listened to

• Tough stuff, the stuff I’m battling with and I’m sure others can relate to

• Design, decor and DIY diaries

• Miscellaneous, the stuff you can’t categorise, from recipes to road-trip diaries

• Travel writing

• Sponsored posts [I can’t imagine this will be a regular feature, but I would like to allow for it, because bills]

So there we have it. The hardest part is out the way: the dreaded first post. If you’d like to, please leave me a comment. Also feel free to let me know if there’s something you’d like me to write about. You can follow me on Instagram here.

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