(cannot remember how i got to your substack...perhaps through marlee grace? regardless, i’m thrilled to be here!) really understood and relatable sentiments here, communicated so eloquently 💙 loved the reframe around not getting what i want, and a great song i haven’t heard in too long!
I didn’t get a job I was really excited about last month, so this is very relatable. The night I got the news, I played this song and cried and it was oh so comforting. Thanks for sharing these reflections!
Ahh that's wild/comforting/kind of hilarious about the song! And I'm sorry about the job. I think rejection will always sting but it feels so much better to air it out (for me at least)
Thanks for your frankness in sharing this. I have similar feelings right now, scratching out bits of writing in the mud. this is where the good stuff is though!
so sorry you didn’t get accepted! i get the “waitlist kid” feeling. like “when will the universe give me it’s stamp of approval for my passions?”
it’s so tough to be doing the work (be it writing or anything) and hoping to have a win. sometimes i get so wound up about it and how the world seems a game of “pay to play” or “who ya know”.
also, this piece is well written. i especially liked:
“Without those external markers, I’m left down here, in the mud, with the responsibility of defining my self-worth. How awful, how tedious, how humiliating even, is that.”
Anticipation is the biggest turn on. Getting what you think you want is often a disappointment.
Try this: write what you just wrote with ten% of the words. Eliminate all adjectives and adverbs. You’ll be amazed by how few words are necessary. Since my tendency is verbosity, my discipline is to use 90% fewer words of my first draft. Often useful is 10% of the 10%.People often disregard anything lengthy.
(cannot remember how i got to your substack...perhaps through marlee grace? regardless, i’m thrilled to be here!) really understood and relatable sentiments here, communicated so eloquently 💙 loved the reframe around not getting what i want, and a great song i haven’t heard in too long!
Ahh I'm so glad you're here too! And that the message resonates
Julia, you're doing a great job!
-Alan
I didn’t get a job I was really excited about last month, so this is very relatable. The night I got the news, I played this song and cried and it was oh so comforting. Thanks for sharing these reflections!
Ahh that's wild/comforting/kind of hilarious about the song! And I'm sorry about the job. I think rejection will always sting but it feels so much better to air it out (for me at least)
Thanks for your frankness in sharing this. I have similar feelings right now, scratching out bits of writing in the mud. this is where the good stuff is though!
Thank you Grace! I love that- this is where the good stuff is. Also, murmuration is on my list of favorite words... excited to check out your writing
so sorry you didn’t get accepted! i get the “waitlist kid” feeling. like “when will the universe give me it’s stamp of approval for my passions?”
it’s so tough to be doing the work (be it writing or anything) and hoping to have a win. sometimes i get so wound up about it and how the world seems a game of “pay to play” or “who ya know”.
also, this piece is well written. i especially liked:
“Without those external markers, I’m left down here, in the mud, with the responsibility of defining my self-worth. How awful, how tedious, how humiliating even, is that.”
Anticipation is the biggest turn on. Getting what you think you want is often a disappointment.
Try this: write what you just wrote with ten% of the words. Eliminate all adjectives and adverbs. You’ll be amazed by how few words are necessary. Since my tendency is verbosity, my discipline is to use 90% fewer words of my first draft. Often useful is 10% of the 10%.People often disregard anything lengthy.
Best regards, Lulu