One Year on Substack!

My personal anniversary with you all

Good morning!! Today is my 1 Year Anniversary on Substack!! :)) Here is a video message from me to you all. <3

One year ago today, I launched my page with this Substack post and the Instagram post below, introducing myself to you all, sharing plans and ideas for my publication. I never could have imagined what an extraordinary experience this would be, what I would learn and discover along the way. I’ve felt inspired daily by you all, and so happy to be continuing on another year!

michiganmanhattan

A post shared by @michiganmanhattan

Today I’m thinking about what my goals are moving forward, what I hope to discover and achieve in this second year. It’s nice how my anniversary is at the end of the year, a time to reflect on the past and brainstorm ways to improve things going forward.

So in terms of my Substack specifically, here are my current goals:

1. I’m a creature of habit and don’t love to change things in this way (mostly because the analysis paralysis keeps me in research mode long enough to burn me out), but I want to force myself out of the comfort zone and make some gentle updates to the look of my page: freshen up the colors and add a proper name/banner to the top of my emails. I like the font so I won’t change that, but I think maybe a warmer/happier/brighter tone of brown could be a nice update. Notice how I said ‘I think,’ ‘maybe,’ and ‘could,’ ahah, still not committing fully to the idea! Thankfully my friends Hillary (who designed the sweatshirt I’m wearing in the video) and Karen Kozy are both brilliant and patient visual designers, and their guidance in this area is greatly appreciated. :)

2. Other than that, my Substack goals remain the same. I’ll continue to post 1-2 times per week and have regular prompts/calls to action/check-ins via the Chat, which I always love. :)

3. The past year felt like slowly introducing myself to you - us getting to know each other, and now I think we can take it all a bit deeper - sinking more heavily into topics, sharing more work - music, poems, videos, stories, photos, offerings, etc.

4. Now that the first mail packages are all sent out to paid subscribers (let me know when you receive them!!), I also want to start offering invitations to group Zoom workshops, discussions, and performances/shares. I’ve received so much helpful feedback from your answers on the Zoom availability/interest Survey, and will take those into full consideration as I start the planning for 2025.

5. I would like to do more collaborative posts, and read more Substack publications, too! Make sure to share yours or ones that you especially enjoy. :)

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I updated my About page this week and added a few graphics of your kind words written when first subscribing, as they are something I’m very proud of. 155 of you also wrote responses on the last question of the mailing address survey, which asked for ‘Anything else you want to share,’ and I read each of them, many of which brought me to tears. Your words mean the world to me and encourage me to continue forward. You are all so truly kind. :)

Here are some of those words from the survey below. I really love the emphasis on the community created and fostered here, and that of course is a testament to us all. It also makes me so happy to read about your own work and goals, keeping each other accountable and pushing each other forward.

Love your work! It’s inspiring me to keep on “harrowing” the fields of my dreams.

I feel inspired to make a dedicated work space within my living space. 💙

Reading your work has helped me craft and live my own creative life fully—and your generosity and gratitude inspire me.

I very much enjoy your thoughtful, open-hearted posts. I am going to start sharing more on my end.

The way you share yourself with us is somehow different than “the usual.” You are so warm and honest. It feels like real connection.

Your messages are truly appreciated and I often read them several times.

I love to observe, and so do you, and you've created a lovely community here.

I find your posts inspiring, your prompts really good at getting good writing going, and the community to be really supportive.

I enjoy being part of this community.

I enjoy your posts, love the sharing, love the questions and having this wonderful, creative online family to hear from and speak to.

Jesse, this truly is such a beautiful, welcoming, comforting, and accepting space you have created.

When I’m having a bad day, your thoughts lift me up and let me know I’m not alone.

Love reading your posts. They always seem to arrive when I need a pick me up.

I’m almost to my retirement. Your posts are helping me deal with my deep feelings of the change.

So grateful for your stories and insights. They always help me appreciate a greater depth and often make me reminisce about my own life, goals, needs and memories. Tuning in to what I cherish. 💜

Thank you, Jesse, for the amazing content you share on your Substack. I’ve learned so much since your inaugural post… about myself, about community… and I’ve really enjoyed exploring the fascinating subjects you’ve posed here. I just know you will fill your new space with your beautiful light and energy… and we’ll be here cheering you on and supporting you every step of the way! 💛

Thank you for this space, Jesse.

I would just like to say thank you.

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Thank you so very much, everyone.

If you have any more feedback or thoughts, please let me know. If there is anything you would like me to talk more about, share more about, focus more on, do more of, please share in the comments. Any thoughts, feedback, anything you want me to know or consider as we move forward.

And on the note of goals, we have just under 2 weeks more of 2024 - is there anything you’re focusing on as the year comes to a close? What are your goals for the close of December? We can focus on keeping each other accountable for the next couple weeks as we get the brainstorms brewing for long term goals, though for now we can focus on short term ones, too. Is there anything that needs to get completed before the new year? With work, creativity, family, friends, self care, home, etc? It can be anything - from the most simple to the most complicated. Maybe the goal is to have some restorative time, to find some peaceful moments here and there, or to allow some time to unwind and celebrate. :)

And also, as I mentioned in the video - in addition to preparing for everything on the way, let’s take some real time to focus on acknowledging all of our accomplishments from 2024, everything that happened. Everything we experienced. There was so much. What were some of your favorite moments from 2024? What were some turning points, milestones, memorable days or feelings? Anything at all - seemingly big or small, complex or simple, anything and everything. We can keep sharing these thoughts and stories over these next 2 weeks. :)

Thank you so very much for everything, and for celebrating with me!!! It’s been a wonderful year with you all and I look so much forward to our next year ahead. <3

**This Saturday, December 21 is the Winter Solstice! 4:21am will be the exact time of the Solstice, when we move officially out of Autumn - experiencing the darkest day of the year as we celebrate light. Sending wintery magic to you all in anticipation. <3 ❄️❄️❄️❄️❄️❄️❄️