Just Follow Me, And Everything Will Be Fine

I'm working on a piece about what I learned while walking down the street this morning with my mom. But before I finish that, here's a quick housekeeping note about Julie's Pod...

Julie's Pod is moving to a new home on the Internet. You don’t need to do anything; I’ll take care of everything on my end. What follows is a little background, so you know what's going on and why, and what will change and what won't.

WHAT'S GOING ON?

Last summer, I was invited to write a regular newsletter for a platform called Bulletin, which was launched by Meta/Facebook. They invited me to simply be myself: a nonfiction writer who addresses subjects of daily concern with a penchant for vulnerability and an inclination to help my fellow humans feel more connected, more seen, and less alone.

Despite having some concerns about Meta, I agreed to participate in Bulletin. I thought Hey, this could be a great opportunity to connect with many more awesome humans. (And thanks to you, I was right.) I came up with the name "Julie's Pod" because my office is housed in a little outdoor shed in my backyard (pictured below). I also liked the term "pod" because it evokes the feeling of safety and connection we felt when we "podded up" with people in the worst days of the pandemic.

I also thought writing regularly would be good for me. You see, I mostly write books, which take years to complete. But other writers, such as newspaper columnists, have to write constantly, and I thought that the discipline of a regular writing practice would both force and allow me to level-up my writing.

All told, I've loved penning Julie's Pod for you on a regular basis and reading your comments, and I've loved the peripheral extras that come with Julie's Pod like sending you free Julie's Pod stickers with a little handwritten note, listening to your calls to my hotline 1-877-HI-JULIE, and tuning in live with you on Facebook most Mondays at noon.

In short, I've been immensely grateful for the opportunity to write for Bulletin, and I've loved this new thing called Julie's Pod that we've built together.

WHY ARE WE MOVING?

Meta/Facebook is discontinuing their newsletter program (😱). Thankfully, they're being super helpful about helping me migrate to a platform that's potentially gonna be even better: Substack (😍).

DO I NEED TO DO ANYTHING?

Nope. Just stay awesome, keep being you, and keep opening Julie's Pod. Sometime before the new year, I'll migrate Julie's Pod to Substack, and hopefully it'll look and feel so familiar to you that you won't even notice that much has changed. (If the migration doesn't go well, you can count on a quintessential Lythcott-Haims lament about The day I tried to migrate my newsletter and failed. Ha.)

WAIT, WILL META/FACEBOOK HAVE MY EMAIL?

No. While they publish Bulletin, which is the platform on which Julie's Pod lives, they do not own my list of subscribers - I do - and I'll be migrating this list over to Substack. No need to worry!

WILL ANYTHING CHANGE?

Not really. I plan to offer more of the same: Curiosity about the human condition explored in a very close first-person present-tense voice, where vulnerability is felt more keenly and connection is even more possible. (If you didn't realize that that's what this writing has been "doing," well, now you know!)

HOW CAN I HELP?

Actually, if you're willing, this migration would be a great opportunity for you to tell me what you've enjoyed about Julie's Pod and what you're not so keen on. And I'd really love to hear your thoughts on what I should write about next. So pop those thoughts in the comments below!

Now back to that piece about the morning walk with my mother...

🏡 You've been in Julie's Pod, an online community of over 12,000 people who want to open up about our lives, be vulnerable, learn and grow, and in so doing help others learn and grow.

🪴The Julie's Pod community grows fastest when you share this post with a friend. So think about who might want to read this piece, and please forward it to them. If you want to just provide the link, it's here.

✍ If you left a comment on any post before today, I've probably responded. The comments are often quite thoughtful, so please feel welcome to join the conversation whenever you feel like it. For those who can't comment publicly, I've set up a hotline 1-877-HI-JULIE where you can leave an anonymous voicemail to let me know what's on your mind, whether about a piece of mine or something going on in your life.

🧐 If you're interested in my work more broadly, check out my website my social media, where everywhere I'm @jlythcotthaims.

🌲Did you know that the name of my city, "Palo Alto," means "tall tree" in Spanish? I'm pleased to say that the voters of Palo Alto just elected me to a position on our City Council. I ran because I'm eager to do my part to make our city one that is more inclusive and embracing of the working class and middle class folks who are the lifeblood of our city and who need housing! I'll be sworn in in early January.

💌 If you've read this far, you are definitely entitled to a free "Julie's Pod" sticker for your laptop or water bottle courtesy of me and the U.S. Postal Service. If you want one, just DM me your snail mail address (or if you don't know how to DM a person, just email me@lythcott-haims.com). I promise I will toss your snail mail address in the trash as soon as I pop the sticker in the mail to you!

© 2022 Love Over Time LLC All Rights Reserved

📸 Cover Photo Credit: Photo by me, taken on Highway 1 in Sonoma County, California, north of Jenner, overlooking the Pacific Ocean.