let's be foolish this april

april journal prompts, march favorites, and our monthly catch up <3

When I first started regularly writing on here, I was working a financial marketing job in NYC, so most of my posts (including the one that kind of started everything for me) were written during my lunch break or in my notes app during the commute back to NJ. I left that job in early June and found myself with an absurd amount of free time. It was fun at first but quickly became monotonous and very bleak. Writing was my favorite pastime—I could sit for hours and work on an essay, writing and rewriting it until I could practically recite it from memory. Writing is the perfect escape from the moments in life you’re not ready or willing to face, and it was easier for me to let myself be consumed by words.

happy DC cherry blossom season to all that celebrate. i battled crowds to take this.

I was so deep in the cycle the entire time I was unemployed—I alternated between writing essays, notes app prose that will never see the light of day, cover letters, and diary entries. Everything centered around writing because that was one of the biggest constants in my life. I despise change and get very anxious without a routine, but I’m happy to report that after the longest and worst time navigating the job market, I am officially employed (please clap, I think I’ve earned it). I want to write full-time, I want to publish books of my essays and maybe a novel, and I want to be an author, but right now, being a copywriter is pretty cool.

With that though, I’ve had less free time to spend with my personal writing. I’m trying to find a balance—write during my lunch like I used to, and take some time after work— and it’s slowly but surely forming a pattern. I feel guilty that I haven’t been giving you content as often as I used to. I’m putting a lot of pressure on myself to be perfect, but I know that I have to prioritize putting out good content and stuff I’m passionate about over easy, clickbait-y posts about the same topics I’ve already written to death. As more of you have joined this community, I’ve felt myself feeling impostor syndrome, like I have to keep up and constantly deliver, be one of the people you see every second, but that’s not authentic. Right now I’m just asking you to bear with me while I find a new groove, please don’t forget about me! I’m still here and I’m still writing for you, just a little bit slower.

These beginning of the month posts are always so special for me to write, it’s nice to share some of the things I loved, and March was a really good month! Like last month, I’m continuing the tradition of giving one of my friends space to share some things they loved as well, and since we’re all friends too, I would love to hear some of your favorite moments or things from the month, so feel free to hop in the comments and discuss!

also, i feel like giving away a few paid subscriptions! like this post and i’ll randomly generate 5 names from there to give a comp to! i’ll DM the winners on April 7! love u so much <3

sarah’s top 10 favorites from march!!!!

• being employed (obvious)

• making matcha at home. (it’s so much cheaper and it tastes way better!)

• Martyr! by Kaveh Akbar (one of the best books i’ve read this year)

• the blooming baby calico critter blind bags (did you know i collect calico critters. if you ever want to send me calico critters….)

• yellowjackets going absolutely off the rails. (if you watch yellowjackets, we need to discuss, i can’t stop laughing about Hat)

• going to the Nats game on Saturday with my friends (i ate ice cream and wore my hat. it was awesome. i hate baseball but i love going to baseball games)

• forever is a feeling by lucy dacus. (such a romantic and beautiful album)

• paul and i went to mariscos 1133 and the food was incredible. we had some of the best ceviche i’ve had in DC, and i ate shrimp tacos that rocked.

• sunrise on the reaping by suzanne collins (i can’t tell you how much i needed this)

• loml

  Valerie
  ’s essay “you can just leave”

bonus: this is my april monthly playlist, i add songs to it throughout the month based on what i’m loving and listening to. good stuff so far.

favorites from a friend

This month, I spent a very long time with my dear friend

olivia kozlevcar

. She’s one of my favorite people to chat with, and any time she’s staying in my apartment is an automatic good week for me. Our love language is texting each other photos of things we like, joking that our boyfriends are a couple, and sitting in the living room “doing work” but having an extended conversation about everything in the world. I’m really excited to feature her this month!

Here are some of Koz’s favorite things from March:

• sunrise on the reaping. a fast read because I was just so invested

• the pistachio matcha latte from pantry / madhappy LA. LA knows matcha!

• hot yoga classes. they fulfill a primal need in me

• finishing my thesis (a RomCom) for grad school! - going on a candle-making date with my boyfriend

• updating my resumé and writing cover letters makes me feel so productive, so I'll give that a shoutout

• also the album piper oz the hound by art lown. underrated!

you can subscribe to Koz here (and you should!)

journal prompts for your best april

Journaling looks different for everyone, maybe you try these prompts and use them to create a list, maybe it’s pages of text, but regardless of how you respond to them, journaling is a unique and personal experience. Half of the time I write in my journal, I’m using it as a spot to simplify my thoughts and just get them out, these prompts are springboards to (hopefully!) inspire you.

Just a reminder that paid subscribers have access to my discord server to discuss our writing (the link is at the bottom of this) and to foster our own little community! They will also receive an additional monthly post(s) of content I’m working on for a potential essay collection and more intimate, diary-entry-style posts. I always aim to keep this publication as free as possible, but any monetary support positively impacts my ability to keep investing time into this publication. I will say, I owe my paid subs a major thank you, you’ve financially made a huge difference for me, and it blows my mind that you see something in my writing worth supporting in that capacity. If paid subscriptions aren’t for you, but you’re still interested in small contributions, I started a Buy Me a Coffee page and linked it below (if you support my writing through it and want access to any paywalled posts, just DM me!)

I’m hopeful that these prompts will inspire your writing. I aim for them to make you have conversations with yourself and, by the end of the month, feel stronger, more confident, and excited about your writing. See you next month!!