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Happy Sunday, readers!
I want to say hi to newer subscribers. This newsletter began as a way for me to process the unique experience of coming of age at a time when it felt like everyone had high expectations.
I needed to pick a career path and a life, and if I got bored or burned out, it seemed like that was a reflection on me - not the world we live in. I didn’t buy it. Not many people my age do. And I needed a place to process my need for a different kind of life out loud.
As shared in a post earlier this year, what started as adult-ish has kind of become adult.
I am successfully freelancing. My LLC will take effect on January 1st. I can afford to pay the phone bill and split things with my partner. In a completely roundabout way that involved me figuring out what made me happy, I’ve ended up being able to “adult” after all.
In the wake of that, I’ve felt very creatively drained recently. Not for any horrible reasons, but simply because I’m changing as a person. When I started this newsletter, I had more time to fill and explored fewer projects. I had less of an idea of what filled my cup.
Now, I’m participating in NaNoWriMo (National Novel Writers Month), writing another newsletter for my business, running a business, and writing for clients. A lot. And I’m writing more than I ever have outside of work, too.
The process of parsing through what I’m writing for fun and seeing, “Does any of this look like I could make it fit in a newsletter?” that’s exhausting. And imagining devoting a few hours to fleshing out an idea for a newsletter? That’s *also* exhausting.
I believe in consistency when it’s serving you. However, another principle I founded this newsletter on was the pursuit of a more restful life. Some of my favorite advocates for rest are people who actively do it themselves. Who are on social media less; who don’t perform rest but simply are quiet. They act how they want to live.
So, in the wake of my creative spark being directed elsewhere for now, Adult-ish is going on a semi-hiatus.
That seems to be most fair for myself and all of my readers.
“Semi” because I’ll still publish my Monday newsletter, Writing Down the Questions - this newsletter is published on LinkedIn and my website. I also publish it here because some of you might enjoy it. Other than that, I’ll publish whenever I have something that’s truly worth sharing - not a 30-minute piece I’m coming up with on the fly and hoping is emotionally impactful to you.
I can’t say how often that will be. What I can say is that I thank each of you deeply for being here with me, on this journey, in all of iterations.
The relationships I’ve formed are invaluable, and I won’t be a stranger on Substack.
I think what I’ve learned the most from my Adult-ish experience is this: we are always changing, growing, and learning, and then we die. If we can accept change as it comes, rather than fighting it, the road ahead is much easier.
Here’s to a new chapter of Adult-ish. May my choice to rest give you permission to rest more fully, too. May my rest bear new fruits in ways none of us could have imagined.
May our writing be for the benefit of all beings. A prayer for the world, as it were. Hope and imagination are some of the most powerful tools in our arsenals.
I’ll leave you with these lyrics from the musical duo Emma’s Revolution:
Peace, Salaam, Shalom
We believe in peace
We will work for peace
We can live in peace
Jerusalem, Ramallah
In Tel-Aviv, in Washington
In Hebron, in Kabul
In Lebanon, in New York City
We believe in peace
Peace be with each of you.
xx
Camille
Been a pleasure. In the words of our 43th president "I know that human beings and fish can coexist peacefully." - George W. Bush