Thank You
A few days ago, Friday in Florence turned 1 month old, and the fact that I am writing that is a big deal in the sense that it means that I haven’t taken it down in embarrassment…yet.
It’s also a big deal because I get my first royalty check in the mail today. Or rather, it gets sent today, which means I get it in three months (It’s ok, USPS, I know you’re doing your best).
Anyways, I’ve been in a reflective mood the last couple of weeks. This is mostly due to my college experience ending and me moving home, but I’ve also been putting down a few thoughts on the experience of writing and releasing FiF. Some of those thoughts will be released as full-length articles in the coming days, but as FiF turns one month old, I wanted to take this opportunity to say thank you to everyone that supported me in this launch.
I was absolutely terrified to release this book. I thought I wasn’t going to release it, and if I did, under a different name. The only people I told that I was writing a book before the release were my two sisters and mother (also a Pepperdine girl when I was plastered in Florence, but I don’t count that), and up until two weeks, before I announced the project, I was still unsure. That project had been my life for over a year, and I didn’t know if I was ready to share that part of me with the world. Pressing submit on the announcement post required a fair amount of liquid courage.
The response to me pressing that button, however, was incredible. Support and well wishes poured in from everywhere, from my closest friends and family to people I haven’t spoken to in years. It was an elucidatory moment, one that caused me to realize once again how lucky I am to have the friends I do and belong to the communities that I am a part of. I had tears in my eyes.
Honestly, I have been on cloud nine for the last few weeks. Everywhere I’ve gone in my last few weeks of college, someone has complimented me on my book, and it was all I could do not to give them all a huge hug. All I can say is that every note, dm, text, passing mention in conversation, it has meant the world to me and made my week.
So, in short, thank you all for supporting this dream. Know that I am already hard at work on a couple more projects, some of which you will hear about fairly soon. If you would like to stay updated on all my work, I would greatly appreciate you signing up for my newsletter below, which I will be restarting in the coming weeks. It really helps me out. Regardless, thank you to everyone who helped me or supported me in this endeavor. On to the next one!