Out Of Office Till 08/16

I've been putting off making this post as long as I have been able to, but there's no real point in delaying it anymore. Life has been happening particularly hard since I started this project seven months ago. I have continued my work here while processing medical maladies, family tragedies, the developing collapse of professional writing as a profession, and the day-to-day psychological rot caused by living as a trans person in the United States in 2024. This is the first update day where I have found myself utterly empty-handed. Instead of beating myself up, I'm accepting the evidence that I am burnt out, and taking the break that I need to recover.

I feel weird taking a break, even though I am one of the first to preach about the importance of rest for other people. I remember the sinking feeling of dread I used to get when a fanfic update schedule slowed to a crawl, or a webcomic I enjoyed started postponing their updates. I hate even the spectre of letting people down, and I want to reiterate that this work is extremely important to me. I have no intention to abandon it. A big part of why I want to take a break now is that I need time to, y'know, actually write some stuff.

To be completely transparent: I'm a one-person show, and I am beat. I spend hours every week doing independent research on media, going to movies and other events, writing up my findings, doing archival research, taking and editing photos, writing extremely vulnerable pieces of art and figuring out ways to turn all of that into a thousand words of content. My hourly wage for this work often averages out to a negative, but that doesn't mean it is not my profession. This is not a casual hobby and I do not do it for fun. It's not a traditional job, but it's my job. I deserve to be able to rest when I need to, even when I have a job I love.

So: I'm not going anywhere, but this blog is taking a breather until August. I promise I will be back. Thank you for understanding, and I will be grateful if you continue to support me while I am touching that fabled grass. See you soon.