I hope you give yourself a lot of grace my man. Starting a non profit as just your every day person with a passion, hard. Keeping the thing running and making a difference as you intended, harder. The thing still going after the founder leaves, hardest. You are in a rare category of non-profit starters and that is a huge win in the most important of ways. People are alive because you had courage and gave up safety. You didn’t monetize your idea either. You just followed your passion. Complexity is what makes us relatable. And who knows how long we get on this planet but I wish to make 1/6 of the difference you have made. Thanks for picking back up the keyboard and for being vulnerable when it is isn’t easy. Keep going man, chapter 3 whatever it is, already a success. Know that.
Wow... thank you Jamie. Baldness is under everybodies’ hair... mine fell out in clumps during my own dark night of the soul 25 years ago and I was hugely self conscious about that and the scar tissue it left on my scalp at 25... emo hairstyles and ironed fringes prevailed in the 00’s this side of the pond too... hitting a bit of a post-covid wall a year ago saw my alopecia flare up again after years of being dormant. I don’t mind the greys so much now and my head may well be buzzed by the the time that the year’s out. Scars tell stories and so do stars. B x
Thank you for this post, and for everything you've done in the last 17 years I've been following you/TWLOHA. Your words were the heart of the movement then, and they're still wonderful to read today. I'm so glad you've started writing again and sharing with us. I'm grateful to be here, and being reminded that I am not the sum of my mistakes, or the mistakes of others. And it's okay that I've failed. It's okay that life doesn't look like I thought it would before. Thank you for that reassurance again today and so many other times throughout the years.
As a fan of musicals, I very much appreciated and love the "leaving the theater" metaphor. I have a bunch of your posts to read and catch up on, but great job as always!
Also, glad you've found the confidence and comfort to embrace the gray hair. (My brother is 34; he started getting gray hair as a teenager and has been dealing with hair thinning and a receding hairline for years. So you're not alone in the hair struggles.) The story about the evolution of your hair did remind me of when you mentioned (on Twitter) to the TWLOHA UIUC UChapter to inform the students that your hair wasn't as long as it was in the headshot used for promoting the One Book One Campus event. 😅
beautiful written my friend. appreciate your vulnerability and honesty. it helps me in my journey as well. TWLOHA saved my life on multiple occasions. thanks for starting it and following your passion. whatever finds you now, you’ll be successful. i already know. keep going bud. you got this.
I hope you give yourself a lot of grace my man. Starting a non profit as just your every day person with a passion, hard. Keeping the thing running and making a difference as you intended, harder. The thing still going after the founder leaves, hardest. You are in a rare category of non-profit starters and that is a huge win in the most important of ways. People are alive because you had courage and gave up safety. You didn’t monetize your idea either. You just followed your passion. Complexity is what makes us relatable. And who knows how long we get on this planet but I wish to make 1/6 of the difference you have made. Thanks for picking back up the keyboard and for being vulnerable when it is isn’t easy. Keep going man, chapter 3 whatever it is, already a success. Know that.
Such good perspective and I really do appreciate it. Thanks for your consistent encouragement Steven!
Wow... thank you Jamie. Baldness is under everybodies’ hair... mine fell out in clumps during my own dark night of the soul 25 years ago and I was hugely self conscious about that and the scar tissue it left on my scalp at 25... emo hairstyles and ironed fringes prevailed in the 00’s this side of the pond too... hitting a bit of a post-covid wall a year ago saw my alopecia flare up again after years of being dormant. I don’t mind the greys so much now and my head may well be buzzed by the the time that the year’s out. Scars tell stories and so do stars. B x
These words are so good my friend. Thank You.
Thank you for this post, and for everything you've done in the last 17 years I've been following you/TWLOHA. Your words were the heart of the movement then, and they're still wonderful to read today. I'm so glad you've started writing again and sharing with us. I'm grateful to be here, and being reminded that I am not the sum of my mistakes, or the mistakes of others. And it's okay that I've failed. It's okay that life doesn't look like I thought it would before. Thank you for that reassurance again today and so many other times throughout the years.
You’re so welcome Laura. Thanks for these kind words.
As a fan of musicals, I very much appreciated and love the "leaving the theater" metaphor. I have a bunch of your posts to read and catch up on, but great job as always!
Also, glad you've found the confidence and comfort to embrace the gray hair. (My brother is 34; he started getting gray hair as a teenager and has been dealing with hair thinning and a receding hairline for years. So you're not alone in the hair struggles.) The story about the evolution of your hair did remind me of when you mentioned (on Twitter) to the TWLOHA UIUC UChapter to inform the students that your hair wasn't as long as it was in the headshot used for promoting the One Book One Campus event. 😅
Haha that’s funny about the book event. Thanks for sharing Ashley. Thanks for your encouragement and support across many years.
I love you, Jamie.
I love you too my dude. And I love sending you dog videos.
Thank you. They calm all my tornados.
beautiful written my friend. appreciate your vulnerability and honesty. it helps me in my journey as well. TWLOHA saved my life on multiple occasions. thanks for starting it and following your passion. whatever finds you now, you’ll be successful. i already know. keep going bud. you got this.
Thanks Ty. I appreciate all of your encouragement and support over the years. Thanks for sticking with me. 😊
Beautifully written.
Thank You Suzi. 😊