Photo by James Joel Harris
In the four years since I launched this website to kickstart my freelance career, I’ve had the privilege of writing alongside some of the sharpest, most creative people in Houston and elsewhere. They continuously inspire me and humble me, and sometimes they even let me call them friends.
Over the past few months, I've been working with a fantastic local web designer to redesign this site. I had hoped a fresh site would give me a boost of motivation - that it would energize me to expand my freelance network, explore new forms of writing and grow as a writer. But not soon after we perfected that lovely Houston skyline above did I receive an offer from my company to really grow. In Doha, Qatar.
I could write about how grateful I am that this opportunity not only came my way, but did so at such a pivotal time in my life, when, in true millennial form, the questions have seemed to outweigh the answers. I could reflect on how touched I've been by the sweet send-off my friends and family have given me these past few weeks. But writing about my personal life has never been gratifying to me; instead, the most fulfilling way to express myself has always been through the things I choose to write about and the way I choose to write about them.
I write about people because they’re my favorite puzzles to solve. I review songs and albums because the best music elicits in me the purest emotion. I dissect those silly, wonderful, entertaining pop culture nuggets because, strange though it may sound, to a varying degree they all help inform and challenge my convictions about life. My favorite writing experiences are those that force me to think critically about that unexplainable glue that binds us as human beings - and in turn, I learn more about myself.
So that’s my plan for the next two years in Qatar: Show up, work hard, absorb. Look for that glue and find new ways to write about it. Grow. And, as this ballsy chick from Texas would say, follow my arrow wherever it points:
*Post title inspired by Kacey Musgraves' recent quirky tour stop in Houston. She covered "No Scrubs" - need I say more?
