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Courtenay Budd's avatar

Thank you, Sarah! https://courtenaybudd.substack.com/p/talking-with-the-ice-agent-palm-sunday. This is a spontaneously-composed piece about seeing our neighbor, every one of us, as fellow human beings. On Palm Sunday morning my son and I met an ICE agent in the airport. I interviewed him, prayed over him (and for those affected by his actions), and immediately wrote down what was said. I learned and grew from the experience and am still processing it weeks later. Looking forward to reading others' work here.

Sarah Fay, PhD's avatar

Yay! Tell us a bit about it too here in the comments.

We want to know.

Courtenay Budd's avatar

Ah yes. This is a spontaneously-composed piece about seeing our neighbor, every one of us, as fellow human beings. On Palm Sunday morning my son and I met an ICE agent in the airport. I interviewed him, prayed over him (and for those affected by his actions), and immediately wrote down what was said. I learned and grew from the experience and am still processing it weeks later.

Rona Maynard's avatar

Courtenay, you humanized someone who has become a loathed stereotype. You had only a little time with him, but you made it count. I’m no fan of ICE, to put it mildly, but am grateful for this piece.

Courtenay Budd's avatar

Rona, thank you so much for reading and for this generous comment. Peace with you and yours.

Sarah Fay, PhD's avatar

I love how you open the post: personal, in the middle of the action, and with conflict early on. Hooked!

Sarah Fay, PhD's avatar

I'm so proud of this post! Read it! It will help you so much on Notes!

I break down the 4 types of Notes that get traction. If you're not doing one of these, it's like being in a room of people speaking French and speaking Samoan. It likely won't translate into engagement!

I usually don't use this many exclamation points, but I love this.

https://www.substackwritersatwork.com/p/substack-viral-notes-prompts

Now you...

Matthew Curlewis's avatar

"it's like being in a room of people speaking French and speaking Samoan. It likely won't translate into engagement!" Brilliant!

Leanne Phillips's avatar

I found this post so helpful and think about it every time I post a note. Thank you.

Melody Aminian's avatar

Thank you, Sarah! I invite you to listen to how art can be a form of social/environmental justice: https://melodyaminian.substack.com/p/art-as-advocacy?r=l0d0j&utm_medium=ios

Sarah Fay, PhD's avatar

Listening now: I needed this now. It's so easy for me to forget how powerful art is, especially since I started a business.

You must put this on Notes with a photo of Ossie Davis: “Any form of art is a form of power; it has impact, it can affect change - it can not only move us, it makes us move.”

Or your graphic.

Sarah Fay, PhD's avatar

And I love Banksy.

Tee Dee's avatar

Thank you for the invitation, Sarah. Here is the most vulnerable piece I have written, about my severe burnout and my loss of identity:

https://livingbetweenworlds.substack.com/p/burn-out-not-a-productivity-problem-but-an-identity-crisis

Sarah Fay, PhD's avatar

Relate!

"A thought came to me: I don’t want to be here. I hate this.

I started to feel really sick. I felt like I was going to throw up. I went home and cried. I was in bed for days, couldn’t eat, couldn’t do anything. My boss called and all I could say was that I was sick and would be sick for a while."

Our thoughts so create our feelings.

Sumaya Abuhaidar's avatar

Thanks for sharing this vulnerable and courageous post❤️

Liz Medford - lizexplores.com's avatar

It’s time we told the truth about #vanlife… here’s my story of the mess and magic of ten weeks traveling solo on the Baja peninsula!

www.lizexplores.com/p/baja-nearly-broke-me

Christopher Pepper's avatar

In Teen Health Today, I usually write about teenagers, but here I wrote about my dad and the effect he had on my life. https://www.teenhealthtoday.com/p/my-dad-just-died-he-would-want-you

Jen Rogers🎤︎︎Mic Drop Mastery's avatar

good stuff! commented.

Katie Valentine's avatar

Thank you! I am PROUD of taking 4 months 'off' to reset myself in Bali to truly get quiet so the path of least resistance could illuminate itself forward and my goodness it has! I have never felt so aligned and in love with life <3

I wrote about the feminien art of being here: https://katievalentine.substack.com/p/the-feminine-art-of-being

Sarah Fay, PhD's avatar

Wow. So amazing.

Kristin Fellows, storyteller's avatar

On the heels of publishing my first book, I've begun serializing my second adventure memoir on Substack. Here's the prologue to "Lions, Peacocks & Lemon Trees."

I love this post because it gives readers a visceral feel for what to expect.

It's also the post that has attracted the most paid subscribers for me:

https://lionspeacockslemontrees.substack.com/p/lions-peacocks-and-lemon-trees-prologue/

Nicole Beaudin's avatar

I'm so proud of this post partly because of my internal world when I wrote it (I've been doing a lot of self-questioning and there's a decent amount of dark self-doubt swirling this week) - and yet I wrote anyway. And also because it's really the first post under my new name: This Way to Lightness (which doesn't mean avoiding the dark aspects of our journey). The main point of the post is understanding who we need to become to live the life we say we want, including some powerful coaching prompts to guide the reader: https://nicolebeaudin.substack.com/p/train-your-muscle-memory

Margarit Brigham@Awaken Magic's avatar

Thank you Sarah for always thinking of ways for us to grow, I appreciate you so much.

My post is going back to 2024 when I was writing about the Hero's that have helped me be a survivor in this life and who have kept me on a magical path, by sticking with me and their magical paths.

Memoir includes this community of heroes and heroines.

https://margaritbrigham.substack.com/p/memoir-includes-this-community-of

Margarit Brigham@Awaken Magic's avatar

I appreciate the likes and reply's, I would appreciate them more at my article...Lol

Leah Redmond Chang's avatar

Thanks for the opportunity! Well, I've recently revamped my Substack so I'd say the post I'm most proud of is my latest.

It's about the guillotine - but only sort of. It's also about where we're headed.

I really love using pictures, and this time all the images really lined up and helped me tell the story.

https://leahredmondchang.substack.com/p/the-guillotine-in-our-pockets

Looking forward to seeing others' posts!

Amber Groomes,Ph.D. (she/her)'s avatar

Thanks for this Sarah. After a year of writing only educational pieces, I dipped my toe back into sharing a more personal essay. https://agroomes.substack.com/p/fixing-what-needs-to-be-felt?r=30pxzo&utm_medium=ios

Madison Cowles's avatar

Thank you!

Here is Chapter 1 of the next book I'm working on called "Between Deaths"

https://madisoncowles.substack.com/p/between-deaths-chapter-1

You can currently read through Chapter 3!

The Sleepy Wildflower's avatar

Thank you for doing this, Sarah!

I am most proud of this post because it shows who I am becoming as an artist and storyteller. It’s about a character named Barb who is going through midlife and finding humor along the way. It’s fun, silly and real. 🤗

https://thesleepywildflower.substack.com/p/introducing-a-new-friend?r=1kh0o4&utm_medium=ios

Matthew Curlewis's avatar

Love your enthusiasm + the providing the actual tools, Sarah, to have ALL of us grow! I look forward to digging into all the wonderful reading ahead of me, from fellow Substack Writers! I guess the post I'm most proud of is this one, because I went, experimentally, into some pretty uncharted territory, supported by the knowledge that previously my readers had enjoyed similar efforts, and this time it appears they did so again. So without further ado, here it is:

Of Quantum Physics, (Im)Possible Choices and Phenomenal Humans – Embracing impossibility as a way of juggling a multiplicity of truths

https://matthewcurlewis.substack.com/p/of-quantum-physics-impossible-choices