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Good things are happening!?!?!

It’s been a while since I had truly good news.

Sure, I’ve made some strides in my freelancing career, but always after painstaking hours of studying, pitching, and finessing my methods to squeeze my way into a new space. Every time I’ve taken a step forward, it feels like I’ve been immediately shoved back twice as far.

Last summer, I was excitedly telling my roommate that I thought I was finally going to be able to stop pitching new papers to write for and just focus on the work itself. Shortly after, Google changed its algorithm and essentially destroyed commerce journalism opportunities for freelancers overnight. I went from a promised full workload to nearly client-less in less than a week.

Honestly? I very nearly quit. If the job market hadn’t been so abysmal, I genuinely might have. I certainly applied for a number of full-time jobs with every intention of taking them if I broke through the crowds. I even considered returning to the office in person, which I know is not the right working style for me. I’m less productive, more stressed, and more overwhelmed.

But also, like so many of us, I can’t just not have an income.

This summer, I had not one, but THREE opportunities appear as if by magic. Even now, they don’t truly feel real, because it feels like I didn’t work hard enough to deserve them. Never mind that they came about because of hours of previous work on pitches, letters of introduction, follow-ups, website revamps, and more.

I hadn’t actively sought these opportunities, so it felt like somehow, they must have all made a mistake.

I skipped straight from “wow they want me to work with them” to “oh god what if I’m not good enough.”

It’s only the last few days that I’ve forced myself to sit down and really examine what a terrible approach that is. In a world that’s on fire and more depressing by the day, I took three genuinely good things in my life and immediately made them a source of stress and fear instead.

So today, I’m being intentionally joyful. I’m feeling those good feelings, and telling myself that I did work for this, and I do deserve this until I start to believe it. I’m reminding myself that even if I hadn’t and this joy was truly serendipity, that’s okay too. I’m allowed to have good things happen to me just because sometimes, good things happen. I don’t have to “earn” joy.

I think some of my hesitancy comes from a place of guilt. As a journalist—especially one who writes about topics related to being queer, disabled, and neurodivergent—it’s impossible to miss just how scary things are right now. Between that and my history background, it feels like we’re sliding back in so many different directions at once that it makes my head hurt as much as my heart.

The reality is that people are dying. People are being wrongfully imprisoned. They’re being tortured. Neglected. Humiliated. Terrorized.

Our capital city is under occupation. Our country is helping support a genocide. Our communities are scared.

Often, I find myself thinking “How dare I sit here in my cozy little home and feel joy? How dare I waste energy that could be better suited toward trying to help others?”

But the truth is, it’s not possible to spend every moment of every day tuned in. Trust me, I’ve tried. It’s a great way to suffer in every aspect of your health.

You have to have those moments to breathe, and feel, and be human, too. No one’s life gets brighter when you make yours darker.

As the saying goes, you can’t pour from an empty cup. You must refill your own before you’re any good to anyone else.

So, today I am refilling my cup. I’m helping my light to grow.

I’m letting myself feel joy and silencing the doubt.

For this moment, for right now, I’m going to let myself just be happy.

What I’ve been up to lately

My most recent article for Business Insider:
I’ve spent a decade writing and editing greeting cards. I hate most "thank you” notes—with one huge exception.

When I first started freelancing, I had two papers that I desperately wanted to someday write for. And as of this summer? I will have finally achieved both goals. (More soon, but all I can say for now!)

I’ve also been spending a lot of time helping build a home improvement app, which has taught me a lot about UX and app copywriting, information architecture, and how to be handy around my own house. Honestly, it’s incredibly fun to watch the app come together from ideas to a thing we can actually use. It’ll still be a while before the app is ready to show anyone, but just know when we can? It’s going to be majorly cool. (Or, at least, that’s the plan. 😉 )

What’s the deal with… the sandwich?

Call it meme or legend, but the internet is utterly obsessed with the sandwich moment.

Basically, the TL;DR is that early in D.C.’s occupation by federal troops, a man threw a sub sandwich at a federal agent. The agent, who was wearing a bulletproof vest, chased after and arrested the man, and the sandwich thrower has now been charged with a felony.

He’s also become the unexpected symbol of resistance for D.C.

Now, artwork, protest signs, memes, and conversational references are made to the sandwich thrower. The references are a joke as much as an unfortunate truth: that a relatively harmless action is being taken seriously as a genuine threat while actual threats to citizens are routinely ignored and made worse day by day.

One Way You Can Help Someone Today

Especially low toilets can pose a challenge for those who are older, have disabilities, have poor balance, and more. It can be deeply embarrassing to admit you can’t use someone’s toilet, especially if you normally can hide your need for assistance. (Not recommending doing so, to be clear, but everyone shares at their own pace.) The last thing anyone wants is to have to ask for help if they sit down on a seat that’s too low and realize they can’t get back up.

However, if a person is afraid to use your toilet, they may have to cut visits short or even avoid coming over at all and may not want to share why.

If your toilet is getting close to needing replaced soon anyway, consider looking for an ADA-height toilet so that your guests and home members alike can use the bathroom with ease.

Alternatively, a toilet set riser can be a temporary or even permanent addition to the bathroom if you have guests or members of your home often experiencing this issue. Some seats, like one offered by Bemis, are so subtle that most wouldn’t recognize them as a riser at all.

Recommending…

I’ve been revisiting Project Runway, a show I used to watch with my aunt and cousin regularly, then later with a friend and her parents. It is both nothing like I remember, and exactly like I remember, in some very funny ways.

As far as actually recommending though, if you’ve somehow escape the KPop Demon Hunter craze, consider this your nudge to join it. The movie is available on Netflix and is great for kids, but just as fun for adults who like KPop, animated films, musicals, or just a little spark of joy.

I want to hear from you! Have you heard a term going around that you’d like to know the meaning of? Do you wish you knew more about something I’ve mentioned here? Send me an email, and remember, there are no silly questions. 

Anna Wenner is a writer whose work has appeared in The New York Times’ Wirecutter, SUCCESS Magazine, Business Insider, USA Today’s Reviewed, Lovepop, Hallmark, and more. You can learn more about her at her website.