An overdue update

Sometimes I really really struggle with treating myself like a human.

A few weeks ago, I saw a note on substack that brought my whirling thoughts to a halt. I have to paraphrase because of course I can’t find it now, but essentially it was from someone gently admonishing us writers to stop treating ourselves like machines that can crank out our writing every two weeks, no matter what may or may not be going on in our lives.

One of the reasons people seek our writing is because we are human, which means we have to treat ourselves as such and take care of ourselves when life gets in the way of our work. These words have brought me solace as it taken me more than three months to get back to publishing. Three months filled with massive life changes that were a threat to my sanity, much less a threat to my writing. Still, even in the midst of trying to give myself grace, I felt like I let my audience down. But ironically, here’s what I’ve learned during this time:

1. People are so much better at giving me grace than I am at giving it to myself.

2. I’m not that important (lol). No one seemed to miss my absence or felt the need to angrily vocalize to me that they wanted to hear from me. In fact, my subscribership grew immensely while I was away. I’m not quite sure what to do with that information, lol, but I am so glad to welcome those of you new to this site (more on that later).

3. Travels are timeless. I’ve gone back and forth about if it’s too late to tell you all about the mother daughter trip I took to Switzerland in September, or to create a Black travel guide on a new city. But the reality is, people are traveling and seeking travel inspiration on their own timeline, not mine. All I can hope for is that my words meet people where they are on their travel planning journeys, and it really doesn’t matter if the trip I’m writing about took place last week or last year.

So, that being said, I’m feeling grateful that I’ve ripped off the bandaid, lovingly told my anxiety to have a seat, and finally gotten back to this newsletter that I love so much. For those of you new here: welcome. I’m so thankful that you’ve chosen to join my little corner of the internet for news and inspiration regarding Black travel. Exploring Black history sites and supporting Black businesses and communities feels more important now than ever and I appreciate your support.

For the OGs, those who have waited out this bout of silence: Thank you for sticking with me. Thank you for giving me grace when I fail to give it to myself. Thank you for your free and paid subscriptions. Thank you for your comments and words of encouragement. I love the community we’ve developed here and I look forward to keeping it going. I’ve got some surprises and extras I’ve been working on in the background that I’ll be gifting to you all soon.

Last but absolutely not least, I figured I’d share part of what has absorbed so much of my time and mental space over the last three months. I GOT MARRIED!! Planning a wedding is not for the weak (whew LORD), and I will never ever do it again, but I am happy to say that after 10 months of planning, our wedding was absolutely beautiful and I am completely obsessed with my husband. This sacred newsletter felt like the perfect place to share a few photos from the day, for the first time ever. So please celebrate the fact that you are seeing these before social media lol. Black love FTW!

More travel stories coming soon. Much love,

Shayla