There’s…something…missing….hereΝβ€Œ Νβ€Œ Νβ€Œ Νβ€Œ Νβ€Œ Νβ€Œ Νβ€Œ Νβ€Œ Νβ€Œ Νβ€Œ Νβ€Œ Νβ€Œ Νβ€Œ Νβ€Œ Νβ€Œ Νβ€Œ Νβ€Œ Νβ€Œ Νβ€Œ Νβ€Œ Νβ€Œ Νβ€Œ Νβ€Œ Νβ€Œ Νβ€Œ Νβ€Œ Νβ€Œ Νβ€Œ Νβ€Œ Νβ€Œ Νβ€Œ Νβ€Œ Νβ€Œ Νβ€Œ Νβ€Œ Νβ€Œ Νβ€Œ Νβ€Œ Νβ€Œ Νβ€Œ Νβ€Œ Νβ€Œ Νβ€Œ Νβ€Œ Νβ€Œ Νβ€Œ Νβ€Œ Νβ€Œ Νβ€Œ Νβ€Œ Νβ€Œ Νβ€Œ Νβ€Œ Νβ€Œ Νβ€Œ Νβ€Œ Νβ€Œ Νβ€Œ Νβ€Œ Νβ€Œ Νβ€Œ Νβ€Œ Νβ€Œ Νβ€Œ Νβ€Œ Νβ€Œ Νβ€Œ Νβ€Œ Νβ€Œ Νβ€Œ Νβ€Œ Νβ€Œ Νβ€Œ Νβ€Œ Νβ€Œ Νβ€Œ Νβ€Œ Νβ€Œ Νβ€Œ Νβ€Œ Νβ€Œ Νβ€Œ Νβ€Œ Νβ€Œ Νβ€Œ Νβ€Œ Νβ€Œ Νβ€Œ Νβ€Œ Νβ€Œ Νβ€Œ Νβ€Œ Νβ€Œ Νβ€Œ Νβ€Œ Νβ€Œ Νβ€Œ Νβ€Œ Νβ€Œ Νβ€Œ Νβ€Œ Νβ€Œ Νβ€Œ Νβ€Œ Νβ€Œ Νβ€Œ Νβ€Œ Νβ€Œ Νβ€Œ Νβ€Œ Νβ€Œ Νβ€Œ Νβ€Œ Νβ€Œ Νβ€Œ Νβ€Œ Νβ€Œ Νβ€Œ Νβ€Œ Νβ€Œ Νβ€Œ Νβ€Œ Νβ€Œ Νβ€Œ Νβ€Œ Νβ€Œ Νβ€Œ Νβ€Œ Νβ€Œ Νβ€Œ Νβ€Œ Νβ€Œ Νβ€Œ Νβ€Œ Νβ€Œ Νβ€Œ Νβ€Œ Νβ€Œ Νβ€Œ Νβ€Œ Νβ€Œ Νβ€Œ Νβ€Œ Νβ€Œ Νβ€Œ Νβ€Œ Νβ€Œ Νβ€Œ Νβ€Œ Νβ€Œ Νβ€Œ Νβ€Œ Νβ€Œ Νβ€Œ Νβ€Œ Νβ€Œ Νβ€Œ Νβ€Œ Νβ€Œ Νβ€Œ Νβ€Œ Νβ€Œ Νβ€Œ Νβ€Œ Νβ€Œ Νβ€Œ Νβ€Œ Νβ€Œ Νβ€Œ Νβ€Œ Νβ€Œ Νβ€Œ Νβ€Œ Νβ€Œ Νβ€Œ Νβ€Œ Νβ€Œ Νβ€Œ Νβ€Œ Νβ€Œ Νβ€Œ Νβ€Œ Νβ€Œ Νβ€Œ Νβ€Œ Νβ€Œ Νβ€Œ Νβ€Œ Νβ€Œ Νβ€Œ Νβ€Œ Νβ€Œ Νβ€Œ Νβ€Œ Νβ€Œ Νβ€Œ Νβ€Œ Νβ€Œ Νβ€Œ Νβ€Œ Νβ€Œ Νβ€Œ Νβ€Œ Νβ€Œ Νβ€Œ Νβ€Œ Νβ€Œ Νβ€Œ Νβ€Œ Νβ€Œ Νβ€Œ Νβ€Œ Νβ€Œ Νβ€Œ Νβ€Œ Νβ€Œ Νβ€Œ Νβ€Œ Νβ€Œ Νβ€Œ Νβ€Œ Νβ€Œ Νβ€Œ Νβ€Œ Νβ€Œ Νβ€Œ Νβ€Œ Νβ€Œ Νβ€Œ Νβ€Œ Νβ€Œ Νβ€Œ Νβ€Œ Νβ€Œ Νβ€Œ Νβ€Œ Νβ€Œ Νβ€Œ Νβ€Œ Νβ€Œ Νβ€Œ Νβ€Œ Νβ€Œ Νβ€Œ Νβ€Œ Νβ€Œ Νβ€Œ Νβ€Œ Νβ€Œ Νβ€Œ Νβ€Œ Νβ€Œ Νβ€Œ Νβ€Œ Νβ€Œ 

You’re going to be shocked when you don’t see what I’ve decided to not write about.

Topics covered this month: ✨Reinvention✨, kitten heels, pickleball, not my dad

I decided to write an entire letter without bringing up my dad. That’s why this intro is so short; he’s most of what I think about, and thus, think to write about. However, it will be a good creative exercise to write about other things, and ideally an absolute laugh riot––or bare minimum an OK read––for you as well. 

It actually reminds me of something my dad would always say to me wheneverβ€”just kidding ;) 

A Very Easy Way to Reinvent Myself

When applying for jobs earlier this year, I made it through several interview rounds with one company, before being exiled into absolute and total rejection; she said calmly and without exaggeration. Part of the interview process involved completing a β€œBusiness Case” which meant writing marketing copy for the company’s product to see if I could adopt their tone of voice. The answer was, yes, I could mimic the tone of voice but unfortunately, my writing was too β€œtraditional.”

At the time, I felt embarrassed by this feedback. I was a full-time, stay-at-home mom taking my longest career break. I felt sure that this critique meant I would never find work again––devotees may recall this woe-is-me era––and that I had become redundant and outdated by taking a career pause to be with my child.

However, this β€œtraditional” comment quickly became both very dear to me and a realistic motivator. When writing ~professionally~ I do prefer to play it pretty safe. I like some humor here, I want my writing to have texture there, but I don’t successfully write with any edge.

To remedy this, I’ve found that the writing equivalent of dying my hair or wearing kitten heels––aka quickly and low-riskily reinventing myself––is rewriting my resume for sport. (Yes, there will be an upcoming newsletter about how I need to find my true passion in life because clearly, I need one.) The β€œabout me” synopsis at the top of the resume is under enormous pressure to perfectly encapsulate who I am or who I could be in 1-3 sentences. A first impression that has the awesome power to make me irresistible to an HR person or an AI recruiting software. Imagine the possibilities!!!!!!!

Here are some examples of intro sentences for my resume:

Safe: I am an Amsterdam-based creative strategist, writer, and editor. I crave accessibility for all. From email subject lines to large-scale campaigns, I’m happiest distilling complex ideas into appetizing content that leaves a lasting impact.

Possible feedback: Is she hungry

Edgier: Heyyyy. I am a creative content freak. Words are precious jewels with which I adorn my strategy crown. I set and enforce clear boundaries which means I will be leaving early Monday-Friday; I’d love to hear from you.

Possible feedback: Is she serious

Edgiest: βœ‹οΈŽ β™‹οΈŽβοΈŽ β“οΈŽβ–‘οΈŽβ—†οΈŽβ’οΈŽ β– οΈŽβ™οΈŽβ¬₯︎ πŸ‘οΈŽβ˜œοΈŽβšοΈŽ

Possible feedback: She’s our new CEO.

If you’re looking for the written word form of cutting your bangs––and really, aren’t we all––give this a try and please send me your most unhinged intros.

In β€œPopular” Culture

Rings of Power. Season II starts later this month. Orc fans rise up!!! jk I’m an elf-head. This show is based on The Silmarillion which is both an incredibly tedious read and one of Michael’s favorite books.

The Lost Flowers of Alice Hart. One of the more beautifully-shot series I have seen. Also quite a dark, intense watch just fyi.

John Early Special: Now More Than Ever. The way I scour the internet for John Early content, and this special is further confirmation he is a genius. My friend Julia introduced me to this additional early gem (with Kate Berlant) that I watch minimum 5 times a year.

Deadpool & Wolverine. Both overstimulating and over my head…humbling tbh. Guys, enough with the multiverses.

Kitten heels. Yes, they’re mentioned twice in this newsletter. There’s literally no better heel!!! I understand fashion is cyclical but I was so repulsed by this specific shoe genre back in the day, it’s hard to believe how obsessed I have become.

5 Reasons I Feel Homesick*

*Look familiar..? I did not send myself a test email of the last newsletter––even though I have claimed this is a crucial part of my process––and thus failed to notice that I had somehow deleted this section lol. It’s all still true! If anything, it’s more true!

I’m skipping the main ones like friends and family and going right to what matters.

  1. I like happy small talk and friendly gossip and general niceties. And sometimes I find these things harder to come by in ye old Where I Live Now.

  2. Familiarity. It is very relaxing to be in a hometown environment as comforting as mine, surrounded by people I’ve known and loved since childhood.

  3. View of mountains.

  4. Better thrifting (this is not a drill!!!! but it is the truth!!!!)

  5. Pickleball.

A Running List of Recent Vintage Home Finds

Top 3 Reasons I Miss My Friend Julia Right Now:

  • She is a fab movie critic. Insider tip: She recently saw and recommended Kneecap.

  • She can teach herself anything. I think this is the most important skill a person can have and she definitely has it.

  • She blazed the trail of loving kitten heels (thrice mentioned!) so I could follow.

Next time I plan on writing a 7,000-word stream of consciousness essay on the below photo of me and my mom:
 

Thank you for reading xoxo

Piet Gijzenbrugstraat
Amsterdam 1059XE
Netherlands

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