I have been writing this newsletter (with a few skipped dates when we were out of the country) since February 6, 2022. Over that time, I have written more than 260 essays on topics ranging from things going on in my community, in my country or around the world, and inane “observations” a la Seinfeld – that is, there were essentially about nothing in particular.
I write for myself, mainly. My daily essays have become an important discipline that requires me to stay engaged in the world around me. I have 53 subscribers at this time. Substack has awarded 10 of my subscribers a 4-star rating for engagement on my essays – these are people who regularly read and often comment on my posts. I extend a hearty “thanks” to them. I have nine more readers who have received five stars – the highest possible rating – and I thank them as well. My top reader and commenter is a friend who lives in Williamsburg – I won’t embarrass her by naming her, but she should know that I often write with her in mind because she lets me know so frequently when she has liked or shared an essay. Two of my other most faithful readers and responders live in Florida (a high school classmate) and New York (a Williamsburg friend who moved away last year to live near her family).
Other friends around Williamsburg and across the country — in Maryland, Arizona, Massachusetts, and elsewhere — let me know regularly when they’ve been intrigued or informed — or annoyed — by what I’ve written. However you engage or no matter how often you comment, I am happy that you subscribe to my newsletter.
I’m planning to continue to write in 2023, but I’m going to switch things around a bit. Here’s what my schedule will look like (unless or until I decide I don’t like it very much):
Mondays – genealogy topics
Tuesdays – the Osher Program at William and Mary
Wednesdays – local news in Williamsburg
Thursdays – national news
Fridays – international news
The last category – international news – is new for 2023. I have touched on international news in some posts I’ve written in 2022, but I haven’t intentionally focused on these news stories. I plan to change that in 2023. I studied Comparative Politics and International Relations when I was in grad school, and, although my attention turned to domestic politics once I began to teach high school, my attraction to these other stories has continued. I’m going to sharpen these dormant skills by writing about international topics every week.
As always, I encourage and welcome engagement with what I write. I like the idea that we are part of this little online community. Happy New Year to all of you and see you in 2023!
Really? Readers get stars? Awesome. How about dark chocolate? Could readers get dark chocolate?
Super cool, Karen! Happy New Year!! 🎆