Hello there, my name is Marco, the author and host of this weekly-ish newsletter.
Your Friendly Obsession.
When I started this Substack, just a little over two years ago, I began with the intention of flexing my writing muscle and sharing things I have been obsessing over in an effort to draw in kindred spirits to chat with.
No limitations, just see what flows out and follow the vibes.
Over time, I felt this added pressure to only chat about books, or things I was consuming. To create buzz-worthy headlines. To niche down. To mirror other writers on the platform and the topics that were flying around with prevalence.
This felt so unnatural.
I had been chasing attention or fame. Which feels weird to admit out loud, mainly because that’s not who I am.
I value community and positive vibes.
I cherish finding people who are a part of your tribe and connecting across the expanse of the social media verse with people you might never have met in real life.
There’s been so much good that has come from breaking out of my shell and practicing in public.
But I got a little lost in the sauce.
Consumed with content schedules, chasing hype or trends, or really performing creativity without intention or a real purpose. Not always, but in typical Leo-dramatization, I can only speak of it in these terms.
As much as I value my contrarian qualities, I often see things in black and white. It’s a flaw of mine. To acquiesce to nuance is a skill that I’ve been working my whole life at.
I’ve been chasing success from an algo, who couldn’t give two Fs about me.
Expressing elements of creativity and putting it all on public display.
The catalyst for this journey was merely expressing my creativity and writing outside of just a personal journal and an instagram account.
And slowly but surely, I find myself coming back to that more and more.
Long story long…
I’ve come to terms with surrendering to this state of creative freedom.
One I had every intention of embodying when I first started.
Writing was always my way to process how I was feeling, when lost.
Putting pen to paper when the going got rough.
There are so many perks to creative expression without restraints.
Writing is fun.
Writing is essential.
Creativity is human.
Giving text to ideas or things you’ve enjoyed in order to share with those who you cherish and love, creating something to bond over.
You will discover unknown parts of yourself that make you shine from within
You might pick up a new hobby or obsession
Through expression you might find healing or peace
Moving forward…
I’m taking my self-imposed restraints off.
Would you like to join me?
If you’ve been feeling that way in any area of your life, like you need to compartmentalize yourself in order to gain success or notoriety or avoid judgement…stop torturing yourself.
Just be silly.
Embrace every inch of yourself.
I’m honored to share my authentic self and incoherent ramblings with y’all.
I wish you well and hope you shine, and you feel free to create what you want: whether it be an instagram reel, a playlist on Spotify, the next big novel, a course on “how-to—-something or other”…You’ve got it.
You can even do all the above, and so much more, I believe in you.