Word It Out

Hello, community. This is Sarah writing in from Orange County, California. Orange County has been my home since 2001, since I moved here after college to spend a year as an AmeriCorps volunteer. That volunteer experience changed my life, as cliche as it sounds. After graduating college with an English degree, I had anticipated becoming a traveling journalist – you know, because I loved to travel and I loved to write.

But spending a year as an AmeriCorps set me on a different path. I stayed in the nonprofit sector for six years, working in both programming and development. I still exercised my creative muscle, first writing mass emails to family and friends (kind of like this!) and then writing marketing copy for work. 

In 2007, I went corporate. Hey, I had goals that required an uptick in personal income (#gradschool), and I enjoyed an incredible experience leading corporate citizenship and philanthropic efforts at a global investment management firm. 

By 2018, I knew I needed to make a career change. I didn’t know what that change should be, but with total support from my husband, I walked away from my corporate gig and into full-time parenting in summer 2018. Full-time parenting is gosh darn hard, people! I’m sure you know that. 

That summer was pretty special though, as I got to reconnect with my kids and figure out my next move. And in the fall, I started my own consulting business, Mission Up. 

My husband kept after me to write a business plan, but I never did. It was all I could do to keep up with projects that were starting to come in and put some systems in place. 

Fast forward to now. Here I am, still consulting. I’m grateful for the incredible projects I’ve been able to work on, and for the incredible people I’ve met along the way. 

And after running, running, running on the hamster wheel of work, I’ve decided to take time this year to focus up my consulting. I know what I want to work on, and I’m intently pursuing just that. 

I also want to get back to writing – hence this newsletter. I want to try and capture the wonder in our world, because there is so much of it. My goal is to write every couple of weeks, but sometimes, it just might be once a month. I’ll share what I’m reading, doing, hearing, and seeing. I hope you share with me, too. And if this newsletter isn’t for you, feel free to unsubscribe – my feelings won’t be hurt!

My 2024 is a year of experimentation. Here’s to growing.

See you next time,

Sarah

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📚MY RECENT FAVORITE READ

I finished The Heaven and Earth Grocery Store not too long ago and OHMYGOSH YOU MUST PICK UP THIS BOOK. I loved this book by James McBride so much that after reading Heaven and Earth, I immediately turned to The Color of Water, McBride’s own story and that of his mother. YOU MUST PICK UP THIS BOOK, TOO. Just incredible reads. Tell me, what is your favorite read at the moment?

🎧A PODCAST WORTH LISTENING TO 

While the United Arab Emirates (UAE) has spent considerable time and money portraying itself as a solid supporter of gender equality, there is deep discrimination toward women in the country – starting at the top. I couldn’t get enough of this In the Dark/New Yorker podcast about the confinement, abuse, and silencing of Dubai’s princesses: The Runaway Princesses | The New Yorker. It’s only four episodes; it’s stunning and heart wrenching.

🆒I DON’T LIKE X ANYMORE, BUT THIS ACCOUNT IS PRETTY COOL

I used to like Twitter a lot, but ever since Elon Musk took over, I don’t spend too much time there. However, I did just come across this account: ArtButMakeItSports. It is wild and clever and really good for a laugh.

💘NONPROFIT LOVE

I am hooked on learning about nonprofits and their missions the world over. In each issue of my newsletter, I’ll highlight a nonprofit that I just might be obsessed with. To kick us off, I want to tell you about Girls Write Now. Girls Write Now breaks down barriers of gender, race, age, and poverty to mentor and train the next generation of writers and leaders for life – and elevates the power of stories to shape culture, impact industries, and inspire change. Mentees are typically between the ages of 14-24 and publish in the New York Times, Teen Vogue, and Buzzfeed, among other outlets. There is so much more to this organization (including free workshops and events!) than I am sharing here. Take a spin around their website and be amazed: www.girlswritenow.org.