Hello, everyone, and farewell, April! It is truly a miracle that I made my deadline tonight. Confession: I rewrote this month’s newsletter four times. You heard me, FOUR times. Here’s how it went down:
Draft #1 turned out to be May’s newsletter (great, we were ahead of schedule and yet still behind). Although filled with new business initiatives and personal projects, it felt a bit premature to share.
Draft #2 was a rant that belonged in my journal (while I love being vulnerable with you all, I do have boundaries). My inner critic had taken over, filling the pages with doubt, judgment, and guilt for having my first-ever month off to recover from a 9-month project.
Draft #3 was an attempt to transform the audacious rant into an uplifting pep talk. I was starting to get somewhere salvageable, but it still felt…wrong. The words felt like a stranger had written them. Because the Alexandria I’m growing into would never beat herself up or apologize for taking a much-needed and well-deserved break.
My heart sank as I refused to reread this unwanted PSA from my old self. But time was running out. I knew I needed to pivot; I needed to create something visual, fast. It was far too late to throw together a comicsletter. So I looked for inspiration on my camera reel, and saw the real story take shape: a creatively drained Alexandria going on a series of Artist Dates to refill her creative well (and the well overfloweth).
I (figuratively) put on my magazine art director hat and started designing digital photo collages that captured the restorative month of April. To my surprise, I birthed (dramatic, I know, but you should expect this by now unless you’re new here) an experimental newsletter format called “Love, Foxee”, a photo diary series that romanticizes my creative recovery and documents the little corner of my world that inspires me.
And That’s All She Wrote!
Even though April had a rough start and a bumpy end, it was nothing short of a great month. First, I finished my project, a HUGE win! Second, I let myself rest: slow mornings, hand massages, cozy gaming, sketchbook doodles, video chats with long-distance friends, and solo adventures in new neighborhoods. And when my old self wanted to make me feel guilty for not being “productive” or worried about what the next gig would be, I respectfully journaled and hot girl-walked those silly thoughts away.
Through creative recovery, I was reminded of the following:
To always believe in myself and trust that the Universe is guiding me towards my highest good.
To have grace with myself and know that I’m trying my best (and my best looks different every day).
To accept that every decision I’ve made, “good” or “bad,” has led me here. And here is an excellent place to be.
When was the last time you allowed yourself to take a break? What’s one way you can give back to yourself this week? While ambition is great, you can’t be great when you’re always depleted. Remember to take time to reward your inner child with a playdate on the weekend or naptime in the middle of a WFH day (I promise I won’t tell), and stay Foxee.