Life, the Universe, and Lani

Hello Blogosphere! It’s the darndest thing. I mean to give you an update, and then life grabs me by the hand and pulls me here, there, and everywhere. Maybe you can relate?

In any case, in May, I wrapped up my second memoir on Substack. It felt fantastic, but also like, what’s next? Serendipitously, the end came at the beginning of a quick family vacation and me working up the nerve to submit a book proposal for a contest.

It’s okay. I don’t expect to win. I know, I know, then why did you enter? Because why not? Do hard things. Put yourself out there. I’m already a winner because I achieved something that I’ve been wanting to do for a long time. Write my family’s story.

In the spirit of risk taking, I created a FB page, but it’s crickets over there. And that’s okay, too. I mean, sure, I wanted it work. (Maybe one day it will?) I wanted to include friends who’ve I’ve not shared a single essay with for YEARS, but as it turns out, the world’s got enough content.

But gosh darn it, I’m in a good mood these days.

Throughout my life, I’ve had a few people suggest that I’d be good at writing a column. So, I decided to create an ASK LANI segment, but since FB isn’t seeing any action, I’m going to move it over to Substack’s Notes.

What I’ve realized is, I’m not good at the Twitter, or X thing ~ you know, just dropping random *wink, wink* thoughts, self-help advice, etc. I need s t r u c t u r e. And a short ASK LANI column can be that way to participate in a kind of “social media” I’m just not naturally keyed into.

I also miss serializing my memoir, so I’ve decided I’m going to put up my first one: The Missing Teacher. I think it will be interesting because I have almost two decades worth of teaching experience since I wrote it. I will also be able to introduce the book to a whole new audience on Substack.

Hope to see you over there. If you’re on the platform reading other publications, I’d also like to know what you’re reading! Thanks.