There were so many things that happened in my adolescence that we—me, my peers, family, the culture-at-large—just did, not, talk about.

I graduated high school in 2006, when protruding hip bones were a fashion accessory and the idea of a cultural uprising against sexual assault like the #MeToo movement would have had been hard to imagine. We learned about hard things like sexual violence and mental health in vague and distant ways where it happened, but not to us. And when it was happening right in front of us, it was often met with whispers, shame, secrets, or judgment.

A lot of the things that happened to and around me in those years are things that kept me small. Small in physical size, because I was in constant pursuit of thinness, and small in personality, because I was in constant pursuit of approval and acceptance. And it undeniably affected how I moved forward—in relationships, in professional situations, in times of absolute solitude.

Over time, I’ve come back to myself. Over time, I outgrew the desire to stay small. Simultaneously, I developed a strong desire to start talking about it.

So here, in this newsletter, I’m digging it all up.

I’ll be looking at relationships and patterns and how we communicate, and using all the things I once kept quiet about to examine it all, out loud, on these internet pages.

There is a lot of stuff on the internet that discusses relationships—personal and professional and the one we have with ourselves—but I can’t help but feel as though much of the listicles and the saccharine-sweet positive talk just isn’t honest. You can ask the internet for a suggestion on how to cope with gaslighting and Rachel Hollis will chirp back, “girl, wash your face!”

Girl…I’d be scrubbing til my skin bleeds.

So, in monthly posts, I’m sharing the stories of my life as we look at some of the more sticky, complicated, painful, and nuanced parts of relationships—with ourselves, others, and for those of us who are so inclined, our creativity.

In terms of professional endeavors, I’ve been an employee for CBS, SiriusXM, MLB Network, and Turner Broadcasting; I entered the corporate world via CNN as a 20-year-old intern. That gives me more than a decade spent inside the doors of some of the largest broadcasting companies in the world, and boy, has it been a trip. The relationships I’ve formed, and sometimes broken, over the course of my career, will also shape the messages I share here.

So, what do I do for a living now? I’ve been in radio and audio production for ten years, and I now work within the wonderful world of podcasting for an incredible company, DCP Entertainment. I’m also an English professor and I teach students how to write.

Why I Named It “Write All Along”

A dear friend gave me a mug (pictured below) with the absolute intention of being snarky. I’ll admit, it is fitting, because I’ve been known to yammer on about something I picked up in the latest article or book I read (hoping to channel a lot of that energy here). I know she was (lovingly) calling me a know-it-all, but recently…

…I started thinking about being “right all along” in a different light. Not in that, I-want-to-correct-your-grammar-or-play-contrarian kind of way… but in the way that, sometimes, what you know in your gut, what you’ve “known all along,” is actually the answer you’ve been looking for. A lot of what I plan to share here will come back to a theme of trusting yourself. And since I’ll be writing about it…well, you get the picture.

And at the risk of sounding like a super-fan—in a twist of accidental fate, it’s also a nod to a song by one of my favorite bands, 311. I’ll leave you with some words from that song, “Strong All Along”:

“Do what you feel, the more absurd the better
Don't be afraid, whatever you got, show
Flaunt your personality, let me know your style
You could make a mean hand out of what you been dealt”

Thanks for coming, I’m glad you’re here.

If you’d like to get in touch with me, send me an email at btemp8@gmail.com

P.S. I’m going to curse. Often.