This is my 6th post, and yesterday was the first day I skipped putting a post up. So it feels like a fitting place to write something reflecting on this last week of writing.

I think for much of my life my learning has come from reading, studying, looking before I leap. Learning by simply diving in and doing comes less naturally. In my junior year of high school I was addicted to League of Legends instead of studying for my SAT. I'd come home at 2pm, spend 5 hours on the game, and start my homework at 7pm. But I'd spend only an hour playing. The rest of the time I'd spend reading guides on champions and builds, watching pros play, surfing the subreddit. I became an armchair ADC - I could tell you everything about the meta and the best matchups and builds for each champion, but I was completely garbage as a player. In fact, I was unranked for both seasons I played the game (S6 and S7) - I was too afraid to play ranked games, fail and fuck up. Before I quit in Jan 2017 (I'm coming up on 7 years sober!) I think I played my first ranked games and was, of course, placed at Bronze III (one of the lowest tiers).

I've learned way more about writing than I expected in this last week. I've noticed a tangible joy in having a protected space every day to create. A sense of security that I'll have the opportunity to hash out whatever rabbit holes fascinated me throughout the day. I think that before, the dreaded activation energy to begin writing dominated any imagination I had that the practice could be more than a chore. But thanks to Sara, I've started to prioritize getting started and shipping something that feels more raw, rather than waiting to polish the perfect essay every day. And because of that, I've learned things about writing by writing - things I couldn't have studied for if I tried.

Initially, it felt like I had to protect this time to write. Increasingly, it feels like this writing time protects me.

I feel like I'm just getting started. I feel like there's so much more to learn. I'm really looking forward to writing more.