A Phone Call From Mom
Plus: the problem with flying cars, rooms for the metaverse & more reading recs
You ever get a call from your parents that feels like some kind of trap?
You know what I’m talking about: Their voices sound sweeter than usual, gliding past the pleasantries so they can talk about something they know you don’t want to talk about? For me, that trap is the “back-to-school” conversation. I’m convinced that I could somehow cure cancer and my dad would still say something like, Excellent, my baby! When are you going to Oxford?
It’s exhausting having to explain over and over again that I don’t plan to go back if I don’t know A) what I would study and B) how it would further my career more than professional experience would. Especially if I end up being the one who has to pay for it. The more my parents ask me, though, the more I begin to second guess myself, like maybe I am missing out on something…even if it is a steamy hot pile of student loan debt. So when my mom asked me How’s your job going? earlier this week, I started to get nervous.
I love my job, I told her, and thanked her for asking. She wasn’t done.
So, what’s next? she said.
Here we go. What do you mean? I asked, getting antsy. Is this your way of asking if I’m going to go back to school, or…?
No no no, listen, that’s not what I’m saying. Her voice was firm but somehow gentle. I mean…what now? What are you doing to better yourself?
Her question caught me off guard. Sure, I landed a pretty cool job that’s a stepping stone in my career, but where exactly did I want to go and what did I want to accomplish? How would I become more secure financially and what would make me proud of myself? My mom’s curiosity was earnest, and as far as I can recall, it was the first time she was asking me this without offering her two cents.
It was wild because I’d spoken to a friend about my next steps just days before. I want to grow as a reporter — I mean, how sick would it be to write a first pager above the fold, and participate in an investigation that changes how people see the world? I also want to grow my personal brand and get into investing. I responded to my mom saying all of these things first because I wasn’t sure if “selling a bestseller” counted in her eyes, considering the odds stacked against me. After all, I could spend forever working on a novel that never goes anywhere. Or in the event that it does get published, there’s always that chance that nobody would care.
But I was thrilled to hear her voice fill with excitement as I talked about those dreams a bit more. I told her how I wanted to write something that was so good it made it to Barack Obama’s annual list of favorite books. How I wanted to be a part of the team that adapts the book into a movie — or, my favorite: a limited series — joining this New Hollywood wave that welcomes more people who aren’t white men into the workroom. I imagine the journey won’t all be sunshine and rainbows but I’d want to become a stronger person because of it, so that when I travel the world telling people about what it took for me to get there, I’d have something to say that inspires others.
Just thinking about it all gives me a tingling feeling, supercharging my dreams and aspirations. It’s exactly what I needed to construct a new plan for myself that helps me stay focused on this novel of mine. I can thank my mom for that.
Writing update 📝
Hey y’all, how’s it going? I figured when I don’t post as often I should perhaps make the newsletter just a tad longer than usual, perfect for the long weekend! Got any exciting plans? Let me know in the comments. ✍🏾
A few months ago, I had a video call with Stephanie Grant (aka: the incredible author and professor that I mentioned in this post). So much wonderful advice came out of that conversation and I hope to sprinkle in tidbits of what resonated with me most throughout my next few newsletters.
The conversation itself is getting a bit fuzzy now without me looking at my page of notes, but I distinctly remember that I’d spoken to her after watching Tick, Tick…Boom! on Netflix. The film, which is based on the autobiographical musical of the same name, is about a struggling playwright in New York City. That playwright is Jonathan Larson, the person who wrote that musical as well as some little show called Rent.
I distinctly remember that our conversation happened after watching this film because there was a line by a character that felt like she was talking to me somehow. *Spoiler ahead* It was after Jonathan had tried his darnedest to get his life’s work off the ground and then failed because it wasn’t going to get picked up. He asks his agent, What am I supposed to do now? to which she responds by telling him to get cracking on the next one. Then she offers a bit of extra advice, saying, On the next one, maybe try writing about what you know.
That really stuck with me because I don’t know a damn thing about cyberpunk, which (in case you forgot) is the genre I hope to tackle with this novel of mine. Hell—Superbia, the show that Jonathan was trying so hard to get picked up, was a science fiction satire rock musical inspired by 1984. I felt stuck in Jonathan’s shoes, and I haven’t even finished my damn manuscript, yet.
Stephanie’s advice to me was similar: She advised me to write what I know, but added that that didn’t mean I had to sacrifice my novel’s premise. She told me to consider this when developing my characters, my themes, all of the glue that takes a story deeper than the plot alone could ever go. I had an awakening of some sort right then; suddenly I understand some of my characters’ motivations better because to some extent, I’ve felt what they’ve felt. The difference is, I have the power to make them do things with those feelings that I might never do. The possibilities are endless.
Stories that inspired me this week 🔗
This past month of news cycles has been a lot to digest. Lately, all I can think about are those lives that were lost in the Robb Elementary School mass shooting in Uvalde, Texas, this week. I threw in a couple of extra story links here, including those that offer a glimpse into what our future could look like given the way things are headed in this moment.
AI may be searching you for guns the next time you go out in public — by Steven Zeitchik for The Washington Post
The Biggest Problem With Flying Cars Is on the Ground — by Christopher Mims for The Wall Street Journal
The World’s Most ‘Pro-Life’ Nations Offer a Grim Preview of America's Future — by Jill Filipovic for Time
The YouTubers are not okay — by Rebecca Jennings for Vox
Outdoor Workers Have Little Protection In A Warming World — by Aryn Baker for Time
Why gun control feels out of reach — and why there’s still hope — by Aja Romano for Vox
A Virtual Golf Venue, a Metaverse Space: Rooms You’ll Find in Homes of the Future — Renée Onque for The Wall Street Journal
Honorable mentions:
Marilyn Monroe’s life was like a movie.
We talk too damn much.
“Grandfluencers” has a nice ring to it.
A behind the scenes look at what’s now my favorite film of all time.
That’s all for now. Let the long weekend begin. ☀️