as a woman who is literally, at this very moment, planning a solo "offline" weekend and will also be spending all week very much online, all of this. I keep thinking about what Liz Gilbert writes in Big Magic, "the paradox of creativity is that it matters deeply, and also it doesn't matter at all." trying to hold it lightly, trying to take it very seriously. trying, trying. at least we're trying.
this was SO brilliant and describes a feeling i’ve tangled with for years as i endlessly delete and redownload instagram/tiktok. I love what you said about “negotiating with the machine” and biting your tail, such good writing. i’m a 1998 baby too and it’s so difficult to discern where our agency ends and exploitation begins
Among all the aspects of this essay that you absolutely nailed, I’d love to give a standing ovation to this helluva title. Every woman out there (umm hello!) will see this and go, “literally me”
thank you for so gorgeously articulating the incommunicable inner monologue i've been harboring. favorite thing i've read in a while, and not just because i feel noticeably less insane
You are inside my brain. Loved this Valerie -- been thinking a lot lately about how being offline is a privilege and how impossible the old trope of a reclusive writer feels today.
hi, valerie! i’m not exaggerating when i say that finding this space feels like getting out of the stuffy room that is the internet of today. i’m incredibly grateful to the friend who pointed me here, and a little mystified that i managed to miss it for so long. as someone constantly searching and searching endlessly to read something intellectually rigorous ns stylistically distinctive and truly original, your voice feels refreshingly singular. i’m so excited to follow along.
and so grateful to my friend for leading me here!!!!
this is so interesting… what if the woman is online but private? what if she indulges in the space that she’s created in her corner of the web, making it pretty, curating it. would she still be compelled to go offline?
as a woman who is literally, at this very moment, planning a solo "offline" weekend and will also be spending all week very much online, all of this. I keep thinking about what Liz Gilbert writes in Big Magic, "the paradox of creativity is that it matters deeply, and also it doesn't matter at all." trying to hold it lightly, trying to take it very seriously. trying, trying. at least we're trying.
What a fantastic quote
ooo solo offline weekend… you are giving me ideas!
Something felt off about the recurring going offline discourse. Now I know why. Thank you!
❤️ thank you for seeing what i see
this was SO brilliant and describes a feeling i’ve tangled with for years as i endlessly delete and redownload instagram/tiktok. I love what you said about “negotiating with the machine” and biting your tail, such good writing. i’m a 1998 baby too and it’s so difficult to discern where our agency ends and exploitation begins
thank you so much Chrissy ❤️ appreciate it beyond words
Among all the aspects of this essay that you absolutely nailed, I’d love to give a standing ovation to this helluva title. Every woman out there (umm hello!) will see this and go, “literally me”
haha it was honestly a working title that felt fun enough to keep in the end
You chose wisely
thank you for so gorgeously articulating the incommunicable inner monologue i've been harboring. favorite thing i've read in a while, and not just because i feel noticeably less insane
Allie! Thank you!
You are inside my brain. Loved this Valerie -- been thinking a lot lately about how being offline is a privilege and how impossible the old trope of a reclusive writer feels today.
Want to restack every sentence in this you have done it again
MAJA ❣️
hi, valerie! i’m not exaggerating when i say that finding this space feels like getting out of the stuffy room that is the internet of today. i’m incredibly grateful to the friend who pointed me here, and a little mystified that i managed to miss it for so long. as someone constantly searching and searching endlessly to read something intellectually rigorous ns stylistically distinctive and truly original, your voice feels refreshingly singular. i’m so excited to follow along.
and so grateful to my friend for leading me here!!!!
this is the most beautiful thing I’ve seen all week - thank you so so much 🧚🏻 your words have found me at the right time :) welcome!!
that means a lot! so glad our word found each other at the right time. and thank you! you’re so talented x
this is wonderful
thank you my love!!
you ate down beloved
AYAN <3 i bow down to you always
Fantastic and sad but also kinda humorous. Thank you, so awesome
Ahh thank you Kelly - means a lot!
first of all, you never miss. second of all, thank you for this.
thank YOU for reading 🤍
adore this. so well written.
thank you so much <3
perfection
thank you for reading ❣️
Fucking obsessed with this essay and your writing shoutout you and the universe for making my Monday
this is so interesting… what if the woman is online but private? what if she indulges in the space that she’s created in her corner of the web, making it pretty, curating it. would she still be compelled to go offline?