Kimber Was Here... and now you're here too. :)
Welcome to this new space for my essays, poems, musings, and everything in-between!
“What is it you plan to do with your one wild and precious life?” - Mary Oliver
There’s something inside of me (perhaps inside you, too?) that just needs to create. That looks like a lot of different things for me - late-night painting, poem writing, cooking, dancing, event planning, teaching, origami-ing, even TikTok-ing. I think humans in general want to be seen.
I’ve enjoyed social media for this very reason. I love seeing what others create, and I enjoy creating too. Social media for many reasons is really revolutionary - friends can stay connected through all times of life, my grandma can instantly see pictures I post, and I can learn different perspectives throughout the world! But when I step back after hours spent on an app, I wonder what actually sticks with me. What have I actually gained?
In my reflection this past year on my relationship with the internet and social media and people around me - I realized I need an outlet. I want to create — I don’t really care who sees it (hi students! ily) — and I don’t want to have all these google docs and notebooks and ideas piling up. They need to breathe! They need to be seen, too!
With this newsletter/blog/website/whatever-you-call-it, I want to enjoy a slower, less ~instant~ form of being seen. I’ve been on social media long enough to know my life is better without social media. But my desire to create and share and record-keep (for myself? for future generations? for imaginary future children?) has felt in conflict with that. So here I am. Just a forewarning - things might get pretty messy.
Kimber Was Here is a name I picked out as a 13-year-old for my first-ever social media username, and I still quite like it. When all is said and done - when my time here in this world comes to an end - maybe my writing will remain, and people will know that I was here.
And you’re here, too. :)
Thanks for reading.
I understand the conflict with social media for this reason as well. However, I love that we all get to experience your creations and they don’t remain hidden in your notebooks. They add so much to my life.