It's been awhile...

But I'm back, and things are going to be a little different.

It’s been over a year. Let me reintroduce myself to remind you why you subscribed to this newsletter: I’m Kirstie. For a few years, I wrote on Medium, posted regularly on Instagram and TikTok, and worked as a dating coach with some truly incredible people.

If this email looks a little different than before, that’s because I used to host it on a different platform. But I decided to move everything back to Substack. If you no longer want to receive these emails, you can unsubscribe at the bottom or reply with “unsubscribe,” and I’ll take you off the list.

I want people to be here because they’re excited to be here, if that’s no longer you, no hard feelings.

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Back in 2023, I decided to take a break from all the work I did related to dating. What started as a pause turned into something more permanent. While I deeply valued helping people navigate their love lives, being so dependent on social media took a toll on my mental state. With time, I realized I didn’t want to keep going down that path.

Now, more than a year later, I can see that I lost touch with what brought me to this space in the first place: writing. Not writing to try and make viral-worthy Instagram posts or advice that resonates with everyone. That’s long behind me.

Going forward, what I write here will be different. Not unrecognizable, but definitely not the same. I won’t be writing only about dating—I’m not that person anymore, and I wouldn’t be doing you justice to force myself back into it.

• You can expect more than just reflections on love and dating. I’ll be writing about relationships of all kinds, aging, ambition, fear, grief, and everything in between. (Well, almost everything—there are bound to be limits.)

• The writing will still be personal, but not always. Part of what’s reignited my love for it is exploring different styles—essays, fiction, short stories. What ties it all together is storytelling, and that’s what I plan to keep doing.

• And lastly, it won’t just be me talking. I want to hear from you—your thoughts, questions, fears, joys, and everything in between. My inbox and comments are always open, so let’s create a space where we can challenge each other, support one another, and learn together.

Don’t consider this the first “real” email. That’s still to come. Think of this as a tap on the shoulder: I’m here. I’m back. And while it won’t be exactly what it was, I think it’ll still be good—just different.

xx,

Kirstie