A Long Overdue Letter To My Readers

Dear everyone who is reading this,

Hi. It's me. Emma! You might know me from my blog or my acclaimed Instagram feed or maybe you don't know me at all and stumbled onto this page and are very confused about who the fuck I am and why you're here right now. Regardless of how you're here, you're here. And that's all that matters.

I don't know if y'all have noticed, but I am an open book to a fault. Not only IRL (if you know me IRL), but also (and maybe even more so) online. I share just about everything with y'all from my love life and dating misadventures to what I'm into or can't with to throwing up on a crowded beach in Mexico to why I love therapy and think everyone should go. Of course, I still very much have a private life (you guys don't know everything) (but almost), but what you do know I want you to know. I post pictures or tell a story via Instagram stories or tweet weird shit or write vulnerable/exposing posts on here because I want you to be a part of whatever it is. And that's the main crux of this letter — to tell you guys it's okay and actually preferred if you are a part of it.

You see, about 90% of the time when any of you guys send me an email or message, it starts with "I swear I'm not a stalker." A close second opener is "You don't know me, but..." So I'm writing this letter to say:

STOP CALLING YOURSELVES STALKERS.

Y'all. You guys. Guys. I overshare the shit out of my life because I want you to see it. To engage with it. To react to it. To be involved in it. I want you to message me, comment on things, like stuff, and be completely unashamed that you know of the goings-on of my life. Because you choose to follow me and actually like me does not make you a stalker. It doesn't even make you "obsessed." It just makes you a person I am incredibly grateful for. Someone that gets me, what I'm doing, enjoys it, and fills me with the motivation to keep at it (because, lemme tell ya, sometimes throwing in the towel sounds soooo good) (I'd never last, though).

Sure, we may have never met. We may have some friend connection twice, thrice, or fourice removed. Hell, we may not have any sort of connection at all and you literally just found me by happenstance. Whatever the case may be, I don't give a fuck. I'm just delighted, flattered, and grateful you're here for it. Whatever it is about my self-indulgent, oversharing, in-your-face, infiltrating-your-feed self that keeps you coming back, I hope I can keep it up.

And when y'all reach out to me? FORGET IT. Getting messages from any of you is really and truly what continues to motivate me. It boosts my spirits, helps fuel my creativity, and challenges me to figure out what's next. It doesn't matter if your message is short, sweet, and filled with laugh-cry emojis or if it's a thoughtful, heartfelt "I swear I'm not a stalker" note — I LOVE IT ALL. I have never -not once - received a message from a "random" and thought "OMG, what a weirdo to reach out and write me?" That would be fucking insane. That'd be like me hosting a yard sale and advertising it all over town and the day of, when people show up, I'm like "OMG GET OFF MY LAWN. WHAT ARE YOU DOING HERE? GET OFF MY PROPERTY IMMEDIATELY OR I'M CALLING THE COPS."

Here's what I'm trying to say (in the only super-wordy way I know how): I put it (almost) all out there in the hopes of even just one person connecting with, relating to, or purely being entertained by my stuff. If I can tip you off to a new product I love that you end up loving, make you feel better about the dark depressing world of dating, help you realize you're not crazy or in it alone, make you laugh when you're having a shit day, or even somehow inspire you to do something creative or think about something differently, then I've done what I came to do. And you engaging with me or reaching out to me doesn't make you a stalker — it makes you a wonderful, supportive person who has the self-awareness, class, and confidence to be able to tell someone else "Hey. Good job." And for that, I am indebted to you all.

“I put it (almost) all out there in the hopes of even just one person connecting with, relating to, or purely being entertained by my stuff.”

So, if you've ever messaged me, liked me, commented on me, or admired from afar — thank you. Thank you for caring, being along for the ride, and pumping me full of positivity (often in moments when I need it most. Y'all's timing is 🔥). And please, for the love of all things holy