My Ideal Reader
Or "Run, Don't Walk! Nicky's Blogging Again".. or maybe do run away
Oh, there you are! And here I thought we’d lost each other for good. But, no, I’m back. With a vengeance? I don’t think so! That’s for superhero movies. I’m just back to blogging, ahem, I mean, blabbing.
Me? I used to do this whole thing during the years of 2011-2017. Good years. Well, they were strange years but now we’re seeing stranger stuff (societal collapse, anyone? Young Nicky wouldn’t have even fathomed!) I bet you remember Blogspot as just as well as I do, I’m sure. Tumblr? WordPress? Yep, I’ve yapped on them all! Now, look at me! A Substack! We just keep going, don’t we?
For proof, here’s a list of some blog titles I’ve had in the past:
Polka Dot Puchungita (no, really, that was the name. It was a fashion blog, I liked polka dots, I incorporated my Abuela’s made-up pet name for me. You get it)
RegularLady.com (honestly, this one ate)
NickyValdes.com (personal brands were BIG in 2015-2019 but, my god, they lacked creativity)
An exercise I used to practice back in the day was to create a profile of my ideal reader. What did they wear? What did they eat? What did they do? All sorts of questions to get to the root of who my dreamiest of dreamy readers would be. Then, I’d create content around said reader so when they came across my blog, they’d read and subscribe with gusto. Brilliant! Manifestation! The universe! So, look alive because that’s exactly what we’re going to do right now!
NICKY’S IDEAL READER
How old do they feel? They are an ageless mermaid/witch. Eternally 33 or 25 or 41. Doesn’t matter. You choose.
Where are they in life? They’ve done the soul-searching, they’ve read the books, they’ve upped a level. Now they’re considering having two boyfriends, getting a degree in another country, and painting their interiors pink—like every. single. room. They aren’t living for anyone else, instead they’re working towards a big, major, enormous, cosmic life with all the fixings and, my god, I respect them for it.
What are they secretly proud of? The little things. The everyday synchronicities that make up life. Noticing when they’re present, when the leaves sway in the wind, when suddenly they look up and wonder “how did I get here?” And realizing they can only keep going.
What are they quietly insecure about? That they are somehow behind in life and slowly unpacking that maybe it’s never been about accomplishing anything but living a life that’s worth their time.
What are they trying to accomplish? They, too, are writing a book and need someone to relate to when the word count is too low or they feel like the absolute worst writer to ever live (trust me, you’re not). Lo siento and I’ve been there too.
There’s more. Of course there’s more! You, dear reader, are a whole-ass human with thoughts, feelings, and actions based on those thoughts and feelings that I cannot even begin to fathom! And isn’t that amazing? The rest are saved to my notes.
For now, I’ll leave you with this. I hope that this is you, dear reader. I hope that my words made your heart sing, that they scratched some itch, that they touched some part of you that went ah, that’s it. I hope that you felt seen. Or, at the very least, enjoyed reading them as much as I enjoyed writing them.
"To be truly seen and heard, to be truly known, is a deep human need. Our hunger for it is so omnipresent, so much a part of our experience of life, that we no more know what it is we are missing than a fish knows it is wet.”— Charles Eisenstein
I don’t know who Charles Eisenstein is but that’s a hell of a quote. See you on the other side, dear reader!
IMAGE: Source
LOVED THIS AND SO EXCITED TO CONTINUE READING
Yay!!!!! Welcome to Substack! So excited to read all of your beautiful work to come 😊