My new next door neighbor and I stood on the roof of our building, chatting and getting to know each other more. Her laundry was drying on clotheslines strung nearby, sheets blowing in the wind.
“Hey, do you mind keeping an eye on the girls (las chicas) while we’re away this weekend?” she asked me.
I was confused - I thought she only had one 12yo daughter? And we just met?
But here’s the thing: My new neighbor is awesome. I’ve been focusing on unpacking from the move, so I’ll be at home a lot this weekend. I could easily hang out with a couple of kids living next door and make it a fun weekend for them. As I recently moved to this city, I’m also in a period of saying yes to just about any invite, so I figured why not.
“Um… sure, yeah, what do you have in mind exactly? What are they into?” I asked.
“Honestly they eat so little, like literally just a piece of lettuce,” she said.
…
We both paused for a beat, looking at each other with seriously raised eyebrows, and then burst out laughing.
“THEY’RE GUINEA PIGS, JENNA!!!!! THEIR NAMES ARE COCO AND LUNA.”
•
“First of all - please pass my sincere thank you to the board members - I know how busy their schedules must be and I so appreciate them taking the time and offering help and insights. And also listening so carefully to what I had to share. I just really felt heard. I felt listened to - it was an easy organic dialogue and conversation with people who I just met but who also had my best interest and well-being in mind. How awesome is that!? They were interested and engaged and didn't have a list of scripted responses or advice - it felt real and genuine and natural and that made it so valuable. It is easy for me to go in concerned I am imposing on their time but their engagement and enjoyment made me realize they wanted to be there just as much as I did and hopefully they got something valuable out of it too.
Their thoughtful responses and questions they posed have given me a lot to reflect on and think about (in the best possible way).
The same goes for your helpful responses and synthesis of the conversation. I feel like I have had so many thoughts and ideas buzzing around in my head for so long and the opportunity to share it with you all was everything. I have so many takeaways I wrote down from points you made that really managed to cut to the core of the matter. You all were able to distill and find the key points and questions that I need to look at. And hone in on what really matters and what I need to consider to help build my next steps -- out of what otherwise felt like an overwhelming jumble of thoughts, doubts, overanalyzing etc. I now have some more clarity about what I need to closely consider and ultimately discern where I am getting in my own way with limiting beliefs.”
To run your idea, challenge, company, or quagmire past Jenna’s Board, please reply to this email with a description of what you’d like to present to these kind and wise people for their feedback. Remember it’s a free public service for all involved.
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I’ve had a discord group for the past year with a chat bubbling on amongst 70 of you. The goal for this group is simply to connect you all so that you can get to know each other too. I thought to remind you of its existence today during an Instagram exchange where so many of you dissected how you felt about this quote from the writer Brianna Pastor:
Here’s what you thought + a bunch of heart emojis:
“It’s very empowering! It means for me that you don’t need to wait for anyone else.” - Kinga
“No one will understand us better than ourselves” - Carolina
“Sounds very neoliberal individualist to me. We should be able to show up for each other. Without community we are nothing.” - Jo
"^ I couldn’t agree more with this person. But both perspectives are true enough - that only we can start whatever changes are needed for ourselves, but without the support structure of our communities, whatever we start would likely not succeed.” - Edwin
“^^ I don’t know. I think it’s possible for someone else to start that change - sometimes that’s what we need - but you have to be willing to face it and work toward it. You have to want it and understand why that change is necessary.” - John
I love how smart you are.
If you’d like to join in on this convo and meet other cool people who are reading this email right now, click the link below and introduce yourself to everyone in the lobby before hopping over to the “writing-reading” channel.
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When I was in high school I enjoyed Model UN conferences. Did you ever do those? A bunch of teens in suits pretended to be diplomats.
One year my team represented Kazakhstan at the University of Chicago Model UN. In plenary sessions we’d all sit behind placards with our country names on them while - under the table - writing notes to new friends we made from other “countries.”
I remember so many of those notes that we all wrote to each other, stuffed into pen ink cartridges, like I wrote and read them yesterday -
“The ladies of Kazakhstan would like to see if the guys of France want to form an alliance for a pizza outing this evening.”
“After school I play clarinet and hang out with my younger brother” *drawing of a clarinet*
Writing this note to you today brought up those memories, and I smiled.
Love,
Jenna
Recent reviews of The Hours Before Dusk by Jenna Matecki:
“This book is an artistic exploration of the world, with Matecki’s stunning words breathing so much life onto every page. She has crafted a celebration of culture, sights, sounds, and colours, travelling through countries and cities as a visitor and hometown resident all at once.” - Dylan on Goodreads
“I was very moved by how Jenna captured the essence of so many of these places while also making the book a very personal experience / about the people she met along the way. Really loved it!” - Reader on Goodreads
“Wow. This book is beautiful. The poetry, the writing, the drawings - they all come together in such a meaningful way. The author captures the essence of several cities and regions all over the world in her short essays and poems. The drawings throughout the book add another layer of depth and complement the writing. Themes of love, joy, happiness, loss, surprise, death, devotion and respect are woven throughout the book. I loved the lyricism of many of the poems and read some several times. The writing transported me all over the world and brought back so many memories of my own travels, both fun and challenging. This is a book I want on my forever shelves and to gift to anyone who travels!” - Caitlin on Goodreads