I never thought I’d be a writer.
I was going to be a rockstar.
Since I was seventeen years old, when I first started recording songs, it was all I ever wanted.
After trying unsuccessfully for a decade, at age thirty, I finally gave up.
What happened immediately after I can only describe as a psychological untethering.
I hadn’t realized how much of my identity I’d tied to being a musician, and when the dream disappeared, my carefully constructed sense of self vanished alongside it.
Throughout this period, I found it difficult to trust myself.
With my foundational worldview fractured, I no longer had an accurate barometer to gauge my own ideas, which, in turn, called all my previously held beliefs into question.
The fallout of this break in identity was a brutally honest, albeit necessary, interrogation of my time on the planet so far.
And what, if not music, should I do with it now?
I started journaling in an attempt to process these new ideas.
While I couldn’t articulate closely what I wanted yet, the writing at least gave me a reset and, with it, a renewed sense of purpose.
What began as bits and fragments eventually transformed over the last two years (with the help of writing courses and coaches) into fully formed pieces that I’ve put together into my first collection of satirical essays.
The pieces are deeply personal, a little strange, and darkly comedic, which I realize may come as a surprise to some of you, considering you may only know me from my music.
But I’m excited to share them with you nonetheless.
To be honest, I’m not sure what this newsletter is going to look like moving forward.
I’ve been toying with the idea of providing practical guidance on building a writing habit, overcoming writer’s block, book recommendations, and anything else related to these topics.
My new goal is to keep publishing my own work while at the same time, inspiring and helping others write their own story.
Whether that’s here or on a different platform, that’s still TBD.
If that’s not for you, no hard feelings.
This started as a newsletter about music, so if you want to unsubscribe, you’re welcome to.
The option will be at the bottom of this email.
For those of you who are sticking around while we build in this new direction, I’m grateful you’re here.
Life works in crazy and unexpected ways sometimes.
So it goes.
Feel free to hit me here if you ever have any questions, and if you want to check out the book, you can get it for $1 here.
Here’s to new beginnings 💪
KO