A Crash Course
Hello! If you’re reading this right now you’re likely either a friend, family member, or friend of a friend who shared this link. You may also be new to Medium and unsure why this link brought you here. Allow me to explain, Medium- the platform you’re reading this on- is like Youtube for writers. An opportunity for writers to share content on a single platform devoted to writing. Why am I here? Well before our lives were brutally interrupted by the pandemic, I’d been doing a lot of writing in my first year at college, and I had been really wanting to share it somewhere but I never got around to very seriously looking into it. Then since I was sent home from campus and classes concluded, I’ve had lots of time to read and engage with materials and my fingers were itching to write and share again which set me on the hunt for a platform to house my writing. A blog felt like more aesthetic upkeep then I was willing to do. A Patreon felt too formal and business-like since it required people to subscribe to my platform, and then came Medium, the perfect medium. Here I can write and share and engage to my heart’s content without having to upkeep aesthetics or explicitly charge people for my content. So here I am.
On the off chance that you really are a stranger and I’m lucky enough that my writing has reached an audience outside of my immediate circle allow me to introduce myself. My name is Aaliyah. At the time I’m writing this I’m nineteen and an undergrad student at Washington University in St. Louis (go bears!). I am a Black cis-woman originally from Memphis, Tennessee. I play two instruments, and I love music, superheroes, french fries and Oreos, Dr. Pepper, the color lavender, and the smell of vanilla. Was that too much info? I’m sorry; I’m never good at introductions. I hope I didn’t scare you away!
So what do I actually write about? Well honestly, this could pan out to be a host of things. I’m really playing it by ear and letting this be a creative space for me. However, my “hot topics” are race, gender, music, and culture. I want to take the space here to acknowledge that I’m not a polished academic by any means. I’d say I’m well-read, but I’m no expert. I’m definitely always learning. Think of my pieces as opinions pieces, sites to engage with content, and share my perspectives. I won’t be espousing anything I write to be The Way. Also, I want to say that on this platform I’ll write how I speak. Which is to say this isn’t an academic medium, so I let the words tumble how they may without necessarily “polishing them” to be particularly formal or jargon-y.
Well, I think that’s the best crash course I can give you all. I’d love it if you comment on topics or ideas you’d want to see me write about! Thank you so much for reading and I look forward to sharing more!
