A new chapter for the daily taryn 💘

the daily taryn

a not-so daily writing project about everything and maybe also nothing

october 26th, 2020
read things like this on thetarynarnold.com

Hi!

Happy whatever time it is for you. No matter the place or time or surroundings or whatever, I hope you read the following words and do what they say. Have a little moment with yourself and everyone else who's reading these words.

Relax your jaw. Wiggle it around.
Stretch your toes or your fingers. Bonus points for twisting your spine out a little.
Think of someone who makes you laugh. Think of someone who has great eyes.
Smile, but not in a cheesy way. Just a nice little something — a smise, if you will. Not big and teeth. Just a little hi to yourself, that reminds you that you're back there in that cute brain.

Cool.

Last week, I interviewed Joan Westenberg — an incredible trans woman who also writes a newsletter, but one with a way cuter name. Tiny Spells. TINY. SPELLS. Are you kidding??? I'm worthless. I literally gasped when I saw that name. So cute.

It's called Tiny Spells because twice a week, Joan sends a little something to her subscribers to remind them to do something good for their mental health — things she would remind herself to do. Things she needs.

It got me thinking about why I started this newsletter. It was part writing project to make myself write consistently, part open journal meant to help myself and others think and see things differently. When I'm doing it consistently, I love it. When I'm not, I miss it. But during that convo with Joan, she reminded me of something I used to tell other people when they asked me for writing tips — it's not always so serious. What you write and share doesn't have to be long and poetic to be meaningful or worth reading. It can be short. Little. A tiny spell, even.

I carry a little black notebook with me 90% of the time. I write things in it all day — little and big. Quotes. Thoughts. I yell at myself in there sometimes, or other people if they deserve it. I doodle, fully expecting it to be art but always realizing that just ain't me. It's literally me sharing little reminders and thoughts and things with myself. Sometimes they're long and a lot and other times, they're 10 words on a little page.

So that's where I'm taking the daily taryn back to. I'll be emailing something little a few times a week. Something I'm thinking about. A fight I'm having with myself. A thing I read and loved. A deeply long run-on sentence. Who knows. But I hope that sounds nice to you, because it sounds very nice to me.

As always, thanks for reading. You're cute as hell and I would squeeze your cheek right now if I could. (With consent) ((And no covid)).

Talk in a bit.
Your friend,
Taryn

P.S. If you want to support this newsletter, you can 1) share it with people you love or 2) buy me a coffee <3 Okay, love you. Bye.