Hey y’all.
(be y’all singular or plural)
A million years ago (fine, 2002), one sad American girl packed up for the wide open spaces of the Canadian prairies — landing in a place called Saskatchewan (yes, my grandma had to take out a map).
To survive the transition to expat life, I started a blog and named it “grrrl meets world.”
For years, I used that Blogspot/WordPress space as an ongoing journal of sorts — a place for me to write my way through the various adventures of graduate school, deconstruction, political reality, marriage, early mamahood, divorce, and community activism.
But after I had my little one, I had to buckle down and do the grown-up thing, and my blog writing started to fall off.
I began using social media more — a way to get my ideas out quickly — and through it, I made so many friends and connections from around the world.
But now, with evil billionaires randomly changing the rules and letting hateful people run amok, Twitter and Facebook no longer feel like the home for my thoughts.
I want my thoughts and ideas to last longer and go deeper than an ephemerally forgettable 280-character tweet.
So, in late 2022, I started this Substack space to get myself back into a regular writing practice, if only to capture all the adventuring I was doing as a PhD candidate.
I christened this space “grrrl meets newsletter” as a little tribute to that original online home — the one that helped me find my voice, so many years ago.
Going forward, I want to be more intentional about how I use my personal writing, so you can expect to hear more from me here.
I’m slowly starting to examine — and reassess — my relationship to being so vocal on social media, and I think this little Substack space is where I’ll begin that work.
Thanks for stopping by. <3
I recently asked ChatGPT to come up with some Real Housewives-esque taglines for me — and honestly, if you want a little snapshot of who I am, this is a pretty fun place to start:
🔥 Bold & Brilliant
“I teach technical writing, but don’t get it twisted — I’m fluent in subtext.”
“In a world of performative scholars, I bring the real curriculum.”
“I might be peer-reviewed, but I never play it safe.”
💼 Academic Sass
“I write dissertations and deconstruct egos — often at the same time.”
“They gave me seven sections to teach, but I brought the fire to all of them.”
“My teaching load is heavy, but my receipts are heavier.”
🕵️♀️ Columbo-Core (Curious & Disarming)
“I’m just a humble instructor… with a syllabus and an agenda.”
“I don’t need tenure to ask the tough questions — just one more thing…”
“I play by the academic rules — right until I rewrite them.”
🌾 Prairie Gothic / Literary Realness
“I walk the wild grasslands by choice — but I burn bridges by necessity.”
“From the prairie to the podium, I don’t just find the plot — I twist it.”
“My roots run deep, but my critiques cut deeper.”
💻 AI-Era Educator
“ChatGPT gives answers. I teach you to question them.”
“I use AI to save time — so I can spend more of it shaking the system.”
“In the age of automation, I still believe in soul.”
