Welcome to my Diary.

My life in writing. The first moment.

Beginnings are hard, but not to begin is even harder.

I am so excited to start my journey on this platform that I am not gonna wait till I know all the ropes around here. I am a sort of person who jumps right in and learns by doing. That said, I did spend two months contemplating if I should embark on this adventure and if writing is as much my passion as my skill and valuable asset… Maybe I am not spontaneous after all. Without further ado, let me start but introducing myself and my idea for this journaling.

Photo by Iiro Tujula

Who Why What

I am Olya, a freelance illustrator, graphic designer and educator. Born in Belarus in late 80s, I now live in Finland. My first degree is in teaching English, but it has been a long time since I did it full-time and passionately. Nowadays, English is the language I use daily but not exclusively, but I do most of my self-reflection and learning in it. Hence the choice of the language of my writing here.

At the end of 2023 I found myself feeling frustrated because my fast-paced mind (that once convinced me that multitasking and juggling many things at the same time was my blessing, gift and life calling) seemed to have created a life of its own and was causing me a lot of worrying. My mind had a constant flow of new ideas and demanded their immediate realisation. I felt I was jumping from one thing to another or juggling them in the air of no time, convincing myself that I was so good at multitasking. Working as an illustrator and a graphic designer, teaching art 2 days a week at a special school, co-parenting an 8-year old with high energy levels, and many other things which I will most likely share here later, did thrill me but it was all pilling up and my inspiration and creativity were suffering big time. My demanding mind refused to collaborate with me, it did not give me peace. It just imposed guilt on me for every time I was taking a break or trying to learn how to master the art of life-work balance. So during winter holidays I wrote no resolutions, I just decided to slow down and allow myself time to relax. I started writing morning pages to give time to my thoughts, to formulate them, to articulate them and document them. I wrote everything by hand, and my first texts were messy. My hand was too slow to write and the words were sloppy. Not that it would matter aesthetically, but it did mentally. I could not formulate myself or make much sense of what was going on in my head. But writing is good. It is one thing at a time. One word at a time, one sentence, one paragraph, one essay, one entry… and soon you see a result of consistent and flow text that put all the thoughts in the write places. That is the reason why I am starting my public diary on this platform today. My intention is to organise my thoughts, to share them with you. We have enough of content to consume nowadays, we do not need more! What we need is more meaningful, mindful, and worthy of our time and contemplation content. For me writing here will be a way to slow down and for you the slowing down should come with reading.

I will be lying if I told you that I am certain that each and everyone of you who are reading this now will find my writing meaningful and impactful. As much as it is my intention, I can’t promise you that every one of my essays here will be tailored for you. I will write about life, parenting, art, freelancing, design, existential questions and what may come my way and trigger the writer in me. I am committed to the idea of sharing my writing with you at least once a week. And my hope is that the more I write, the more I will be inspired to continue and my writing will improve too. I appreciate your involvement when it is possible - everything from reflection, comment, to feedback.

Let’s give it a try, shall we?

I want to continue writing meaningful material that can be thought- and action-provoking for you. My intention is to be transparent and honest, and my hope is to engage in conversations with you. Today the subscription is free, and I will be very conscious of when and how I turn it into a paid content. But if you want to pledge your support already, I am very grateful for your encouragement of my writing and interest in the world I am willing to share with you.

Hope you will hear from me soon.

Until then, feel the peace in your mind and soul,

Olya

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