dear reader

Dear Reader,

I started Ask a Girl because I thought that somewhere, someone else must have felt the same.

Someone else must have also been 19 & crying on the floor because they felt something so raw they were scared they would never feel it again. Someone else must have also watched as the whole world moved on & they stayed stuck right there.

I often receive letters in the night and the early morning, at 1 am or 5 am or somewhere in between, and I picture a girl sitting on the floor in the moonlight, thinking I cannot be the only one. She wasn’t the only one. All this time, I was right there on the other side of the screen — we all were — saying it’s okay, I’ve been there too, & I, too, was scared to tell anyone. I think that’s something only another human can do.

Today, I turned on paid subscriptions. I plan to continue writing an advice letter every week for free. But also, I am still sorting my own life out & I only have so much time in a day, a week, a year. Already, I can feel it slipping by. I really want to make this work. For five dollars, which I have seen compared to less than a cup of coffee, you can support Ask a Girl: not just for yourself, but for all the other girls out there.

And if you do choose to support Ask a Girl in this way, please let me know here, so I can mail you a thank you note. I need you to know how endlessly & forever grateful I am.

This letter has absorbed my late nights, my mornings, my lunch breaks, my shower thoughts. By that, I mean I care. I care enough to come back again, to let it absorb me. This space means something to me. I’m hoping it means something to you too.

Xoxo.