9:45AM in Chinatown
It’s a rainy Sunday morning in DC and I’m running up against two deadlines. In addition to meeting a few of the girls for a New Year brunch at La Vie at 12:45, I’ve also committed to publishing this blog post today– my first since I last posted in January 2017. Back then, my company KC & Co Communications, a boutique comms shop, was about two years old and I was in the process of figuring out how and what scaling looked like for me. So, in the midst of the bustle and grind associated with launching a business, I stopped writing as an outlet. Instead of traditional prose, I wrote press releases, and instead of soliloquies, I wrote speeches.
It couldn’t have helped that around the same time, the Girl Boss era was having its moment in the sun. Hustle culture and monetization of every outlet had become the norm. Overworking – and looking good while doing it – was the expectation. And, I fell for it, as I know many of us did. Then March 2020 happened. The workloads we once carried with pride became unsustainable, as our efforts were now focused on surviving this once-in-a-lifetime ordeal. When we first learned about COVID-19, I was working on Congresswoman Yvette Clarke’s re-election campaign and while I am forever grateful for that experience, a combination of the two took more out of me than I originally anticipated. While I was experiencing and participating in one of the most fulfilling experiences of my life, I felt drained at the end of the day because I hadn’t taken the time to fill my cup.
So, last year, 2021, I took a break from it all. With the immense stress caused by the pandemic and the loss of my grandfather and my beloved pup, Minnie in a matter of months. I needed time to rest and more importantly, time to be intentional about my healing. I turned off my Google Alerts and unsubscribed from Playbook. I referred potential clients to other people and binge-watched all of the shows I didn’t have time for before. I started going to therapy again and had long phone conversations in the afternoon about life with friends and colleagues. I went days without checking my email. Looking back now, it’s hard to describe how pivotal that decision was and how quietly magical and revolutionary it was to shut it all to focus on my mental health.
It got me thinking about Audre Lorde’s wise words in her 1988 essay collection, A Burst of Light. She writes: “I had to examine, in my dreams as well as in my immune-function tests, the devastating effects of overextension. Overextending myself is not stretching myself. I had to accept how difficult it is to monitor the difference. Necessary for me as cutting down on sugar. Crucial. Physically. Psychically. Caring for myself is not self-indulgence, it is self-preservation, and that is an act of political warfare.” From marching in the streets of New York in 2020 to working on Democratic campaigns to ensure the right people got into office during such a crucial time in our nation's history, I spent all of my energy and effort outwardly, while neglecting to recharge or take time to examine the wide range of feelings associated surviving a pandemic. And I know I’m not alone.
I know we’re at the beginning of a new year and it’s all systems go, but I’d like to make the argument for rest. What would it mean for you to truly care for yourself? What would your internal revolution look like for you? Beyond that, what questions would you ask to support your inner revolutionary acts on a day-to-day basis?
As KC & Co enters its seventh year, I am eternally grateful for the time I had to recover. I am incredibly optimistic about all of the good that will come. I’m also excited to relaunch my blog as both a creative outlet and a way to share the lessons and knowledge I’ve amassed over my ten years in the industry! Whether you are working in-house or agency side, thinking about getting into communications, or are a small business owner, there will be something for you here. No jargon, no fluff, just the real nitty-gritty. I’ll also be sharing my restaurant recommendations and day in the life content over at @PRGirlInDC on Instagram.
I’m not sure where this creative adventure will take me and, to be honest, I am a little nervous about it. But I hope you all are ready to take the ride with me! Drop me a note about how you’d like for this year to look for you and where you’re looking to be by this time next year. I know we’ll both continue to surprise ourselves.
Cheers to 2021,
KC