Plunging into a brand new venture. And it wouldn’t be Alida if things weren’t dramatic. And starting a new project, on a new platform is terrifying. You’re putting your trust in people that they like what you’re doing enough to come along for something no one knows will work out. Or even what it is entirely.
But first an introduction. Some people may know me from Threads where I am regularly annoying people (men) with my overly direct communication and over-sharing about my life. It’s been three years of growing a community, learning that my art was always enough and just figuring out who I am as a human.
And it’s all lost to time.
It’s the best and worst thing about the platform. It’s a beautiful stream of consciousness, an endless party with conversations to jump into and out of when you need that connection. And when it’s gone, it’s pretty hard to find ever again. Just hidden away in the recesses of our minds.
I was having a conversation with an artist friend. Trying to explain my history. The growth. How Threads and Glass and all the people along the way shaped the choices I made to bring me to this point. And there was nothing to show. No post I could point to. No words of wisdom. No inspirational photo. Just whatever had been happening recently. The past quietly eviscerated without me noticing. My hands empty of offerings.
The answer has been staring back at me for quite a while. From the high school senior thesis where I literally wrote the paper on how to make a magazine to the wide variety of topics discussed on far too many platforms.
A magazine. A digital magazine to contain it all. And organize it all. Bring it all under one roof. It feels like a homecoming. A celebration of the beauty and wonder hidden in everyday life, told through a neurodivergent lens. It’s for the endlessly curious. The people who chase adventures, ask impossible questions, and find joy in exploring life, the universe, and everything.
The hardest part has been trying to explain the why. Who is this for? Why read it? What is the purpose?
And it really goes back to that conversation with my friend. I related. To their experiences. This is the connection. The meeting in the middle. A sharing of experience. A moment of feeling a little less alone. The world is a little less scary. Because we found each other.