Sadye, Who?
A little bit about me and what I hope we’ll get from our time together here.
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Hi, I’m Sadye!
I’m 40, single – 11 years and counting…but who’s counting? – and living to tell the tales of love and dating in the age of the apps (God help us all!), starting over (again and again), letting go of the life I thought I’d have, the trials and joys of trying new things as an adult (turns out it’s a hell of a lot harder to step out of my comfort zone now than it was when I was younger), and how paying attention to signs from the Universe and following my intuition (and curiosity) has shaped my life and ultimately led me back to writing and now sharing it on SUBSTACK.
Welcome! I’m so glad you’re here.
Basically, I’m trying to live my life as if it were one big experiment – *whispered voice* – because it is.
For the past six years I’ve been freelancing in the world of experiential marketing and advertising production for brands – think events, activations and content for commercials, online television (like YouTube), print and social media. I’m an event producer, set designer, set decorator, prop stylist and wardrobe stylist and every now and then you’ll find me in front of the camera as “talent.” Just don’t ask me to sing, unless you want your ears to bleed. You’ve been warned.
Prior to that I was in branding, marketing and communications, event production and design, corporate development, sales and public relations. And even though it’s no longer on my resume, starting my employment journey at the age of 14 as a busser, hostess then eventually server, definitely helped shape who I am today, too.
That, and being part of a team from a young age. I played soccer from the time I was four years old through college, where I ended that “career” at the division 1 level thanks to a back injury that prevented me from trying out for the professional league a week after graduating. Womp womp.
When my body had had enough with soccer – and then soon after, running – I moved onto indoor cycling, despite once claiming “I don’t do spin.” Famous last words, because in a matter of months I became a spin instructor and have been “bike dancing” (we move to the beat of the music) for nearly nine years. Never say never, my friends!
I currently teach twice a week – my sweet spot, as I’ve come to realize – and absolutely love getting to connect with my riders before, during and after class. That’s honestly my favorite part of teaching – the connection to community and being a bright spot in each other’s day.
I have seven nephews, who I adore, but no kids of my own. I probably won’t have any, to be honest, and talk very candidly (and emotionally) about this decision in my upcoming piece titled “Mourning Motherhood.” I still can’t get through reading it without crying, but I know it’s part of my process for letting that part of me go.
Sometimes I make art; do a lot of DIY projects around my apartment; get a thrill from making costumes (for Halloween and photoshoots); practice yoga 1-2x a week; I’m a big fan of the BOOP; I love solo travel and hikes; I loathe eggplant (and bad tippers), and I’m kind of a book nerd. My favorite genres are rom coms, historical fiction, fantasy reads, mysteries and thrillers, but then I also love digging into personal development, business strategies and cognitive psychology, too.
Call me old-fashioned, but I still buy and read actual, physical books. I know, crazy!
Obviously not ideal when traveling, but I love the feeling of literally turning the page, how the ink blots when something moves me to tears and they spill over onto the paragraph below, and being able to dog-ear the pages that I want to come back to.
As for my writing, that’s something that’s taken on a lot of different forms over the years: from essay style, research and journal writing, witty captions and ad copy, to marketing materials, sales copy, scripts, run of shows for events, email content, poems and more.
But the writing you’ll mostly see from me here is long-form storytelling based on my own experiences, interactions and revelations.
And here’s what you can expect from my writing: honesty, vulnerability, hope and a healthy dose of humor for good measure (and comedic relief) because I won’t be holding back on the tough stuff, either. Life is messy, mundane, magical…and I want to talk about it all.
I may even squeeze in the occasional poem (like last week’s post) or quasi-fictional romcom (coming soon!) for shits and giggles.
Like a lot of creative types, entrepreneurs and other humans I know, I have a few mantras and mottos I try to live by and find myself leaning on whenever I start to doubt who I am, what I’m doing or what’s happening in my life. Here they are, in no particular order:
Everything is an experiment.
No surprise there! From dating and job hunting, to creative projects I try and showing up online (on social media and in this space) – treating everything as if it were an experiment takes the pressure off for things to go perfectly and helps me detach from the outcome, which is something I’m not naturally inclined toward.
Now is not forever.
This gem – care of my therapist from 12 years ago – is actually tattooed (in my own handwriting) on my right forearm and serves as permanent reminder to stay present, because the tough shit won’t last forever, but then the good stuff goes quickly, too.
This is happening for me, not to me.
I lean on this one A LOT, especially lately with some health stuff I’ve been going through.
Go confidently in the direction of your dreams; live the life you’ve imagined.
I borrowed this from Henry David Thoreau and it’s been a staple in my motto bag of tricks for years.
Consistency over urgency.
A daily mantra to remind myself to make progress everyday, even if it’s small, versus leaning back on my “all or nothing” and “everything is urgent” tendencies.
Every little thing she does is magic.
This is technically a line from a song (with the same name) by the British rock band, The Police, but I love it and sing it often.
That last one became a mantra of sorts when I realized a few years ago that it kept playing on repeat in my head – still does – even though I never actually hear it playing out loud. Like ever. And as a spin instructor, I listen to A LOT of music – randomly on the radio and a bit more curated on Spotify – but that little ditty never comes on.
Weird, right? But maybe not. Maybe it’s there – planted in my head for all eternity, it seems – for a reason: to remind me that I’m made of magic (we all are, really) and to keep making things that let that magic shine through for others to see and feel, too.
Because for me, that’s the real magic: creating things that lead to connection and community. It’s why even though I sometimes don’t want to show up or put myself out there, I do it anyway, knowing that someone – even if it’s just one person – might need to hear what I have to say.
So there you have it, friend – that’s just a little bit about me and my hope for what this space will be. I look forward to creating for you and connecting with you…
Starting now! Would you be willing to share something about yourself? Your name, where you’re from or maybe one thing you love and another you loathe? Or perhaps your favorite book genre (or genres, as in my case)?
Anything, really – let’s get to know each other!
Tell me in the comments on this post…
xx
Sadye