Hi, hello, how are you?
If you’re new here, I’m Zara.
I’m the writer behind The Imago Diaries (& if you’re not new here you’re probably an existing subscriber from TID and so—Hello! How are you dear friend? Welcome!)
Over at The Imago Diaries, I write contemplative pieces about life and faith, as well as poetry and short stories as they arise. I love writing, I will write for the rest of my life and it’s my hope that The Imago Diaries will continue be my words’ home.
But there’s so much more to say.
I think like most people, I have many areas of interest and different creative outlet’s that I’m pursuing. And for a vagabond creative (or should I say, probably ADHD creative person), there are **so many** other things I do or want to do outside of writing poetry!
I have wanted to share these parts of my life for a while but felt The Imago Diaries is not the place to do it. You see, there’s The Imago Diaries… and everything else.
And so & Everything is born!
So what will & Everything be?
At its heart, & Everything is the classic personal blog.
It is a place for me to share what is going on in my life—
new things I’m trying,
old habits I’m putting away,
interesting people I’ve met,
and a bit of my own history and ongoing journey of health and healing.
So here’s a little about me to help you decide whether or not to stick around.
I am a writer (shocker), and published my first book of poetry at the beginning of 2023. It’s called Of Love and Lilac and you can purchase it anywhere online (like Amazon).
I am not only a Christian, but I’ve formally studied both theology and ancient Hebrew so I can read the bible in its original language.
Speaking of languages, I’m currently learning Italian! My Boyfriend and his family are Italian and we both want to keep that heritage alive (plus, it’s a delicious language to speak, much like their food).
I lived in Auckland, New Zealand for three years from 2020-23. I moved in January of 2020 so you can image my surprise when March came around! (#lockdownlife)
I was diagnosed with Chronic Fatigue mid 2018 and have worked very hard to heal my body since then. Thankfully, the fatigue is gone, but I continue to have lingering fibromyalgia so, you know… the health and healing journey continues!
I *used to be* a vegan. I was a vegan for four years from 2017-2020 and that really launched me into my interest in health and food. I now eat a whole food diet and try to focus on good quality animal proteins and fats, and a moderate amount of carbs and fun things (really, it’s everything in moderation).
I knit, crochet, and love all fiber art. I bought a spinning wheel at 22 years old and was the youngest member of the Spinners & Weavers club in my area!
— Here’s a picture of me in the local newspaper with my spinning wheel (gosh, I wish my hair still looked that long and luscious).I’m also highly interested in starting slow stitching all because of this gorgeous woman, Sherry Iris and this video right — here.
I really want to buy a good camera and use that instead of my phone, and put together physical photo albums rather than post of IG. I don’t really like/trust IG anymore and hoping to return to a slower way of living.
I have a dream of owning a good amount of land, growing my own food, and have an area where I grow cut flowers to sell on the side of the road.
I also see myself becoming a trained massage therapist and Pilates instructor, and starting my own little business from home so I can be closer to my kids (when I have them, of course).
I’m very interested in entrepreneurship and have a couple of business ideas ready to go (just need the courage (and probably time) to do it).
Right now I work full time as a Personal Assistant to the CEO of a company in Sydney CBD. It’s long hours, but I work for a great person with great people and I absolutely love it.
— Plus, the two train rides each day give me a good amount of personal time to do creative things I love (like write on Substack).While in New Zealand I inherited a cat named Chaplin from a former housemate, and I brought him back to Australia with me. He will probably feature in this newsletter.
— Here’s a picture of Chap with my latest crochet project, isn’t he gorgeous!
So there you go!
There’s a little bit about me and what I’ll most likely be writing about.
This week I started a membership at my local Pilates studio so I’ll be writing about that in a longer post shorty.
I hope you stick around, not just because it’s nice to write to an audience (anyone say ego boost?!), but because I know there are great people to meet and engage with on this medium.
So please do reach out and say hi, I’ll be waving hello back from Sydney Australia and cheering on the many amazing creators on the platform.
With so much love and a great many blessings—
x Zara