no.38: allow me to introduce myself
a (re)introduction, the earlybird lore you might not know, and a september surprise sale!
I find it funny, and a little strange, the experience of writing and creating for an audience that primarily lives on the internet. The internet is big and the attention economy is fast paced, but every so often there is a bump of new folks and I realize it’s been a long time since I’ve provided any sort of context or introduction for who I am and what we’re doing here.
Exhibit a: this extremely lovely note I got recently!
I found you on Substack very recently and am LOVING your writing! I have absolutely no background on you and have no idea what Coffee with Maggie was AND I don't have social media, so I'd love to know more about your ~origin story~ and background to have a little more context for your writing.
so - allow me to introduce myself!
Hi! My name is Maggie – I’m a 32 year old writer and photographer living in Seattle with my husband Mark (an engineer who is human embodiment of a golden retriever husband: he’s the most kind, logical, and enthusiastic person I know, and is the perfect antidote to my occasionally black cat demeanor). We live in an early 1900s craftsman with our actual golden retriever, Minnie and our almost two year old son (we keep his name and face off the internet until such a time that he’s old enough to understand what it all means, but typically will refer to him as little bear here!).
Earlybird as a newsletter is the natural extension of my own myriad of interests and curiosities – meant to feel like the newsletter equivalent of catching up with a friend over coffee for readers interested in a well-rounded, intentional life.
As for how we all ended up here, there are so many years of lore to catch up on! I’ve done my best to provide the semi-condensed version below (and if there is a longer-form piece that I’ve written about the topic I’m mentioning, I’ve linked it as well!). so without further ado —
I grew up in Atlanta, Georgia before attending Wellesley College in Boston where I studied psychology and education. After graduation, I moved out to Los Angeles to take a job at a university research lab studying adolescent onset mental illness (long distance daughters, unite!) . I loved the work, but found I really needed a creative hobby outside my 9 to 5 to decompress.
At the time, I was also managing personal health struggles following a dual PCOS and endometriosis diagnosis, and I ended up growing a semi-sizeable instagram following documenting my health and wellness journey, reviewing new workout and coffee places around LA, and as time went on, talking about my life more generally. I could (and probably should!) write about the impact that being in the center of the explosion of influencer and health and wellness culture circa 2016 had on me, but I don’t have as negative a take on it as many “former influencers” who have recently started newsletters. A discussion for another time, perhaps!
For a long time, my dream was to do a PhD. in clinical psychology, but after three years and an extremely stressful application cycle that didn’t go the way I hoped, I decided to take a break from academia to explore other avenues before committing wholeheartedly to undergoing the process again. My success on instagram combined with my expertise in youth mental health helped me secure a job on the communications and development team at a national mental health nonprofit, where I worked on partnerships with major entertainment organizations and strategies for growing the volunteer base for the organization, in addition to regular comms work for mental health related news.
In 2018, after four years living and loving LA, my husband had an opportunity to make a move within his current company up to Seattle. And while it was originally a work move, it definitely worked out to be a life move for us – we were both feeling the pull to a smaller, more manageable city with easier access to the outdoors. During our initial move, I took some time off to freelance while applying and interviewing for new roles. While I contemplated going full time as a creator, I ultimately decided against it and am really glad I did (although sometimes I kick myself for not having as much flexibility to travel! ).
In 2019, I started working at an agency that does social impact communications and strategy, meaning that I work with purpose-driven organizations (nonprofits, NGOs, research orgs and the like) to run their communications or consult on specific strategic projects. I’ve worked on things ranging from (pre-covid!) a research study building a city-wide infectious disease surveillance network, leading UX/UI research and design for a new platform to improve data sharing and analysis in neurological research , and running communications programs for a major global health research organization. It’s definitely a wonky line of work, but I don’t think I could have found something better suited to my unique venn diagram of skills and experiences!
Since moving to Seattle, I have really committed to the PNW lifestyle: I have been primarily plant based for just over six years (after going cold-turkey during a yoga teacher training program in Bali), have gotten extremely into hiking and backpacking (including summiting Mt. Kilimanjaro in 2021!) and somehow managed to let my husband convince me that we should get a used sailboat off craigslist (10/10 highly recommend). I’ve dug into my own passions, interests and mental health, spending a ton of time learning how to manage seasonal affective disorder during the cold, rainy and gray months, how to become a morning person, how to understand my own style, (and did I mention getting even more into travel? Like, really? ).
I had my first child in November of 2022. He is *incredible*, and my experiences with pregnancy, postpartum and return to work were a big part of the impetus for launching this newsletter in October of 2023. I felt called to create more than ever, but also more protective of my peace and my family’s boundaries with my limited free time. While I have been a creator on various parts of the internet for the better part of a decade (accumulating something like 58K followers across instagram and tiktok), the experience drove an increasing pull towards longer form content and away from algorithmically driven trends and diminishing attention spans, or relying on sponsors for content creation to be sustainable.
Earlybird is the place where I can write a 5000 word personal essay about my visceral distaste for “you’re going to miss this” culture for new parents, or dig in deep on the science (and emotions) behind perfectionism and procrastination, or develop the *most* extremely specific gift guides, or share the things that I’ve been loving lately. We’ve explored my love for the magic of ordinary places, and extremely low effort freezer meals, how to build a minimalist, intentional baby registry and how to show up well for the new moms in your life.
It’s a little bit of everything, on purpose, and I’m so glad you’re here.
TO SUM IT UP:
I’m Maggie, and I am striving to build a multi-faceted, well-rounded life.
On earlybird, I’m sharing my own journey and explorations to meaningfully understand balance, health, wellness, and hobbies while navigating a full time career and being a full time parent. I tell stories that celebrate a purpose driven life, and that encourage and empower you to build your own. You can expect highly researched recommendations (that academic training works hard, y’all!), personal essays, and ideas around well-rounded, intentional living.
In honor of the influx of new folks recently, we’re doing a September surprise sale, today through 9/5!!! Use this link for 25% off paid subscriptions.
WHAT TO EXPECT AS A PAID SUBSCRIBER:
WEEKLY NEWSLETTERS: Coming in hot with weekly newsletters, always including obsessively curated recommendations, articles and experiences. Always curated with you in mind, and inviting you to pause, reflect, learn, connect, or laugh.
FULL ACCESS TO THE EARLY BIRD ARCHIVE, FOREVER: While free subscribers get occasional free posts, current substack settings make it so that free posts are automatically archived after 2 months (I do not know how to change this). Paid subscribers have full access to all posts, forever - The party don’t start till you walk in.
EXCLUSIVE BONUS ARTICLES, PERSONAL ESSAYS & RECIPES: More is more, bonus edition: My sunday issues include new articles, personal essays, recipes, interviews, spotify playlists, you name it. Always curated with you in mind, and inviting you to pause, reflect, connect, or bring joy.
To make that a bit more tangible, here’s a sneak peak of what’s coming your way in September:
A podcast style ask me anything (submit your questions here)
The August Digest, with the best things I’ve read, watched, listened to, eaten and shopped recently - free for all subscribers
A week in my life recap (and top tips for solo parenting)
A transitional fall style-me session (throw your specific requests in the comments!) - free for all subscribers
A personal essay about my experience as a collegiate athlete and how it’s impacted the way I think about exercise
Okay I think that’s it – now that y’all know all about me, I’d love to meet you! Please please – introduce yourself, who you are, where you’re from, and how you found out about earlybird (or what your favorite pieces have been so far!)
xo,
So glad you did this deep dive. I’ve come across your work randomly and was curious about your background. Happy to have stumbled across you and your words 💕💕
Hi! I’m Sarah, I found you through your extremely specific book recommendations (which I believe was itself recommended by Clara of Hmm That’s Interesting) and I have loved that post and especially the one about grief and “let me know if I can do anything”. I really enjoy your work!