it's time for ✨ MJC-mail! ✨

First Saturday of the month means time to catch up!

Hello golden humans 🌞 THANK YOU for signing up to this lovely newsletter and THANK YOU extra for opening it!

This is where I get to share the things that are going on in my life and in my brain with my most supportive people (you!) and hopefully, you’ll tell me some of your stuff too!

Get comfy, grab a mug of something warm (I’m drinking my usual instant coffee with shit tonnes of vanilla syrup), and let’s cosy up 🥰

My September started with a real spicy bout of burnout, but (thankfully) has ended with me feeling much more human and capable of experiencing joy, woo! Brains are hard. Props to everyone who’s trying to figure one out.

So clocked up some serious sofa time for a bit (watched the whole first season of A League Of Their Own in one weekend - it’s 1940s, sporty and gay, highly recommend), and eventually felt able to go back out into the world 🥰 here are some beautiful moments that have happened since then:

Yes the tongue out is obligatory when you go to twerk class

Twerk, twerk, twerk! I’ve been absolutely loving getting back into dance classes, moving my body for joy and filling up on endorphins. I even challenged myself to go to a different (much more difficult!) class this month and I think I just about held my own. And actually, who cares if I didn’t?? I had a great time and I got out of my comfort zone, and that’s always a good thing.

One more Pride? Go on then. Marching in the day, dancing through the night 💃🏽

I made my way to Birmingham for bae’s birthday, which also coincided with Birmingham Pride - an extra special one because she helps make it happen (I am dating an absolute boss bitch).

I got to be proud of her all weekend, for so many reasons. We even spent a morning with an organisation that supports LGBTQ+ young people and took them to their very first Pride!

Here I am, telling the youth to shake off cultural conditioning about who they should be and embrace who they actually are. V wholesome.

And that’s not even the coolest thing that happened this month.

Remember when I did that 100KM trek to raise money for Coppafeel, the breast cancer charity? Turns out that Coppafeel put on a fundraising festival every year with music, comedy & a LOT of glitter. And this year I got to host the mainstage!

Look it’s my name on a poster 🥺

Obviously there was no way I was gonna host a gig where McFly where headlining and not bring Queen Gemma, McFly stan since ‘03. This was her reaction to finding out where she was going:

I loved hosting - getting to feel the energy of the audience and keep everyone pumped up was so much fun, and sneaking Gem backstage to watch McFly from the side made it absolutely unforgettable. We never could’ve dreamed of having these moments growing up, and it means so much getting to share them with her. 💜

An outfit, a stage, a sis 👭🏽

Oh, and on top of that, I got to meet Char’s family dog, Karma, who I immediately fell in love with.

Should you do the thing, even if it isn't perfect?

I've always struggled with the idea that things are worth putting into the world, even if they aren't extraordinary, mind-blowing, as good as they can possibly be.

But the more things I actually *experience* in the world (that other people have created), the more I realise that it's the making of the thing that matters.

Beautiful moments of connection can happen at events that are a bit messy. People can feel affirmed and seen by pieces of writing that aren't the authors best. And every extraordinary thing that exists likely grew from attempts that were ordinary to start with.

So do the thing. Even if it isn't perfect. Chances are, if you don't do it, someone else will - and probably not as well as you could. 💜

Transcript: Today’s reminder is that in the current state of the world, taking care of yourself is probably the most radical thing you can do. I used to think that peaceful people were just kidding themselves, they were just ignoring the state of the world and what was going on around them, maybe they’re just ignorant. How can you be aware of how things are and still be happy? Still be joyful? Still feel ok? And it took me a long time to realise that a lot of peaceful people had to work really fucking hard to get to where they are, it’s not that they don’t realise what’s going on in this world. It’s not that they don’t see everything that’s wrong, it’s just that they've worked to realise that if we wanna change what’s going on out there, we have to start at home. We have to start with ourselves. We have to cultivate the values and the ways of being within ourselves if we ever want it to reach a wider scale in the world. And that means self-kindness, that means prioritising peace, that means seeking out joy and goodness. And it means resisting falling into despair. It is so easy to get swept up in everything that’s wrong. Actually the most radical thing we can do is to go against that. To preserve ourselves, and to embody the ways we want the world to change. So don’t let anyone tell you that taking care of yourself, or prioritising your joy or your well-being isn’t radical, or is irresponsible, or means you don’t care. It means you’ve worked out that in order to have a positive impact, in order to change this world? You have to be okay. And in order to do that, the change has to start at home. And that, is radical

That’s all my loves! Have a gentle rest of the day and feel free to tell me things in the comments! Appreciate you all very much.

M 💜