Hello, Medium world.

Summary

Rebecca Sealfon, an established writer on Quora, is exploring Medium as a new platform for her diverse writings, motivated by Medium's Partner Program and the desire to maintain her creative freedom and support her future plans, including motherhood, without being confined to domestic life.

Abstract

Rebecca Sealfon has always been drawn to the world of writing, surrounded by books since childhood, which sparked her passion for storytelling and sharing her expansive imagination. Over the years, she has honed her skills and knowledge across various subjects, including technology, literature, and Judaism, and has gained a significant following on Quora.com. Now, she is venturing into Medium, attracted by its Partner Program, which offers a more sustainable model for writers. Sealfon values the ability to transcend conventional disciplines and connect with a global audience, a freedom she hopes to continue on Medium. Her decision to join Medium is also influenced by her plans to start a family and her commitment to maintaining a presence in the professional world, as writing is not just a vocation for her but a necessity for her well-being.

Opinions

Sealfon views writing as an integral part of her identity, having felt compelled to write from a very young age.
She appreciates the diverse worlds that books and writing have opened up for her, from colorful and alluring to more complex and adult themes.
Her writings reflect a broad range of interests, including technology, New York City, Judaism, nature, and the pursuit of peace in the Middle East.
She is critical of platforms like Quora that do not offer fair compensation to writers and is seeking a more reciprocal relationship with Medium through its Partner Program.
Sealfon is conscious of her privilege in being able to take risks in her writing career and is considering ways to assist less fortunate writers.
She expresses a strong desire to balance her future role as a mother with her professional life, emphasizing the importance of personal fulfillment and contribution to the world beyond the home.
Sealfon cherishes the interaction with her audience and the opportunity to express herself, which she finds essential for her mental health and personal growth.

Hello, Medium world.

It was early in my life that I knew I wanted to be a writer.

The books surrounded me, each one unlocking another world. Each one broadened me, made me feel my limits expanding a little bit. Some felt colorful and alluring. Some felt colorless and barren, and I mostly ignored them until later. Those were the “adult books.” It was sometime in the middle of the 1980s, when home computers were the great new thing but books still seemed to have so much more. I don’t even remember learning to read. For as long as I could remember, written language was open to me. And if I could write my own stories, I could share my own worlds.

Over the years, staying on course to complete my education but letting it take me where I fancied, I learned about lots of things. Animals. Computer programming. Literature. I could not help but keep writing. I write on Quora.com, where my work has been read millions of times. Some of you might know me from there. Mostly, my pieces are about technology, New York City, Judaism, J.R.R. Tolkien’s works, nature, and Israel-Palestine peace. I reveled in the freedom I had to share what I loved, and the people who loved these things with me. I could cross anyone’s conventional idea of disciplines and connect with people from all over the world. I could even test new party lines on Israel-Palestine. I hope to have the same freedom here on Medium.

Me in Central Park, wearing a sweater I decorated to look like one of my favorite animals. If you don’t know me, can you guess the animal?

I’m going to be blunt. I’m trying out being a Medium writer basically because of the Partner Program. If you read this and you subscribe to Medium, you’d help support me. I’m luckier than a lot of other people that way, honestly. I don’t need this because I need to be fed and pay my medical bills right now. I’m free to take a few risks. And I’m definitely hoping to use Medium to think about how to help the people who can’t afford to take those risks. I also want to have children soon, and I really don’t want to be a full-time mom without any leverage outside my home. I have too much pride in myself to just leave the world outside my home to other people. Honestly, I’d go crazy if I didn’t write for you. I’d feel trapped inside myself.

Quora doesn’t have a program like Medium, and should. So many of its most popular writers are leaving or stepping back from the site because they aren’t getting enough in return. I don’t feel like being the chump who just feeds the tech tycoons and doesn’t get anything back for it. Of course, I get a lot back, otherwise I wouldn’t have been writing for so long voluntarily. I get to express myself. I practically live to surround myself with the smartest and most caring people I can find, enjoying my own world and thinking about how it can improve the real one. Getting a little something back basically gives me more of an excuse to do what I want to do. Write.