Summary

John, a basketball operations professional, shares his journey of joining and writing for Illumination, a unique and vibrant Medium publication that values synergy, mutual support, and immediate publishing, which has become a significant outlet for his writing and a cherished community for storytellers.

Abstract

John, whose background is rooted in the Indiana countryside and a career with the Portland Trail Blazers, recounts his initial struggle with obscurity on Medium before connecting with the Illumination publication. He emphasizes the importance of writerly camaraderie and the publication's ethos of mutual support, which he found to be more crucial than simply getting published or curated. The immediacy of the publication's editorial process and its distinctive synergy were key factors in his decision to join. John highlights the welcoming atmosphere and the unique character of Illumination, which persisted even after a brief shutdown, and expresses gratitude for the platform that allows him to share his experiences, including a heart condition, life-threatening illnesses, personal losses, and global adventures.

Opinions

John found Medium initially challenging and isolating until he engaged with other writers.
The synergy and energy within Illumination are distinctive and appealing to John.
Dr. Mehmet Yildiz, the founder and editor of Illumination, is praised for his accessibility and support of writers.
John values the immediacy of publication and the opportunity to share timely stories.
Despite a heart condition ending his basketball career, writing for Illumination has allowed John to realize a dream parallel to his NBA career.
The Illumination community is seen as a source of hope, light, and connection, fostering relationships with fellow writers.
John is thankful for the diverse experiences he's had and the ability to share them with a supportive audience on Medium.

Meet John: Why I Joined Illumination

And why I continue writing for this crazy, synergistic publication

Let’s be honest, this publication is wild. All over the place.

And it works.

It fits.

It’s as it says, synergistic, welcoming.

There’s a lot of energy here. A lot of support.

When I first started writing on Medium, I had poured my heart into some stories I had written and then I posted them into the vastness of Medium only to be swallowed up into obscurity. As I’ve met others on here, this seems to be the common way of getting started.

I didn’t really know how to use Medium yet. I didn’t know how to engage with other writers. I didn’t know how to support and be supported. I just posted my stories and let them be with most of my feedback coming from those on Facebook and Twitter which was great, but I was really trying to figure out how to connect on Medium with people I didn’t already know.

I started getting some stories picked up by publications and even curated but I didn’t feel like I really figured out Medium until I connected with other writers. The key wasn’t in getting published or curated but in the mutual support and encouragement of fellow writers.

I had connected with Dr Mehmet Yildiz in passing on various stories of mine and his, writing some comments back and forth. When he reached out about writing for Illumination, it was a no-brainer. And when I joined, I could tell that not only was he all-in, the writers here were all-in as well. Even as the publication continues to grow, the energy remains the same.

And that chaos, that synergy… it works perfect here. I wasn’t even suprised when the publication got shut down. I didn’t know why but it just made sense. Just like it made sense that it made it’s way back. It’s just different from the other publications out there. And that’s a good thing.

In the past, I’d write stories and not feel like they belonged anywhere (in a publication). Now, I know my stories, my poems, my thoughts are always welcome on Illumination.

And better yet, the great team of editors publish nearly immediately. Got something on my heart for today? A specific moment or holiday? I can get it out to the world today and still have it published.

As Dr. Mehmet shares… “As founder and editor of ILLUMINATION, I made it easy and practical to access me via a link without limitations of Medium. I enjoy interactions with our readers, writers, and aspiring writers. I receive fascinating messages each day. Communicating with our writers and readers is a privilege to me.”

He’s not kidding… if you’ve interacted with Dr. Mehmet, you know he’s all about interacting and supporting his fellow writers.

So who am I?

Born and raised in the cornfields of Indiana. Let your stereotypes come alive.

Raccoon Lake on one side, hog farm on another, soybean fields, and Amish neighbors. It was home. It still is, in a sense. Not a McDonald’s or Wal-Mart or Starbucks or much at all in our county of backwoods and trails.

But I didn’t hunt. I didn’t fish. I didn’t camp.

I played basketball. I wrote stories. And I went to church.

Everything has changed and not much has changed at all.

I went to college in Texas and Virginia before accepting an unpaid internship in Portland, Oregon. I accepted the position on a Saturday morning, packed everything in my car, and on Sunday, I started the drive across the country. Stopping in Indiana to visit family, then on to Nebraska and Idaho, before making it to Oregon where I was living on the couch of a friend from Texas I hadn’t talked to in 5 years. Plenty of stories in the midst of that for sure! Unpaid NBA intern living on couch and surviving on Gatorade and protein bars from the office.

I hated it. But I survived. Barely. I wanted to leave but I didn’t want to quit. So I decided to stick it out for a year and before I knew it…

I stayed for a second internship, minimum wage this time. I was still trying to adjust to Oregon. Adjust to the rain. Adjust to my job. Adjust to not having community.

And then I got a full-time position. My dream of working in the NBA now fully realized.

I’m 13 years into my career now with the Portland Trail Blazers, a literal dream come true… but like many of you, there’s always that beautiful nagging inside of me, ‘I want to write.’

Do I quit my job and try to write full-time? It’s a question that pops up on my heart frequently. But finding Medium has bridged that gap in a sense. I can work. I can write. I can publish. I can connect. I can share what’s inside of me with others I would have never met if not for this platform. And for that, I’m grateful.

There’s so much more to share and tell… 10 years of summers living in Zimbabwe, getting jumped on the streets in India, working in youth sports camps in Russia, being an extra in a movie with Shaq and Nick Nolte, doing tsunami relief in Thailand, rushing the court after Damian Lillard’s game-winners, having two grandma’s live past 100… life has been rich… and also difficult, being diagnosed with a heart condition in high school effectively ending my own basketball aspirations, contracting a life-threatening staph infection MRSA, twice, losing my brother-in-law and dear friend Will at the age of 33 to cancer, having a young boy I hoped to adopt one day pass away at age 12 from the HIV virus. Life is… life. It’s full. It has it’s ups and downs. And I have my faith and community to fall back on.

And now I have a beautiful community here to share stories with along the way.

So thank you. Thank you for reading this. Thank you for sharing your stories. Thanks for supporting each other. Thanks for bringing hope and light into the world.

Thankful to have ‘met’ some of my favorite writers of Medium on here at Illumination as well… Agnes Louis Lori Brown John C Davis Charlene Fate Tree Langdon ♾️ Gurpreet Dhariwal Salam Khan Isak Dinesen Amy Marley FILZA CHAUDHRY Terry Mansfield R Tsambounieri Talarantas Ann K Frailey Jessica Cote Besom & Bletherskite Robert Nelson Feather🕊tales Helen Cassidy Page Wolfie Bain Carolyn Riker Michele Thill Paul Myers MBA Marla Bishop Ryan Frawley Suzan Dalia Annelise Lords …and looking forward to meeting the rest of you as well.