My Medium July Review

Your favorites, my favorites, and recommendations!

I like to write about the whys behind stories and articles I write.

I love deep questions. I love getting beneath the surface. I love when Tim Ferris asks a guest about their morning routine and they respond, ‘I like to drink tea.’

And he responds, ‘At what time?’ ‘What brand?’ ‘Why that kind?’ ‘How much?’ ‘How do you feel afterwards?’ ‘How long has that been part of your routine?’

I’ve taken on many recommendations from his guests simply by looking at the question behind the question.

My most read article of July

If Only I’d Stop… and Stare, then I Could Share

Why I wrote it:

This was one of the more fun articles I’ve written. Not because of how insightful or clever it was, but because it simply came from sitting down and writing.

I was already late for my deadline of writing. And while I sat at a coffee shop, Two Sweet Cakes, to write my blog, I continually distracted myself with other activities. I was waiting for a ‘lighting bolt’ to hit me and tell me what to write.

So instead of continuing to wait for that, I decided to write an article on Medium about not knowing what to write. And as I wrote the article… when I got to the last line, the last piece of my processing… I realized, I had just written my blog.

I posted it on my blog account and then on Medium as well.

And turns out, it’s one of favorites and one my most read on Medium of all of my writings, go figure!

I love how sometimes, rather than coming up with something pithy to share, sometimes people just resonate with what is simply inside of you at that moment. Because what’s inside of us, is something we can all relate to.

My personal favorite of July and why I wrote it

Hamilton and 4th of July Muses from The Room Where It Happens

I was sitting on the couch with my girlfriend after we finished watching Hamilton on Disney+ and she was like, ‘You should write an article about this.’

I loved the idea and took her up on it. I thought I’d get something typed out by that night. But it usually takes me days or weeks to write an article because what starts as a simple article often turns into a research project. And this one certainly fell in that category.

I hopped on Instagram and told my people I had 5 questions for them about Hamilton for anyone who wanted to respond. And soon my inbox was flooded with responses. It took me awhile to get them all arranged but it was fun to read everyone’s thoughts.

Most read poem and story behind it

Hold on to Love tonight

Before Medium, I didn’t really have a place to publish what I wrote. I’d put things on FaceBook occasionaly and I have a blog but my blog is somewhat specifc. So there was no place to hold my poems and random musings. Until now!

Occasionally, I go through my old notes and find little articles or poems and I post them. For this poem, I found the first 4 lines written out in a Word document.

Love it cried, it lost that night Could it last another fight Words they hurt when nothing’s right All that was left, to hold on tight

I liked it. But I felt like it wasn’t finished, like I could add something. And I did…

So hold on, hold on to love tonight Before it flashes out of your sight For words can heal when said right And all that’s left is to hold on tight

And those last 2 lines became my favorites.

My personal favorite poem and story behind it

Did you know the moon could cry?

Sometimes, when I write a poem, I just read it and read it and read it again.

I love words. I love rhymes. I love poems.

This was one that I read over and over and over again.

Nature and specifically, the moon, often weave their way into much of my poetry.

This poem, like the one above, came with the same story. I had 4 lines saved from years ago.

I didn’t know that the moon could cry But it shed a tear as it hung last night For what it witnessed, it couldn’t deny As the people behaved, like the moon was blind

That was enough, but I wanted to continue the story.

And morning came, a gentle rise As the people remembered what happened that night They promised the sun they would make things right As the rains poured down, a rainbow shown high

Rainbows are always a good place to finish but I decided to let the people go to sleep and watch the stars too.

And they went to sleep, tears in their eyes And watched the stars and prayed that night That things would change and be alright As a shooting star flown across the sky

And my poem was complete.

Tip of the Month

Connect with other people who are interested in connecting on here. One way to find people who are likely to reciprocate is reading stories of other people who are actively commenting, clapping, and engaging with other writers. If someone is dropping a note on someone’s story, they are likely an active Medium member.

My good Medium friend Terry Mansfield always says that reciprocation goes a long way… and he’s got a fantastic article about it!

Favorite July story of another writer

Raising Mixed Race Children in a Racist World

Rebecca Stevens A. has a lot of tremendous articles specific to her life… this one I found very interesting and insightful.

Favorite poem from another writer

Abecedarian Poem — I am Me

Gurpreet Dhariwal writes incredible poetry but her Abecedarian ones are my favorite, incredible creativity and use of words and language.

Cheers!

-John