Hello. Do you know me?

Gather round old friends & new, I've got someone to introduce you to.

Have we met?

We must have because you’re here (welcome, welcome!)

But even if you DO know me…whether it’s from preschool (hi Vika!) or the blogging days (hi Ann!) or because someone recommended you check out this lil’ substack of mine (OMG thank you for that Elyse!) …I’ve gotta tell you, I’ve changed! I’ve turned over a new leaf!

I’m…A. Brand. New. Person.

Because (and maybe this is just me) I feel like there’s always a new version of me waiting to be released. I’m constantly re-inventing myself (I’m just like Madonna that way.)

Previously I thought of myself as an event planner, then a blogger, marketer, and most recently voice actor and author. I even came up with a snappy slogan to bring the various threads together and describe myself as a storyteller -on the page, on the stage, and in your ear.

But I want to re-introduce you to the latest Yuliya, Yuliya version 41.10 if you will…

I’m…an entertainer.

I have (big) dreams of being on (big) stages and sharing vulnerable, true stories with humor.

The identity shift between ‘storyteller’ and ‘entertainer’ is subtle. You guys might not really notice anything different. But, for me, this declaration feels…. (big)...scary and vulnerable.

Remember in school when you were worried about a quiz and you would say “oh it’s not a big deal I didn’t even study that hard” so that you could feel that because you didn’t give it your all, you held something back, you couldn’t (really) fail because you didn’t (really) try?

Well, I’m studying for this test and I’m ready to (really) try.

Do you have a secret dream like this? An identity you haven’t declared yet? If you’d like to whisper it to me please do and I will hold it in my heart until you are ready to shout it to the world.

And as we take brave steps towards making our dreams come true, here are the kinds of posts you can expect from me on a weekly-ish cadence in the months to come (at least until the next system upgrade):

• the (unvarnished) creative chronicles- what I’m learning from pursuing a creative career, warts and all

• the inside scoop on cool projects- whether mine or someone else’s

• lessons learned from being human- being partnered for over 20 years, raising kids, and TBH continuing to raise myself

• continuing memoir-style stories like the series on shame (check out part 1, part 1.5, part 2)

I can’t wait for us to go on this journey together!

With so much gratitude for your attention,

Yuliya

PS Would you like to support my work? There’s absolutely no pressure, but if you’d like to pledge your support (just $7 a month) I will be sharing some exclusive content for my paid subscribers in the months to come! And if supporting me in that way doesn’t feel possible for you right now, then please continue to support me by hitting ‘like’, submitting a comment, or sharing this newsletter with a friend.