“I am the sum of my parts. Everything I’ve ever done and everything I’ve ever achieved and everything I have ever been.”
I sat and thought about what makes me, me for hours today just because. If I was going to attempt to leave my mark on the collective, if I was going to create a home - this home - for words and thoughts and stories to be a touchstone, a linchpin to build the weave that ties me to you and you to whoever and whatever comes next, it stands to reason that the first one would be about me and why you should bother to spend time here in the first place.
I love mental exercises like this, ways to expand the ways I think about myself and the words I say about (and to) myself and how I explain myself to others. At first, it was easy - I am a believer in everyday magic, I am a type 3 with a strong 2 wing, I am an ENFJ with a giant Scorpio stellium, I am a creative, I am a wife, I am a sister, a daughter, an aunt - and then it stuttered to a halt because who am I but the sum of all of the life experiences I’ve had up until this point and the product of those who have gone before me and shaped me? Who am I but an amalgam of stories with twists, turns and plot holes, a vessel to hold contradictions and limitless imagination, a reckless dream (heart, hope) given physical form?
In the middle of this seemingly inane exercise, I found myself worrying over what all these pieces of the whole tell me - these bits of personality and interests added into the pot, what then do they have to offer? They are the tangible elements that I can pick up and chew on, the concrete over the abstract, and the bits I choose to develop and cultivate. In the middle of being the sum of all of my parts, it is a joy to still have choice over what parts I want to add to the equation, the addends that make this wild and beautiful life the glorious adventure it is.
For the more mundane and less metaphysical, hello and welcome. My name is Tazhiana but all my friends call me Tazhi and I’m assuming that if you’ve made it this far, we’re friends now. I am 33 years old and I live in NYC with my husband, Joshua, and our two hell kittens, Minerva and Astoria. I am a perpetual starter of things and a rare finisher of those things, a seeker of joy and magic, a wool witch forever chasing starlight and above all of those things, a maker. I respect the ebb and flow of my interests and hobbies, and right now, it seems that all things fiber have sunk their wooly tendrils into my chest and have wrapped my heart in a silken fist and it’s a joy that I am more than content to hang out with for awhile.
The intention of this space is that it will serve as a hub for all of my musings about that adventure, my rebellious rabblerousing and my midnight wanderings, my photos and my successes and my failures and everything in between. I am no longer interested in content creation for the sake of content creation, in chasing the Instagram algorithm and condensing my joy and my creation into bite size boxes to be consumed and glossed over. While YouTube video creation has my heart and I can’t wait to see what becomes of Stitches and Starlight in this coming season, I want room to write, to share a bit of everything and anything and to grow and this is the space I am choosing for now. It is a joy and a delight to be able to share this with you.
Be welcome and settle in. I hope you find something that sparks joy and wonder in your own making, something that makes you think and makes you laugh, and something that fills you right up with starlight.
I absolutely adored this. I have been craving *more* from social media, longing for connections just like you have so beautifully described in this post. Thank you thank you. And I think this may be the push to start my own! 💖 I am so very much looking forward to reading more from you!
Yes! Yes! Yes! I am thrilled that you are claiming this space in which to be and in which to create, all the details and delights chosen by you because they tickle your brain or touch your heart, or both! May you find many spoons and much joy in this new creating space. (harping) Janet