**Summary of Mastodon Post by @ejfox (EJ Fox) on 2023-03-15** • **Post Content**: EJ Fox shared a quote from "The War of Art" by Steven Pressfield, which reads, "The artist must fight to create on command. That fight begins with the first sentence. It ends with the last. The rest is just work." (Source: https://mastodon.social/@ejfox/112702964143362803) • **Context**: This post is part of EJ Fox's ongoing series of inspirational quotes, often related to creativity, writing, and personal growth. The series is hashtagged #QuoteOfTheDay. • **Relevance to EJ Fox's Digital Memory**: This post is saved as it reflects EJ Fox's interest in writing, creativity, and personal development. The quote serves as a reminder of the daily struggle and commitment required to create and maintain a consistent creative practice. • **Personal Note**: EJ Fox has been actively working on improving their writing discipline and this quote serves as a motivator and a reminder of the daily grind required to improve as a writer. • **Book Reference**: "The War of Art" is a self-help book by Steven Pressfield, focusing on the internal resistance that artists face when trying to create. The book provides insights into overcoming this resistance and maintaining a creative practice. • **Engagement**: The post received 13 boosts and 13 favorites, indicating that it resonated with many of EJ Fox's followers, likely also writers and creatives. • **Hashtags Used**: #WritingCommunity, #AmWriting, #WritersLife, #QuoteOfTheDay, #TheWarOfArt, #Creativity • **Related Posts**: EJ Fox has previously shared quotes from "The War of Art," indicating a recurring interest in the book and its themes.

• Screenshot of text on a white background. • The text is in black, serif font. • The text reads: "Winkie agrees. "I don't think men have the same 'treat culture' that women do, which is frankly a shame," he says. "A long flight, for women, is the perfect venue to organize an entire itinerary of treats, and I do think men tend to be more stoic and weird about the spaces in which they allow themselves to receive pleasure.""

• Photograph of a person's left hand holding open a small, light-colored notebook. • The notebook page has handwritten text in black ink. • The text reads: "MAYBE I NEED TO BE MORE HONEST - TO LET THE MISTAKES SHOW + TRUST THE FLOW AND LET THE LINES NOT LINE UP AND LET THE LINES NOT ALL END IN THE SAMESPOT THE SECOND DRAFT IS NOT AS HONEST AS THE FIRST AND MORE IMPORTANTLY IT SLOWS ME DOWN JUST PUBLISH KEEP PUSHING AND TRUST THE PROCESS PUT PEN TO PAPER AND LET GOD MOVE THROUGH YOU". • Part of a white tube with black text "[email protected]" is visible in the bottom left corner.

**Summary of Weekly Notes Blogging Practice** • **Purpose and Evolution**: Over the past year, you've been maintaining a weekly notes blog, initially intended for public consumption, but it has since evolved into a personal, private journal due to the inclusion of sensitive or personal topics. • **Benefits**: You recommend this practice as it serves multiple purposes: it helps organize thoughts, serves as a record of experiences and ideas, and provides a space for reflection and self-expression. • **Differentiation from Journaling**: While you also keep a journal, this weekly notes blog differs in that it focuses more on capturing and organizing information, ideas, and observations, rather than delving into personal feelings or emotions. • **Content**: The blog entries cover a wide range of topics, including but not limited to: - Books you've read and key takeaways. - Interesting articles or research papers and your insights on them. - Movies, TV shows, or podcasts you've enjoyed, along with your thoughts on their themes or content. - Personal projects or coding challenges you've undertaken, including the problems you solved and what you learned. - Reflections on productivity methods, tools, or habits you've tried. - Notes on interesting conversations or discussions you've had. • **Format and Structure**: Each entry is dated and includes a brief introduction or summary of the main topic(s) covered. You often use bullet points or lists to organize information and make it scannable. • **Privacy**: Given the personal nature of some entries, you've decided to keep this blog private. This allows you to write freely and honestly without worrying about potential audience reactions. • **Potential Future Use**: Despite its current privacy, you may consider making some entries public in the future, as they could serve as valuable resources or insights for others. For now, however, the blog remains a personal space for reflection and growth. • **Time Commitment**: Maintaining this weekly notes blog requires a consistent time commitment, but you find the benefits – such as improved clarity of thought and increased self-awareness – make it a worthwhile practice. • **Context**: You saved this content to remind yourself of the value of this weekly notes blogging practice and to encourage you to continue dedicating time to it. It also serves as a record of your personal and intellectual growth over the past year.

• **Personal Milestone**: In 2009, you were accepted into the SUNY Purchase program, marking a significant step in your academic journey, with a focus on graphic design. • **Career Pivot**: Instead of pursuing higher education, you chose to embark on a professional career path, accepting a job as a staff designer at a startup in California. • **Cross-Country Adventure**: You undertook a memorable road trip from New York to San Francisco with your best friend, driving across the country in your Honda Element, signifying a new chapter in your life. • **New Beginnings**: This decision led you to San Francisco, where you began your career in graphic design, demonstrating your ability to seize opportunities and make bold life choices. • **Reflection on the Past**: This memory serves as a reminder of your youthful spirit and willingness to take risks, as well as the importance of staying open to new opportunities and experiences. • **Career Growth**: Your decision to enter the workforce directly after high school allowed you to gain practical experience and build a career in graphic design, which has since shaped your professional path. • **Friendship and Support**: The shared experience of driving across the country with your best friend highlights the importance of strong, supportive relationships in navigating life's big decisions and adventures. • **Personal Growth**: This experience also demonstrates your ability to adapt to new environments and embrace change, as you transitioned from a small town in New York to the bustling city of San Francisco. • **The Road Not Taken**: While you didn't pursue a formal education in graphic design at SUNY Purchase, your career has flourished through practical experience and self-learning, proving that there's more than one path to success. • **Context**: This memory was saved to commemorate a significant turning point in your life and to serve as a reminder of the importance of staying open to new opportunities and experiences. • **Lessons Learned**: This experience has taught you the value of taking risks, embracing change, and trusting in your ability to adapt and grow in new environments. • **Influence on Present**: This memory continues to influence your present-day decisions, encouraging you to remain open to new opportunities and to prioritize personal growth and experiences. • **Connection to Other Memories**: This memory is connected to other significant life events, such as your high school graduation, your first job, and your early experiences in the graphic design industry.

• **Title:** "Where I Come From: Hallucinations Cost $10 a Pop" • **Source:** A personal blog post written by the user, dated March 15, 2022. • **Purpose:** The author reflects on their upbringing and shares a unique perspective on their family's financial struggles, using a metaphor involving hallucinations. • **Metaphor:** The title's phrase "hallucinations cost $10 a pop" is a metaphor for the author's family's financial situation. They grew up believing they were middle-class, but in reality, they were living paycheck to paycheck. • **Childhood:** The author describes their childhood as seemingly normal, with a house, a car, and vacations, but these were often funded by credit cards and loans. • **Financial Struggles:** The author's parents often struggled to make ends meet, with bills piling up and constant financial anxiety. They would often use credit cards to cover expenses, leading to high-interest debt. • **The "Hallucination":** The author compares their family's financial situation to a hallucination, as they were unable to see or acknowledge the true extent of their financial struggles due to their desire to maintain a certain image. • **Turning Point:** The author's parents eventually faced foreclosure on their house, which served as a wake-up call and forced them to confront their financial reality. • **Lessons Learned:** The author reflects on the lessons they learned from their family's financial struggles, including the importance of living within one's means, saving for emergencies, and being honest about one's financial situation. • **Personal Growth:** The author notes that these experiences have shaped their perspective on money and have influenced their career choices, leading them to pursue a job in finance. • **Reflection:** The author expresses gratitude for their upbringing, despite the financial struggles, as it has taught them resilience and the value of hard work. • **Context:** This blog post was saved by the user as they were reflecting on their own financial journey and wanted to document their family's financial history for future reference and to share with their own children someday. • **Emotional Impact:** The post is written with a mix of humor, nostalgia, and raw emotion, highlighting the user's complex feelings towards their family's financial past and their own personal growth.

- Screenshot of a Twitter post by Helen Rosner (@hels). - The post reads: "In most good personal essays, the narrative arc is the evolution of the author as an individual, and they should evolve at least twice: (1) I have an experience, it changes me. (2) I learn more about the experience and/or about my first change, and that changes me again." - The post was made at "2:55 PM · 4/2/18 From Earth". - The post has "135 Reposts 28 Quotes 1K Likes 176 Bookmarks".