Community! Ever heard of it?

Here’s what happened. I’ll tell you, and then I think we’ll all agree that everything I did was perfectly reasonable and not at all unhinged, not even a little unhinged, not even tinged with unhinged. I’m reasonable! I’ve never met a reason I didn’t like.

…Actually, I won’t tell you what happened, because it’s administrative and boring and I can’t put my reputation as a master weaver of yarns on the line just so I can explain to you why I now have three separate newsletters. Bet you didn’t see that coming, did you? Narrative intrigue.

The overall point is: I moved my diary comics over to a different newsletter called Sofia’s Sketchbook. I am drawing the diary comics every day, but I’ll be posting them with a few months’ delay, far enough from when the events happened that I can say, “Oh, that was three months ago. I am a totally different person now.” If you’re interested, you can subscribe over there (or, if you were a paid subscriber, I already comped you a paid subscription over there, so you’re all set). I’ll remind you in January when I start posting them. Here’s a little taste:

And the third newsletter? I’ll save that announcement for another day. For now, You’re Doing Great is back to its pristine, advice-only sleekness. Sometimes, you have to go off model before you can realize that there even is a model, and that’s what happened here. The model is advice. Let’s get her to the catwalk.

This week’s question is about building coommuuuuuunnniityyy. And you can, and should—must!— send me your problems, via this anonymous form.

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Dear Sofia,
A year ago, I moved across the country with my best friend. They were going to need to move for grad school, and we were curious to explore a cheaper and more climate resilient place to live. Turns out we’re willing to risk not breathing (wildfires) for the community we once had, so we’re moving back when they graduate in a year. While I have a few friends here, I can’t help but long for a more robust sense of community. There are two tricky things about finding this amidst the in-between-ness: I’m a bit of a shy slow burn person, and I’m worried that by the time I weave the community I want, I’ll be headed out. Also, it seems like most people aren’t that interested in investing in the type of meaningful connection I long for it there’s no long term potential. How might I feel more connected during this interlude?

Thanks for reading! If you want to give my ego a little zap:

<3, S