About Me — Gladys and The 555
I have a tendency to talk a lot
My background
I was born and raised on a small farm in rural Kansas, right down the road from my paternal grandparents. My father is from the area and mother is a Filipino immigrant. I am a middle child with a temper (I’m an Aries) and I was born with neurodevelopmental disabilities—a recipe for chaos. I was baptized Catholic but raised a Quaker and despite having a speech disorder, I loved to talk—the strange dichotomies of my life.
My career
Due to my disabilities, I struggled greatly during my public school years. Luckily for me, I had an older sister in the gifted program who was naturally advanced in traditional subjects. From high school to college—and even today—my older sister has served pro bono as my editor-in-chief (this article probably even went through her before submission). She has been my secret weapon, and honestly the sole motivator behind the advancement of my writing skills. I still hear her in my head, laughing about how a 10-line long paragraph of mine was actually one gigantic run-on sentence; I’m a repeat offender of forgetting to close out a thought.
In college, I interned in both the government and non-profit sectors—fun fact: I was working at the Capitol during the January 6th insurrection. It was my third day as a United States Senate intern. My first full-time job after graduation was working as a field organizer for a political campaign, and now I am currently working as a government proofreader and editor.
How I got into writing
It took me a long time to learn how to read so naturally, I was never a big reader (I’m still not). I loved stories though, and I loved storytelling—although I’m incredibly bad at it. One of my history professors once told me that I “focus on the trees but fail to see the forest.” I’m also that one friend who has to be reminded to “GET TO THE POINT.” With a speech disorder and other comorbidities, my major weakness is in public speaking; I find it easier to communicate my thoughts and ideas through writing. Writing down what I have to say is easier, though, with all the chaos and dysfunction happening inside my head, organizing my thoughts on paper doesn’t really come naturally to me either; writing takes a lot of time for me. But I love it. Even today, miscommunication plagues me. I love the idea of being understood and getting the point across. I love the idea of making sense. I also love being opinionated and sharing my unsolicited advice.
Additionally, I have become better at editing and more meticulous due to my experience as a professional proofreader. I really enjoy helping other people craft their arguments and opinions. I like the idea of transforming a mundane thought into a snappy and powerful sentence.
What I like to write about
I like to write about what I like to read about—that’s the case for everyone, right? I like historical research and writing. I like historiography, the different ways to approach and view a historical event. I like learning about people—past and present, ordinary and extraordinary. I like learning about the complexities of human behavior and an individual’s specific struggles. I like community and the evolution of tradition and culture.
My Medium journey
For years, I have received the Medium Daily Digest. I genuinely don’t know how I got signed up for it. I checked my emails (I have over 21,000 unread emails and even more read emails. I rarely delete anything) and I have been on the Medium Daily Digest subscription list at least since 2019. I would occasionally read the recommended articles as well, as somehow the articles targeted toward me were actually topics of interest.
At the beginning of this month, I quit my second job because I wanted to dedicate more time to writing—and breathing because I’ve discovered that I seldom have the time for any hobbies or interests while balancing two jobs. I was writing articles and submitting them to publications. I was opening up my email and refreshing daily, waiting for replies. Instead, the only new emails populating my screen were from the Medium Daily Digest. I started reading some of the articles with more intention and found that they weren’t well written, nor were they groundbreaking (apologies to those writers).
Seriously, this was game-changing because it made me realize that there was no such thing as wasted space in the writing community. Why was I spending all this time and energy writing formal pieces just to be handed rejection after rejection from History Today, when some dude named Mark is writing about his preferred niche topic in history, not even having to implement Chicago format, and he has his own base of readers to validate and accept his work. I could write in my own style, on my own terms, about my own interests? Thus, I created a writing account on Medium and started typing.
The 555
I started my Medium journey publishing academic essays that no one liked to read. I also don’t think I liked writing them very much either. My interests have always been in history, politics, and culture, but I had a nasty habit of writing too formally—and too boringly.
Then, after some depressive episodes and a creative writing class later, I started writing poetry (for the first time—ever).
I had been on average a solid .50 cent per post earner on Medium so imagine my surprise when I saw that I earned a whopping $6 off my first poetry publication.
I’ve realized that I’m no longer in academia, I can write how I want about what I want. So, I’m going to start doing that more in 2024. I’m excited for this adventure and I embrace the unknown future with open arms. Thus, 555: Change, good luck, transformation, freedom, and personal growth.
Let’s connect!
I would love to connect and continue to grow a community with other writers. You can find me on Twitter, TikTok, Facebook, and Linkedin (I am chronically online and the most active on Twitter).
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