About Me — Samantha Lawton
The most curious version of myself yet
Oh hello there.
I’m Samantha or Sam — proudly Gen X, a journalist and British ex-pat living in Miami. I find myself on Medium at what feels like a pivotal point. It’s like I’m free-falling, although not necessarily in a bad way. More like free-floating? Anyway, I was recently laid off from a job I loved after 15 years.
Not to be too dramatic, but it kind of shook my soul.
I’m over the shock, through the heartbreak, and have made it — alive and kicking — to the other side.
Quite what’s over this bump in the road, I’m not yet sure. But I’ve chosen to see it as an opportunity. So, I’ve been enjoying a rare breather this summer to figure out my life and am currently dipping my toe into freelance writing, with an eye on pivoting into different parts of my industry.
I’ve spent a couple of decades as a reporter so I’m not new to writing, but the idea of working for myself — which seems terrifying and liberating in equal measure— is not something I’ve ever taken the time to ponder.
“Your work is not who you are. It’s what you do.” — I’ve been hearing this a lot lately.
Well, at my most basic level I’m a ‘Stokie’. Proudly born and bred in Stoke-on-Trent aka The Potteries, an industrial working-class city in the middle of England famous for making — you guessed it — pottery.
In the nicest possible way, I’d describe it as a ‘no frills’ kind of place. Its salt-of-the-earth folks are no-nonsense types so a bit of honesty and blunt talk goes a long way.
I often joke that the best thing about Stoke — apart from its local specialty the mighty oatcake — is its close proximity to other more prosperous cities like Liverpool, Birmingham, and Manchester, which basically makes it easy to flee to greener pastures.
But despite its imperfections, it gave me a pretty solid jump-off in life and I’m eternally fond of the place. It’ll always be home.
Growing up in Britain, I’ve always felt entrenched in American culture because it’s such a dominant force in the movies, TV shows, music, and sports that we‘re fed. Long before social media seemingly shrunk the world, American culture was baked into the walls of British life.
When I graduated from university with a law degree in 1998, many of my student pals were excitedly heading off backpacking around Europe, Asia, or Australia.
But I only ever cared about coming to the US. You could say I was laser-focused. So my 22-year-old self rocked up solo in New York City having bagged a summer job at Six Flags Over Georgia, a sprawling, crowded-as-heck family theme park in Atlanta.
It was a thrilling — and pretty ballsy — move, if I do say so myself.
Wide-eyed, I journeyed slowly south on a jam-packed, steamy Greyhound bus in search of an urban adventure in a bustling city I viewed as a snapshot of ‘real America’, compared to the touristy beach locations and children’s summer camps that attracted most of the international student travelers seeking a short working adventure in the US.
At the time, I remember reading that Atlanta was classed as the ‘murder capital’ of the United States. I was careful not to let this little factoid slip out when explaining my fun plans to my mum.
Everything about my whirlwind summer in ‘Hotlanta’ was an epic adventure which I’ll forever cherish, and it left me yearning for more America in my life.
Once the working portion of the trip was over, I squeezed in brief stop-offs in New Orleans, Washington DC, Chicago, and New York City before it was time to board a British Airways plane back to reality.
Fun fact — because my first ever US job was in the state of Georgia, my social security number was assigned there (did you know each state has its own prefixes for SS numbers?) I reckon that makes me a Georgia Peach.
Nine years flew by, during which time I became a reporter, spending the early years of my journalism career serving my hometown on our local newspaper The Sentinel, then a busy five-edition daily. For four of those invaluable seven years, I specialized as a crime correspondent — a job I adored more than life itself.
Fast forward to 2007 and an exciting new job opportunity with a leading global news & photo agency popped up. An incredible chance to travel around the US covering breaking news & showbiz stories for some of the biggest publishers in the world. I grabbed it with both hands and never looked back. It bought me 4,000 miles to South Florida, aka the ‘Sunshine State’, which has been my happy homebase ever since.
Over the past couple of years I became bi-coastal, splitting my time between Miami and Los Angeles after Covid threw up a golden opportunity to broaden my horizons by running our company’s West Coast bureau.
It dropped into my lap so I ran with it. What an incredible, eye-opening experience it turned out to be. A breath of fresh air — literally and figuratively. (Those familiar with Florida’s stifling humidity will catch my drift!)
LA’s glorious, mountainous coastal landscape meant hiking quickly became my new passion and I felt a palpable shift in perspective. I also discovered Joshua Tree National Park, in the magical Mojave Desert, which has become a treasured spot in which to slow down and tune into myself. To declutter my mind and replenish my energy before heading back to big city life.
Meditating under the starry desert skies does wonders for my soul.
Side note: I discovered mindfulness & meditation when I embarked on my first ever ‘dry January’, which turned out to be marvelous timing. It was a couple of months before Covid hit the US, and as a sociable singleton suddenly stripped of my freedom to mingle, it gave me the tools I needed to avoid freaking out and fully appreciate my alone time. It also sparked a new sense of wonder and curiosity about all kinds of stuff (hence my sub-header).
In tough times, I can now draw a ton of strength from the mental skills & wellness habits that mindfulness has taught me, like gratitude. My beloved family & close friends are my anchors, and my therapy is spin class! (SoulCycle to be precise).
Well, I feel like we’ve come to a natural end here friends.
Hopefully, I’ve given you a basic grasp of this zen-loving, somewhat Americanized Stokie-Georgia Peach and you’ll follow along with me on Medium.
I may throw in the odd curveball but I’ll mostly write stuff about journalism, entertainment, lifestyle, news & current events. Also hope to bring value by inspiring would-be reporters get better at chasing stories. I know I’ve given my blood, sweat, and tears to this crazy career so I figure I should share some of my exploits, stumbles, and the tough lessons I’ve learned along the way.
‘Bye for now!
SSamantha Lawton is a British-born, Miami-based journalist, news junkie and spinning enthusiast. New to Medium (go on, give me a follow!)
Reach me here - https://linktr.ee/samanthajlawton
