The Quiet Way Friends Show Up

When I first started thinking about the idea of writing a blog about tea, I was terrified. I worried about the technology gap I knew I would come up against, about having to generate ideas and write consistently, and about opening myself up to strangers online. But most of all, I was afraid of what my friends would think or how they would react to my blog idea. Would they think I was being silly, or cringe when they read my posts? Their opinions matter, and that fear paralyzed me for a long time.

When I finally screwed up the courage to tell my friends that I was considering a blog about tea, I was absolutely stunned by the outpouring of support I received.

A dear childhood friend sent me a beautiful quilling card of a plant growing out of a teacup. An ex-teacher friend — the one who first nudged me down this path — sent me a card filled with packets of tea and a poem about drinking tea with a friend. My coworkers made me feel surprisingly legitimate by gifting me a teacup and a tea towel with my logo on them, and another offered invaluable help with my logo design.

When I finally published my first post, so many friends visited my blog and subscribed. One dear friend somehow found my post on Substack before I even sent her the link — she was my very first subscriber.

Trying new things is always daunting, and writing about them can feel even more so. What I didn’t fully consider was just how wonderful my group of friends is, and how generously they have supported me through this new chapter. They’ve made this journey feel less scary and far more joyful.

What I misunderstood before I started was how much I would need my friends — and how willingly they would show up once I finally let them see what I was trying to do.