Today, it’s all about YOU.

Specifically, my incredibly patrons who have elected to offer financial support over the last 6 months as I’ve embraced the Patreon platform.

I wanted to do a more public shout out to share how much I truly appreciate the support from all of you, but also shout out every one who may not be a patron but has chosen to read my posts.

This is for every one of YOU.

My writing journey has been a series of ups and downs, often influenced very much by the condition I spend so much time writing about and living with.

Through the bitter beginning, born out of anger and frustration with my inability to connect with those around me because I lacked a platform where sharing my experience could be beneficial, to sharing various things I learned, and then striving to boost other’s stories and experiences while continuing to create a free educational platform that provided so much of the information I personally needed earlier in my own life, YOU have chosen to stick around.

Some of you have been here since day one. Some of you have only been here for a few weeks. But you have all provided me with something I haven’t had before: a space where I feel as if I belong, and one where I am welcomed.

Every time someone reaches out to express that they learned something, or that a family member or friend experiences migraine, or that they personally experience migraine or another illness/disability I am reminded that my words go beyond a simple blog post.

Since starting my Patreon account, I’ve been able to foster an additional space that truly encourages my growth and gives me the perfect place to truly be vulnerable. Everyone needs to be able to be vulnerable sometimes.

My Patreon started out as an odd combination of blog posts and photos of my plants. Although I didn’t have a defined idea of what I would use the space for, my mission and goals were easy to develop. At the most basic level, my Patreon serves to aid in the costs of medical therapies that are not traditionally covered by health insurance. But it is also represents larger goals like reaching a level of self-sustainability where I can financially support myself and begin working on larger goals beyond simply sharing my lived experience with migraine. The ultimate goal is to play a part in the total restructuring of the ADA.

My posts have certainly evolved over the last six months, I eventually began a weekly series hoping to share some more personal ups and downs of each week.

During this time, I was enduring a trial of a lifestyle program – The Ment Protocol – and was bound by a very strict contract that made writing and giving updates on my health pretty difficult. At the risk of not breaking the contract by accidentally oversharing, I was able to confide in my few patrons and share my progress and lack thereof.

As I got closer to my move in July, I shifted over to vlogging.

To me, changing my Patreon to be more centered on weekly vlogs really made me feel like I was doing something special and much more personal. I think you can also get a much better idea of what life is like when you can hear a person talking.

And so, I thank you.

Thank you for being there to laugh about the random neighbor who brought me cake who turned into a crazy, slightly obsessive “I’m-not-even-creepy” guy that I am very thankful to not live near anymore.

Thank you for being there as I described the ginormous bugs that began dive bombing me and basically terrorizing me for months.

Thank you for being there after I was almost kidnapped on the beach and providing me with a space to reflect and find a way to share the progress of regaining my confidence of going to the beach alone. I’ll admit, of everything that has happened over the last year, that day was probably the most terrifying thing I had to endure, but being able to get home safely and share it with y’all allowed me to feel less alone.

Thank you for being there when my brother broke me and for providing me a space to continue sharing where I still felt safe.

Thank you for being there for the ups and the downs, the exciting news (of which I have more), and the sometimes grumpy not-very-put-together videos. And thank you especially for laughing with me when I make jokes out of frankly awful circumstances, because if we can’t laugh about them we certainly won’t get through them.

If you are a patron – thank you tremendously for your financial contribution and your support. If you aren’t a patron, thank you for being here, sharing my content, even if you’re existing quietly in the background I appreciate you tremendously and hope you’ll stick around.

In full transparency, I also want to share with y’all the therapies acquired due to patronage and donations:

• A roll out acupressure mat featuring a floor mat and a neck pillow
• A new variation of CBD oil
• Frankincense oil
• An all natural pain cream courtesy of The Spoonless Witch
• A book titled “Crystal Muse”
• A personalized coaching session
• A super cute gold cane to use around the house when my vertigo acts up

Thank you.

And finally, for some exciting news, I am starting an entirely new endeavor to continue expanding my blog and make it more accessible. By the end of the year, I intend to launch a Podcast!

This Podcast will serve a variety of purposes, but will begin by converting my earliest blog posts into audio formats with some additional commentary. My goal is to have audio versions of all of my posts available on multiple podcast platforms to not only spread my journey further, but give everyone an equal opportunity to experience my story in a format that works best for them.

As time goes on, perhaps the Podcast will go further than just existing blog posts, but only time will tell.

I do have one small ask. Creating a podcast does have some small financial barriers, the largest one being the need for a microphone. Any donations towards the purchase of microphone would be greatly appreciated and in return you’ll get a special shout out on a Podcast episode as being a sponsor. Donations can be sent via Paypal or Venmo @Alex-Tomlinson-5

A.

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Considering becoming a Patron? Each patron receives access to all previous posts and new, exclusive content weekly starting at $1 a month! Proceeds go towards medical expenses and supporting my content. Learn more here.