July 1, 2022

Hello again

This is going to be a rather lengthy post, but I'M STILL ALIVE!!!

It's been a year since I posted on here, and I have no regrets. Life decided to come and kick my ass, and I needed time to process and deal with everything.


At first I was dealing with being back in school and dealing with being a PhD student. But after a lot of soul searching and therapy, I realized that I hated what I was doing. I hated being in school. I hated being a PhD student. I hated research. I hated biomedical engineering/pharmacology. I was just doing all of those things because they had been put on me. People (my parents especially) had expectations for me that weren't in-line with what I actually wanted to do. So I made the really tough decision of dropping out of my PhD program.


For a few months I wasn't a student and I didn't have a job, and it was the most stressful and terrifying time of my life. I spent a lot of time in therapy and trying to figure out what I actually want to do with my life. As a result, I started putting myself out there and chasing my dreams.


For almost the past year I've been a part-time freelance book editor, AND I LOVE IT! It's not my main job because that doesn't pay the bills. My day I'm a Content Marketing Specialist for a biotech company which I actually enjoy doing because it's remote and my schedule is incredibly flexible, leaving me time to do the things I enjoy, like reading and editing. I've been able to read and edit a wide arrange of books, and I absolutely love it. Some day I hope to be able to edit books full-time to sustain myself.


Another thing I realized was I hated where I was living. I was in such a depression in Cleveland, and part of that led to my decision to leave grad school. So after lots more therapy and getting an emotional support animal (Luna, she's a Bernadoodle and I love her dearly), I recently moved back to Chicago, and I haven't been happier. I forgot how much I need to be in a big city to thrive.


Also in the spirit of going for things, I've started a BookTok account, @sierratheblackgirlnerd. I absolutely love being on TikTok! I've been able to connect with such nice people and have formed more of a community there than I have on any other platform. While my goal is to get back into the habit of writing bookish stuff on this blog now that life has calmed down and I'm in the mental space to do so, you'll definitely find me on TikTok more than here.


I guess all of this was to say, I'm sorry I left without a word (though I'm sure no one really noticed), but I needed to focus on me. So let me introduce myself again as the new me.


Hi! My name is Sierra and I'm a 24-year-old, asexual content marketing specialist and freelance book editor. I live in Chicago with my 1-year-old puppy, Luna. My favorite genres are YA, fantasy, and contemporary romance. I hope you'll join me as I rediscover my love for reading and blogging now that I'm living my authentic life. 



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