28 Comments

love you as the human you are in addition to all the light you put out into this world for others

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Nov 26, 2022Liked by ismatu gwendolyn

i care about you!! thank you for being you <3

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Nov 26, 2022Liked by ismatu gwendolyn

I really loved listening to you reading this. Or love, present tense, because it’s still happening and you’re looking for a photo of Beastly. And I liked jazz and you turning it down omg :p I also only started subscribing right before your last Substack, and I haven’t read any of your essays yet, but I subscribed after my friend sent me a TikTok of yours cuz we were talking abt Beyoncé and I really appreciate the time you put into creating content. And now this is too long of a comment. Sending care <3

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Nov 26, 2022Liked by ismatu gwendolyn

i love and care about you! thank you for being yourself and for all that you do 🫶🏾🫶🏾🫶🏾

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Nov 26, 2022Liked by ismatu gwendolyn

I really care about your well-being. I wasn’t in the zoom call but I’m happy to hear you’re finding a support system. The internet can be a dark place, just know that there are some good people out there who want to see you thrive :)

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Nov 26, 2022Liked by ismatu gwendolyn

I very much appreciate the recordings! Both because I struggle processing when I read (despite all my academic plans revolving around literature lol) and because on the off occasion when I do read rather than listen to your work I can hear your voice come through in your words which is beautiful I think

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This, and also because it really feels like talking to a friend: I love the spontaneous first take <3

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Nov 26, 2022Liked by ismatu gwendolyn

it feels a bit weird for me to say this to someone i’ve never met in real life,, but i honestly do care about you and hope for you to be at peace in your life- whether or not you’re writing and putting out essays on the internet

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Nov 26, 2022Liked by ismatu gwendolyn

hi! subscriber from earlier this year here :3 echoing what maeva said below. i love your ideas and resonate with many of them and it's not lost on me as someone who also puts out creative labor that there's an incredible human thinking up those things and making the decision to generously use their time and energy to share them with us <3 i feel profoundly lucky when you share. and not that what i think matters but as far as im concerned you the person comes first -- your wellbeing and your peace. your mind and ideas are sacred. and whatever you choose to share when you have capacity to share is a gift to the world, i think. i do not feel owed anything of your creative labor. sending you so much gratitude for all that you do and the content you create that leaves me with thoughts and questions of my own long after, and wishing you peace.

Alaa

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Nov 26, 2022Liked by ismatu gwendolyn

I love and care about you. Your work, your poetry, your thoughts are wonderful but it's more important to me that you take loving care of yourself. That you rest and rejuvenate. You're a fantastic person and like Alaa said, I feel lucky to read your words, to learn and benefit from your work. Sending you love and light in these trying times

Araya

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Nov 26, 2022Liked by ismatu gwendolyn

I think that most all of the people who are drawn to you and what you create are people who understand you to be more than just a content machine, and who love you for your human existence as a result. The things you create are wonderful, and of course we love them and appreciate when you share those creations with us, but you are loved in your own right, not just because you create things we love. I don’t know if I have the words yet to explain the distinction, or explain why it is we love you just for being human, but we do. Have some tea and rest; hope life is more gentle to you this week.

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Nov 26, 2022Liked by ismatu gwendolyn

I was not there last week but I am so grateful for your vulnerability! And I appreciate you allowing us to share in the wider scope of you human experience, in a very genuine sense. I see you! You deserve to feel and process. You deserve to crumble and interrogate your most guarded emotions, and then reach out for grace and love when you are ready to put yourself back together again! You helped me learn this. Shame is so sneaky and I could only Imagine what is is like to have the few lifelines of love we might receive through social media, drowned out by so many voices trying to put you down and stamp out your light. Your content has helped me learn to love myself through some of my hardest times. Your courage to share your self love with us has cut through a lifetime of patriarchal shame and self - sabotage. Your beauty, your light, your words (that you put a tremendous amount of heart and soul in! I appreciate that so much. It’s so beautiful.) leave me with a feeling that I can’t put into words, but one only a handful of creators have given me. You are so valuable, you are so valid, you are so inspiring, you are so needed! You are changing the world! You give me hope that I might be able to do the same. You give me hope for my daughter. I am so thankful! I hope that even just a tiny fraction of the peace and light that you have brought me, is palpable in this comment! I am rooting for you! You deserve the world!

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Nov 26, 2022Liked by ismatu gwendolyn

Long story short! I love that you love yourself! I love to that even in your most vulnerable moments you refuse to let them tell you love is not the answer! I love you for being you! Genuinely I mean that!

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Nov 26, 2022Liked by ismatu gwendolyn

Also I do appreciate listening and reading at the same time. Not only are you helping me reconstruct my attention span one essay at a time, but it really helps with my dyslexia and ADHD 💕

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Nov 27, 2022Liked by ismatu gwendolyn

I care about you and I love you! I am continually so moved by and grateful for the words you put out into the world. Thank you, from the bottom of my heart

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Nov 27, 2022Liked by ismatu gwendolyn

I appreciate you so much! not so much for the products you put out, but for your energy. you make the world feel soft. for that, thank you.

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I will tell you I love you every week if it helps you remember. I am so grateful that you have shared yourself and your mind with us all, you really inspire me and challenge me every time I read your work or watch your videos. You make me feel so hopeful! 💕💕💕

I couldn’t make it for book club last week bc I was at a wedding, but I will be joining tonight! I am so excited to hear we are reading beastly! I read it in middle school and I literally screamed in excitement to see that we are reading it. I’ve been wanting to revisit the fictional stories that served as my friends and escape when I was younger.

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Nov 28, 2022Liked by ismatu gwendolyn

Just wanted to thank you for how much you pour into your substack- life has been busy and so i’ve been MIA even though i was so excited for bookclub. I care about you as an individual and as a precious soul on the internet. Im glad you had support when you needed it and I’m glad you’re writing an essay on danisha

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Nov 28, 2022Liked by ismatu gwendolyn

u seem like the kind of person i would really want to b friends with irl. i feel like i would idolize u until realizing that ur just as human as the rest of us. it’s been strange experiencing that at a bit of digital distance. i wish u respite in the tsunami wave pool of emotion ur going through.

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