Beginning Stages

"Intrepid" is the brainchild of a long-form daydream I had about storytelling, inspiration, and consuming content in new digital ways. This site started as a vision about a series of blog posts, a summer passion project of sorts, examining and chronically a year-in-review of tussling with Type 1 Diabetes and the maintenance T1D involves; an idea progressing however, to a more 'meta' concept about telling narratives in a unique way. Really and truly, "Intrepid" is the reconciliation of pursuing a blog-esque endeavor that hopefully someone other than my mom would read.

I'll divulge further.

As a high school English teacher, I have a sweet opportunity to examine and unpack works from the likes of Truman Capote's In Cold Blood to the way that Shakespeare helped shape modern day hip-hop rhyme schemes. A constant reminder of the beautiful and vast expansion of the stream of content at our disposal to enjoy, question, be challenged by, add to our reread list, read a little bit of and think to ourselves, " hmmm this seems pretty shitty... next." Additionally in my position, there is a bit of a trend among teachers where we scheme and plan out the two months we have off of work for the summer after a tenuous school year. A coping method perhaps. If you are a teacher and you do not relate to this, God bless your precious soul and may you prosper in this profession for years to come. Either way, as I sat at my desk ignoring my students, my mind raced about my desire to create through writing and publishing. In order to execute this, I kept coming back to this innate balance of order between an ability to draw on my experience from consuming content from creative artists, songwriters, authors, and diving into the ramblings of my brain.

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Did the members of Explosions In The Sky sit in an empty room and just play with a synthesizer until their melodic chords struck every emotional construct foundational to the futility of war, or Texas high school football, or the dynamism of human relationships? Did John Steinbeck stare into his typewriter and just crank out unparalleled, classical American literature? It seems as though there is an inherent tension between a natural gift of creating art and content uniquely and using our environment and past experiences to help inspire original content. Ultimately, I look to fill my free time surrounding myself with inputs of whiskey cocktails, or Pinegrove tracks, or new books, or downtown skylines in hopes of writing to my heart's desire, which I am really excited to do and share here. Really and truly though, I didn't want to explore this adventure alone. From the formative stages of "Intrepid" I knew I had to get people to help me out. Thus, the concept of this website was born.

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I can't wait to tell the stories I have, but there are so many more people out there with something to say. I thought of my photographer friend who once shot Beyonce -- okay he didn't really although he is talented enough -- or the people that I know who write songs or paint incredible illustrations. What if there was a platform for creative people to tell their story no matter the style? Moreover, the hope of "Intrepid" is simple. Telling stories through a variety of lenses, which will hopefully inspire others to either create on their own accord or merely provide a chance to immerse themselves in something other than an Instagram story from their racist uncle Kenny.

Every week you can expect a wide range of new and organic perspectives on the flow of human consciousness.

Curating this website is the culmination of leaning into the idea of being exposed to the creativity of others, as well as allowing space for a story to be told.

Welcome to Intrepid.