I've been having Substack withdrawals
It's been more than a month since I've posted here and it's been haunting me.
Hi readers!
It’s been quite a while since I’ve posted, and despite how busy I’ve been, I’ve felt debilitating guilt and sadness that I haven’t typed here in the Substack CMS in more than a month.
This blog newsletter truly became my safe space throughout the entire summer as I navigated what postgraduation truly means. From finding (hopeful) deeper meaning in every situation I encountered, to vulnerably admitting how bad things were feeling, to spitting out my honest thoughts about TV shows…. I feel like we’ve been through a lot together.
I started this because of an impressive journalist I met at the restaurant. I remember it vividly: he said I had to have a blog (because it would show I’m actively writing while job searching), and it had to be called Table Talk (because, well, that’s too good a name to skip, you know, server + writer).
Writing every week here for 12 weeks really has been so meaningful and beneficial to me — first, because we seriously did grow more than 100 subscribers here in less than two months, and second, because I’ve actually talked about it in cover letters, interviews, networking calls, and had people find Table Talk and love the message.
And I intend to continue Table Talk, even with a bit of a spin from what it originally sought to explore.
But before I get into that, let me give you all — my first readers, you’ve read my words, even if it’s because you’re bound to me by friendship or by blood, you’ve stayed — some updates.
At the end of September, I very quickly learned of, interviewed for, and began a part-time intern position for a startup that has become very near and dear to my heart: HORMBLES CHORMBLES. If you haven’t tried it… you must. It’s healthy deliciousness (this is not an ad).
This past weekend, I went to my college’s alumni weekend, which was highly anticipated and a topic of immense excitement and anxiety as an identity-searching postgrad. Turns out, Syracuse remains Syracuse. And my friendships remain special.
Just the other day, my second story at Business Insider was published, which I pitched and completed in early September. It’s about my sister, and it was a complete surprise for her. It’s also so relatable, so I’ll link that here if you’re still reading my blabbing: https://www.businessinsider.com/younger-sibling-helping-older-be-better-adult-more-present-calm-2025-10
And now… there’s some exciting news in the works. But more on that later.
Table Talk remains about this, which launched on June 23: “College ended, but the dinner rush didn’t. Freshly graduated, working doubles, and collecting more than just tips—stories. The chronicles of a post-grad writer and server.”
But it’s more than that now, too. It’s stories, it’s how I’ve learned to overcome challenges, it’s how my writer’s voice has morphed and grown as I have. It’s what my friends or family and I sit around the table talking about, yes, but it’s also what a stranger and I might find in common. I’m realizing Table Talk really was and is an extension of me and what life is showing me at any given moment.
Right now, Table Talk is about new beginnings and appreciating what I’ve learned in the last few months.
And I hope you’ll continue to read my (long-winded) story!
Miss you, Em. I'll keep on reading, though, and I hope to see you soon.