I miss you.

The content design world is moving but I’m paralyzed.

Today I got on LinkedIn for the first time in a while. My feed included a smattering of posts about the local conflict. But mostly, my professional network was back to business as usual. It was bittersweet to see.

Sweet that the content design discipline I am so passionate about is still there for me when I’m ready to rejoin the world. Sweet in that there’s hope I’ll be motivated to grow and lead again one day in the community where I grew up from never having heard the term “UX” to speaking at international conferences, publishing a book with ABA, teaching at universities, and watching my mentees embark on fruitful careers.

Bitter because it sharpened my isolation, reminding me that while my last 97 days have been consumed with pain, fear, sadness, anxiety, and tears, other people are living. Content leaders I used to love to follow are waking up and thinking about content, full of positive energy that I used to share. I also saw hate, from people I respected and still intend to bump into again one day.

I miss the content world, but right now, can’t imagine an interview on another podcast or a promotional post about my book. And part of me wonders if checking out for so long will set me back professionally, if my personal brand can ever recover. Most of me doesn’t care.

I guess my ask is that you remember that behind the LinkedIn posts are whole people with so much going on. Not just war. And to be compassionate. The world could use some more compassion.