What is The Culture Shock?
Many years ago, I left on a Latter-day Saint mission to Spain thinking I was cultured and worldly enough that I would glide through my service there with grace and aplomb.
It took me three days before I had my first mental breakdown.
And then I had a mental breakdown about every 5-10 days for the next 18 months.
The culture shock was a lot (listen, Mediterranean Europe is a trip), but I learned to ride the waves, and it ultimately ended up being a great experience.
Then, I got home to the United States and realized that the culture shock was exponentially worse when I came home. (Some people have never had to wait in line for 45 minutes at a Spanish post office to mail a postcard, AND IT SHOWS.)
Quite honestly, the culture shock has never subsided, and I think we are living in the most culturally disorienting in the history of humanity. The Culture Shock seeks to make sense of the incoherence.
What You’ll read about here
I am obsessively interested in many subjects, but this is what you’ll read the most about here:
Culture: We all live in a chaotic petri dish of ideas, norms, and orthodoxies.
Politics: Left, right, and everything in between.
Religion: There’s a lack of nuanced views on religion and its role in daily life in modern media. The Culture Shock will take you into the foreign-feeling world of religion and spirituality.
History: Sometimes we have to take a peek into the past to get better insight into today.
The Arts and Humanities: Because what good is life without a good symphony or trashy reality TV show?
Hi! I’m Kathleen!
I’m a recovering social media marketing professional and former ballet dancer. You can read about both of those exhilarating and soul-sucking addictions life decisions in this post. I am also a self-employed marketing professional. You can check out my boutique agency’s website here.
I’ve always had the soul of an artist (but not the patience). I did ballet for over a decade, sang in choirs, did school plays, sewed, painted, read, went to museums, watched weird movies, and drew on walls… much to my parents’ chagrin.
I’m also an obsessively deep thinker. I find myself ruminating on how policy and religion inform our culture; how art imitates reality a little too much; why knowing our past can inform our future; and all the dumb things people post on Twitter.
… and this is Jefferson
He’s my dog. He’s a 5-year-old Pembroke Corgi who you can follow on Instagram here. He has nothing to do with The Culture Shock. He’s just super cute, and I really like him.
Who should read this?
If you are as deep as a thinker as I am, you’re probably seeing connections all over the place between politics, culture, religion, the arts, and beyond. Also, you’re starting to worry you look like this.
Don’t worry. There are more of us.
Why subscribe?
Once — completely unprovoked — someone privately reached out to me to say that he considered subscribing but said he could get the same type of content in Vanity Fair or The New Yorker. Well, $7 a month is cheaper than a subscription to both of those. While I might not have as many cute cartoons, I won’t make you read as many words, AND I’m apparently comparable to The New Yorker. Take that, internet rando.
Subscribe to get full access to the newsletter and website. Currently, most of my posts are free, but I will start adding more premium content as time goes on.
You have several options to subscribe:
Free: I try to keep my best work free, so you can share it with your friends! I’m still working towards a regular posting schedule but expect at least 2-3 free monthly posts.
Monthly: A monthly subscription is only $7 per month.
Yearly: $70 per year.
Founding Member: $150+ per year. I don’t know what special perks I can offer at this point, but please know that your contribution is deeply appreciated and will give my dog the life he deserves.
Stay up-to-date
You won’t have to worry about missing anything. Every newsletter goes directly to your inbox, OR you can (and should!) download the Substack app. As an added bonus, you’ll efficiently fill your brain with great content.
