Introductions

August 5, 2020

Hey there! If you're spending any amount of time on this site then you must be driven by some sense of curiosity. Personally, curiosity has been the fuel of most of my interests: science, coding, Magic, activism, and so on. So if we are indeed kinfolk, it's great to meet you! Here's a little about me:

BIO

I, Lee Gill, was born in Newark, NJ in 1991 but spent most of my young life in Rutherford, NJ. After graduating from Columbia University in 2013, I spent many years jumping from industry to industry for work all while exploring my creative side via writing. It was at the end of my first semester in a TV Writing Program at Stony Brook University in 2019 that I decided to drop everything and move to California. Two years of starting a life out West and watching it burn to a cinder brought me back to the East Coast in 2021.

My wanderings, although a bit dramatic, allowed me to collect a number of key insights about myself-- my pansexuality, my fluid gender identiy, my mentall illnesses, my healthy/unhealthy coping mechanisms.

And through the struggle of understanding and mastering myself, I've acquired numerous interests and talents that help me keep my balance:

PURSUITS

Writing: Creative writing has been a part of my life since childhood. It's more than a hobby; it's a form of therapy and self-expression. Novels, short-stories, poems, screenplays: all of them have helped me process my experiences. All artistic practice is our way to tap into the power of Divine Creation itself, and writing is for sure my conduit to the beyond.
Activism: James Baldwin stated that "To be a Negro in this country and to be relatively conscious is to be in a rage almost all the time." Growing up, I was told that if I simply worked hard and held respect for everyone then the right doors will open up for me in America. Well the murders of fellow Black and Queer people at the hands of bigots, the police, and the government shredded that naive notion. I cannot call myself a progressive while sitting on the sideline of an existential struggle that's been going on since slaves were first brought to these shores. Currently, I work in police reform/abolition, but I also wish to bring racial equity to the tech field in my career.
Magic: My interest in the occult began with my exposure to Chaos Magick and has grown into my full-time spiritual practice/belief system. My personal practice includes Hoodoo and amateur Angel magic. My patron Goddess, The Morrigan, also compels me to study and emploly prophetic and shadow-based spellcraft.
Photography: Buying a $40 film camera at a local estate sale unlocked a wonderful new way for me to view the world. I normally like to take walks to clear my head, but bringing a camera along forces me to slow down and appreciate all the beautiful sights we take for granted on an average day. My art Instagram account is the main place I've been sharing my photos.

THE BLOG

So the purpose of the rundown in the previous section was to give a brief preview of the kind of topics/content I plan to feature on the blog. Although this process started as a way for me to practice and master Next.js, I figured it would also be a good outlet for me to share my thoughts on life, art, society, and whatever else I might be focusing on in the moment.

Like I say on the home page, my goal is to inspire others to set fear aside and pursue any and all avenues that happen to spark curiosity. Our time on Earth is too short to spend our days wondering 'What If'.

Thank you for taking the time to check this project out, and I hope you join me for future posts!