Taking a Much-Needed Week Off

The work I do is exhausting and it’s time for some self-care

Photo by Paola Andrea on Unsplash

I publish at least three articles a week alongside articles for Unicorn Riot and other outlets willing to pay a fair wage for my work. What I do goes beyond 600-word op-eds like much of what you see on platforms like this one. I’m an analytical thinker. That makes me want to dig deep and find all the context and facts to support my work. I do not take it lightly.

My brain doesn’t allow it.

When writing an article I go beyond backing up my data with a link or two. I research it and ensure it’s accurate enough that others can’t discredit it or me. I sometimes even ask for assistance from other journalists, digital forensics experts, and data analysts much like I did for my last article where I found what appears to be fraud in the Venezuelan opposition’s data. I even offered to have anyone debunk my reporting which no one has been able to do so far.

These challenges often leave others with questions that need to be answered. In the case of the Venezuelan elections, the queries were about the validity and authenticity of the data. Despite this, I still leave myself open to being wrong or misled. It happens to everyone at one point or another. We, as humans, are not infallible. This is why I sometimes challenge others to debunk my work.

All of this to say I’m exhausted.

As a stroke survivor, I struggle with a lot. From chronic pain and an anxiety disorder to being unable to find full-time work and losing everything, the last ten years haven’t been easy. I’ve always been the type of person to push the limits of my ability and doctors have suggested that this could have led to my medical condition. That said, it’s not something I’ve been able to just stop doing. It’s part of who I am, my being.

So after putting in nearly 210 hours on five articles about Venezuela (50 hours on the last one alone) and still publishing a total of 15 articles in that time, it has been an overly exhausting 5 weeks and I need a break. So here’s the plan. I’m taking the next week off for my sanity and my mental health – to reset and come back fresh.

I am a father to three adults and a grandfather to two. My parents are also aging. My father is 90 and my stepmother is 88. My mother is 75 and my stepfather just turned 73. The last five weeks have taken my time away from them so I need to reset. While this may seem overwhelming to some, to me, it’s indicative of having a full life and I enjoy every minute of it even when times are stressful and tough. Although I’m not very religious, I do consider myself blessed to have them in my life.

I am also eternally grateful to you, the reader. Even though we don’t always agree on everything (no two people do), I cherish every one of you for supporting my work whether you’re a paid subscriber, the occasional donor, or someone who shares my work or interacts with me on social media. For that, I can’t thank you enough.

On that note, enjoy the week and I’ll see you next Wednesday. Much love.

NOTE: I have pending questions with the State Department and the White House about my findings on the Venezuela elections. Should anything come from those, I will publish them here during the next week. Otherwise, I’ll be on social media from time to time.

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I’m a freelance writer and journalist. You can find me on TikTok, Twitter, Facebook, Instagram, Mastodon, and Threads. To support my work become a paid subscriber or donate on Venmo, PayPal, or CashApp