I Refuse to Forget the City of New Orleans

Hi, hello, yes, it’s me again. Your very much delusional-about-New Orleans-bestie coming to you live from somewhere in Louisiana.

If you caught my recent post on my 2026 curriculum then you know what this year is rooted in for me. Yes, you guessed it… learning the history of New Orleans on a whole new level. For the last few months, I have been doing deep dives on important moments in the history of the city at random. Once February arrives, that will change.

The next two posts are a part of a mini series involving the history of Charity Hospital. The week before last I posted part one and last week was supposed to be part two, but ya know… life happened.

So! Anyway, starting in February we are taking it all the way to very beginning — and yes I do mean the beginning — back to 1718 when New Orleans was first established. From there, we will continue to dive deep into the history starting from day one. Whether it’s the big events in history that you may already know about, or the parts of history that may have slipped through the cracks and were forgotten about. We will learn about all of it.

I have been being called to speak more about not only my love for the city, but its beautiful history — good and bad. When a place that didn’t raise you feels more like home than the home you once knew, it’s almost impossible to ignore any callings or feelings regarding that certain place.

New Orleans in many ways saw a version of me back in 2020 that was deeply flawed. A version of me that was dependent, insecure, depressed, directionless, and more. When I moved to New Orleans in 2020, I was forced into independence. It was my first time living away from family and not being right up the street from my mom and dad. I wasn’t alone — my son came with me and my now husband had a home for us to go to. We were comfortable, loved and safe.

But I had a lot of growing to do in that little pink duplex — and the city got to see that growth. Not only did she get to see it, she aided in that growth.

It was there that I decided to go back to school to get my Creative Writing Degree. It was there that I launched my website for the first time and began writing online. It was there where I learned how to be more creative, innovative, and lean more into my calling to be a writer. It was there that I learned how to love a city for what it was without the parades, gatherings, and everything that makes New Orleans “sparkle” — or at least what the internet thinks makes New Orleans sparkle. New Orleans isn’t just a city, it’s a spirit. There is a spirit that dwells there that draws you in. New Orleans is still beautiful and rich in culture, love, resilience, art, and acceptance even without the carnivals and famous tourist attractions. Being that in 2020, most of everything was “dead” and all events were canceled, I was able to discover the side of New Orleans when the city wasn’t alive with parties and gatherings. I got to see her soul. I got to see her for what she is. And what she has to offer goes far beyond the French Quarter.

New Orleans changed me as a person.

I’m forever thankful for the city.

Because my love for it runs so deep and the spirit of the city took a hold of me so strong, my calling to write about it in depth can no longer be ignored.

When I speak about the city of New Orleans, I want you to hear the intellectualism in my voice when I talk about my love for the city. I don’t want to be someone who just “loves” it. I want to be the person who knows it.

My journey with knowing this beautiful place is just beginning. And I want you guys to come on this journey with me.

So what can you expect with that? More posts that center the city that stole my heart. It wont always be about history either. My paid subs get the history deep dives. But there will be many posts to come that will be free! Food, culture, fun facts, true crime — all of it. Think of it as an archive to one of the most interesting cities in the country.

Anyway, that was a long drawn out way of me saying that if you were tired of me always talking about New Orleans, you might as well unsubscribe now. Don’t worry, the Sunday Chronicles are still going strong and will be continuing. However, I am removing my fiction work from Substack and using my blog to center my research skills. I have other reasons why I’m stopping fiction on Substack, but I’d rather keep that to myself. So if you subscribed just based off of my fiction stories, I apologize!

It was time for a change — and as I grow as a writer, you either grow with me or you leave the pack. I had to remember why I started this blog in the first place. I write for ME first and it just makes it better if people just so happen to like it. But the only person that needs to like what I’m writing about is me. <3

See ya’ll on the bayou.