100 Stories: A Journey I Never Expected to Take

When I first joined Vocal Media, I didn’t have big plans. Honestly, I wasn’t even thinking I’d stay. Someone suggested it to me, just a simple “why not try this platform and share your ideas?” and I thought, okay, let’s see what happens. That was it. No expectations, no pressure. I didn’t think I’d be consistent, and I definitely didn’t think I’d reach 100 stories.

But here I am. 100 pieces later. And before anything else, I just want to say a big

THANKYOU...

As a student, time is always short. Classes, responsibilities, everything piles up. Even reading feels like a luxury sometimes, though I genuinely love it and try my best to support other writers here. So writing regularly? That felt almost impossible in the beginning. There were days I thought, What's the point? I don’t even have enough time. But still, I tried. I wrote whatever I could, sometimes properly, sometimes just raw thoughts. I didn’t expect much from it. I just kept showing up.

Then came a moment that honestly shook me more than I expected. One comment. Just one. I had added a Buy Me a Coffee link because I hadn’t set up Stripe, nothing serious. But the reaction I got was harsh, and it hit hard. It wasn’t just feedback, it felt like judgment. And for a while, it stayed in my head. It made me question whether I should even be doing this. It’s strange how one sentence can outweigh so many silent supports.

But what kept me here was you. The readers. The ones who took time to read, to comment, to say even a few words. That mattered more than you probably realize. To everyone who read my work, thank you. To those who shared their thoughts, thank you. And to those who supported through tips, I truly appreciate it. I don’t have perfect words for this kind of gratitude, but I hope you can feel it.

Over these six months and 100 pieces, there have been small but meaningful wins. I’ve had my name on the leaderboard a few times. I’ve won some unofficial challenges that pushed me to keep going. And something unexpected happened too, I turned my drafts into a small poetry booklet. Funny enough, that probably came from the phase when I stopped posting as much after that criticism. I didn’t stop writing, though. I just kept everything in drafts. And honestly, I still have more drafts than published pieces. When I went back and read them, I thought, why not try something with this? So I did.

That small booklet got around 30 viewers and 5 buyers. And I know that number might sound small to someone else, but for me, it’s not. Those five people chose to read something from a new writer. Some even left reviews. That means more than numbers ever could.

I’ll be honest about something else too. In these first 100 pieces, I didn’t get a single Top Story. Of course, I noticed. Of course, I hoped for it. I even got Vocal+ thinking maybe things would change. Maybe they will, maybe they won’t. But somewhere along the way, I realized I’m not just here for that anymore. I’m here because I’ve started to care about the writing itself.

There are also people I really want to thank. Novel Allen, for supporting me when I needed it. Andrea Corvin, for the encouragement and shoutouts. Dennis, for being consistently supportive. Paul Aaron Domenick, Andrew McDonald, N. J. Delmas, Susan Payton, Paul Stewart, Dani Writer, Jessica McGlaughlin, Ali, Sid Aaron, Denise E Lindquist, Marilyn Glover, Latisha Jean, Julie Lacksonen, Calvin London, Samurai Sam, Angie the Archivist, Tiffany Gordon who also motivated me a lot, Mariann Carroll, Doc Sherwood, Lamar Wiggins, especially Sandy Gilman, who supported me a lot, Imola Toth, and Sam Spinelli. And then there are those I don’t even know, anonymous readers who still showed support in their own way. I may not know your names, but I’m grateful for you.

So thank you to Vocal Media for giving a space where people like me can share what we can’t always say out loud. Where thoughts become stories, and stories find readers. And thank you to every single person who was part of this journey.

I came here just to try. I didn’t think I’d stay. But now, 100 stories later, I’m still here. Still learning, still writing, still figuring things out.

And this time, I actually want to continue.

Here’s to the next 100.

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A tiny reward and thank-you from me to you for reading 100 pieces with me. If sugar’s not your thing, pass it on—good stories (and chocolates) are meant to be shared.