Matt’s Mix Tape, Vol. 162

Hi, I’m Matt Tillotson, and this is Matt’s Mix Tape. My life is a new mix these days. And so is this newsletter.

Soon, the building blocks will be in place.

We call it Write of Passage Build Week. This coming week, students will set up their info capture (note taking) systems, websites for newsletters and essays, and a “Start Here” page to welcome visitors to their sites.

Last week was absolutely bananas.

We completed training for our 14-person Mentor team, each of whom created and presented a short module with a writing concept, an exercise, a breakout room discussion, and a group discussion question.

Our Mentors are going to kill it.

We’re training our Editors, who got an incredible lesson from Michael Dean on helping writers progress in our POP Writing framework. Great writing has these three elements: something personal, something observational, and something playful. Now we have a rubric to help students advance in each area, one step at a time.

We also trained Ambassadors, who will welcome new students in calls this coming week.

Finally, we reviewed over 300 applications for the O’Shaughnessy Fellowship. We whittled the list to 15 talented and promising writers. It wasn’t easy, and the debate over candidates was spirited at times.

Phew.

I can’t imagine expending startup-style hours and energy without deeply believing in the mission. Fortunately, I know our mission is great.

---

17 Going Under

Sam Fender, singing in “17 going under:”

I was far too scared to him

But I would him in a heartbeat now

That’s the thing with anger

It begs to stick around

Fender, a British rocker, created a haunting tune about carrying forward hard moments from his youth. I can relate—lugging along brief moments of anger or embarrassment like heavy bags I never quite unpack or leave behind.

The music and beat feel too peppy for the ideas explored. But the quick pace is a reminder: those old memories are both patient and relentless, finding us in vulnerable moments, years and decades later.

---

This week’s photo

Lots of cool new features in iOS 16. One is a Lock Screen option that rotates through your photos. The algorithm digs up cool shots you forgot you ever took—like this shot of Niagara Falls I took in 2015.

---

Thank you for reading!

Whatever you’re working on or working through: keep showing up.

If you liked this edition, would you mind giving the heart a click? Thank you.