Welcome to We Hate It Here. So glad you made it. Like all sad journalists, we’ve decided to create a substack. Unlike other sad journalists’ substacks, this one will be free to consume.
Breaking news: 2020 has been REALLY hard… for everyone. It’s been so hard that it’s completely leveled us at times. Even facing a future without Donald Trump in the White House, a lot of us are straight up not having a good time right now.
But we’d like to help. Not because we think we are qualified, we totally aren’t. But because we know that sometimes all you need is a little encouragement, a little sass, or just some good old fashioned third-party perspective and well, therapy is expensive.
We Hate It Here is a weekly advice column where we, Camille and Kendall, discuss and debunk a submitted concern from our subscribers (or if need be, our moms). We bring something unique to the table in that we are two friends who approach problems from completely different perspectives and yet often end up with the same conclusions. Camille’s more cerebral, Kendall, emotional. We both give each other fabulous advice, advice that each of us individually cannot take. We are each other's biggest fans, cheerleaders, and confidants, and well, we’d like to be that for you too.
Because here’s the thing: we know that while each of us can feel incredibly powerless in our own unique situations, we can indeed be powerful for each other. Our stories may be different but our struggle is the same.
This isn’t our first advice column rodeo. We actually wrote one while seniors in college at Georgetown, where we first became friends. So think of this as a better, more mature, new-and-improved rendition. We’re seasoned.
First things first, intros.
Hey there, I’m Camille, former Good Kid™ turned anxious adult. While this disposition has given me a bundle of neuroses for me and my therapist to sort through, my overactive fight-or-flight system has also made me pretty perceptive. Above all, I love to listen. It’s a skill I practice every day as a reporter, and it’s also the best way I’ve learned to be a friend to those I love. Not to mention the fact that I listen to far too many podcasts as well. Where’s a life of listening and observing gotten me? I can do a very solid British accent, I’m never short on topics at dinner parties (RIP dinner parties), and overall I’ve learned a thing or two about giving advice. Often, half the job of showing up for someone is simply to listen to them, so I’m honored to do that for you. Pull up a (proverbial) chair, share what’s on your mind, and we’ll figure it out together.
Hi there, I’m Kendall. As a kid, I had quite the obsession with the underdog. I spotted them alone on the playground, struggling with spelling, getting teased in gym class, and boom, I was on the scene trying to do whatever I could to alleviate their pain. Many years later, I’m still trying to do this in my work through storytelling, most recently at the ACLU. Of course, I do this because I am very familiar with the feelings myself. I was born with a chronic liver disease and have had two liver transplants. I know intimately what it feels like to have the rug pulled out from under you, to be face planted on the bathroom floor. This also makes me very fun at dinner parties. Jokes aside, I just want you to know that you’re not alone in whatever you’re going through. Ps. I give pep talks on my Instagram so I’m hoping to bring that realness here.
We invite you to send us your letters about any and everything in life that is making you hate it here -- work, relationships, seasonal allergies, late capitalism -- and we will do our best to answer them. Our responses here will be formatted as a dialogue between us, so you can see our process at work. Our hope, in the end, is to come up with some advice that others find useful, and that hey, maybe we’ll learn to take ourselves.
Submit your letters to: wehateithereletters@gmail.com and let’s gather here to get through this thing called life! Sign up now so you don’t miss the first issue.
In the meantime, tell your friends!