The Unschool Files

Welcome friend!

I’m so glad you found this space.

Here you’ll find everything connected with The Unschool Files,

from the community zine + ways to connect with other unschooling and SDE

parents and caregivers via discord to resources and offerings of past guests.

this is a place for community ♡

theunschoolfiles

i am weeping with you. stay safe, and care for on

i am weeping with you.
stay safe, and care for one another in the U.S.

𝕔𝕠𝕞𝕞𝕦𝕟𝕚𝕥𝕪 𝕔𝕒𝕝𝕝 𝕗𝕠𝕣 𝕤𝕦𝕓𝕞𝕚𝕤𝕤𝕚𝕠𝕟𝕤!
issue 3 of the unschool files zine is due out in August, please send all submissions to meghan@theunschoolfiles.com 🤘🏼
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this is a quarterly released, gritty, handmade, labor of love!
the zine team works hard to assemble, package and mail out this beautiful work of Unschoolers both young and adult to locations all over the globe // the work is sustained through p.atreon where some amazing humans have decided to really help keep this production going by committing to a subscription OR giving more so that we can offset the cost of production a bit. come make a pledge via my bio link if you feel called to do so 🫶🏼

thanks to all who donated, for all the orders and

thanks to all who donated, for all the orders and feedback on the May issue of the zine, and your continued support all around! super proud of us!! 🫶🏼
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if you missed the opportunity to donate, you can still do so at @keepourclinics or keepourclinics.org and i’ll still send you a zine!

for the month of May, all funds raised via the zin

for the month of May, all funds raised via the zine have been put together as a donation to keepourclinics.org, an organization that is dedicated to supporting community-based reproductive health clinics. @keepourclinics
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with alarming rates of closures, diminished funding, trigger laws being set all over the US while Roe hangs in the balance, this amount can only do so much.. i’m aware- but if communities all over have the ability to do this, think of what else we can do collectively 🧠
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thanks to all who requested a zine, and to those who donated! special thanks to our matching donor!! 🤘🏼
receipt to follow.
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contact me if you still haven’t laid eyes on the zine or if you’d like to submit any work for issue 3 due out in August! 🫶🏼

issue 2 of the zine is making it’s way around th

issue 2 of the zine is making it’s way around the globe both in the snail mail and digitally! 💌 my heart and soul are poured into this project and i am absolutely thrilled to see it take off, and for Unschoolers to have the opportunity to see one another and to BE seen!
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if you haven’t received a copy, or would like to see either/ both issues, please head to my website, theunschoolfiles.com to access it!
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this project is a labor of love, and i offer it at whatever price you can afford, and freely to anyone who is unbanked, or simply cannot spare any funds at the moment. (feel free to email me if you would like the physical copy and are in this situation)
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thank you to everyone who has subscribed over on Patreon to sustain this model! the supporting partners and production partners make it possible for me to keep this offering going for the community 🫶🏼
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for one time donations, please send via PayPal theunschoolfiles@gmail.com
OR
Venmo @ iamsilenth

yesterday, in stories; i shared street art that i

yesterday, in stories; i shared street art that i came across with my young people while exploring a city.
it prompted me to ask the community to share what school is TO THEM and i was pummeled with responses in the question box! responses ranged from being spot on (like actually word for word) to school is “necessary”. i’ve highlighted them on my page, if you fancy
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now for story time!
some of you may know that i don’t do long posts, share tons on the grid OR consider myself an expert of any kind. i’m simply out here living my unschooling life and doing the very best i can to support others in my spare time as a community organizer.

what many of you may NOT know is… i loved school. as a very young person, school was soft. consistent. safe.
there were regular warm meals that i still think about to this day. (shout out to those yeast rolls and steak fingers!)

there were adults who were loving (relative to my home life) and they seemed to care about how i slept the night before, and would read me stories that i listened closely to, as an escape from my lived experience.

i am a child of addicts. of trauma and pain so deep that i’m still sifting through that shit. i have raw memories that only movies are made of.

due to the conditions of my childhood, and the systems my own mother grew up in… school was necessary.
it was survival.
yes, it was childcare.
it was indoctrination into self-hate.
it was lies i’m still unpacking.
it was my first taste of a competition that was rigged.
it was layered.
school asked me to be white, to fit in.
to blend.
to abandon my culture and finish the job my mother had started by naming me a white name in 1985.

by the time i was a teenager i had figured out it was shit.
college was not an option for a poor girl with mediocre a’s and b’s when there were STAR PERFORMERS in my class of over 700 students.
i embraced the school of life the moment i turned 18. (a story for another day) and it all just made sense.
THIS WHOLE GAME MEANS NOTHING… but it was necessary, for me.

i’m telling you this story because the world of alternatives can get realllll righteous. forgetting those we are leaving behind.
Cont. in comments

in response to the SCOTUS leak and in support of b

in response to the SCOTUS leak and in support of bodies with uteruses, i (meghan) have decided to take the month of May to raise funds for direct care and use the 2nd issue of #theunschoolfileszine to do it!
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if you’d like to support this endeavor, i kindly ask you to please head to my website theunschoolfiles.com (under shop) and purchase a zine, 𝒂𝒔 𝒂𝒍𝒘𝒂𝒚𝒔; 𝒕𝒉𝒆𝒚 𝒂𝒓𝒆 𝒑𝒂𝒚 𝒘𝒉𝒂𝒕 𝒚𝒐𝒖 𝒄𝒂𝒏. 𝟏𝟎𝟎% 𝒐𝒇 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝒇𝒖𝒏𝒅𝒔 𝒘𝒊𝒍𝒍 𝒃𝒆 𝒅𝒐𝒏𝒂𝒕𝒆𝒅 𝒕𝒐 @keepourclinics
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𝐈𝐧 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐥𝐚𝐬𝐭 𝐬𝐢𝐱 𝐲𝐞𝐚𝐫𝐬, 𝐧𝐞𝐚𝐫𝐥𝐲 𝐚 𝐭𝐡𝐢𝐫𝐝 𝐨𝐟 𝐚𝐥𝐥 𝐢𝐧𝐝𝐞𝐩𝐞𝐧𝐝𝐞𝐧𝐭 𝐚𝐛𝐨𝐫𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧 𝐜𝐥𝐢𝐧𝐢𝐜𝐬 𝐡𝐚𝐯𝐞 𝐛𝐞𝐞𝐧 𝐟𝐨𝐫𝐜𝐞𝐝 𝐭𝐨 𝐜𝐥𝐨𝐬𝐞 𝐭𝐡𝐞𝐢𝐫 𝐝𝐨𝐨𝐫𝐬 – 𝐠𝐫𝐞𝐚𝐭𝐥𝐲 𝐝𝐢𝐦𝐢𝐧𝐢𝐬𝐡𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐚𝐜𝐜𝐞𝐬𝐬 𝐭𝐨 𝐞𝐬𝐬𝐞𝐧𝐭𝐢𝐚𝐥 𝐡𝐞𝐚𝐥𝐭𝐡 𝐜𝐚𝐫𝐞 𝐢𝐧 𝐀𝐦𝐞𝐫𝐢𝐜𝐚.
𝐓𝐡𝐞 #𝐊𝐞𝐞𝐩𝐎𝐮𝐫𝐂𝐥𝐢𝐧𝐢𝐜𝐬 𝐜𝐚𝐦𝐩𝐚𝐢𝐠𝐧 𝐢𝐬 𝐛𝐫𝐢𝐧𝐠𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐩𝐞𝐨𝐩𝐥𝐞 𝐭𝐨𝐠𝐞𝐭𝐡𝐞𝐫 𝐚𝐜𝐫𝐨𝐬𝐬 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐜𝐨𝐮𝐧𝐭𝐫𝐲.
𝑰𝒏𝒅𝒆𝒑𝒆𝒏𝒅𝒆𝒏𝒕 𝒂𝒃𝒐𝒓𝒕𝒊𝒐𝒏 𝒄𝒍𝒊𝒏𝒊𝒄𝒔 𝒂𝒓𝒆 𝒄𝒐𝒎𝒎𝒖𝒏𝒊𝒕𝒚-𝒃𝒂𝒔𝒆𝒅 𝒓𝒆𝒑𝒓𝒐𝒅𝒖𝒄𝒕𝒊𝒗𝒆 𝒉𝒆𝒂𝒍𝒕𝒉 𝒄𝒍𝒊𝒏𝒊𝒄𝒔.
𝐓𝐡𝐞 𝐩𝐞𝐨𝐩𝐥𝐞 𝐰𝐡𝐨 𝐬𝐭𝐚𝐟𝐟 𝐭𝐡𝐞𝐬𝐞 𝐜𝐥𝐢𝐧𝐢𝐜𝐬 𝐚𝐫𝐞 𝐡𝐢𝐠𝐡𝐥𝐲 𝐭𝐫𝐚𝐢𝐧𝐞𝐝 𝐡𝐞𝐚𝐥𝐭𝐡𝐜𝐚𝐫𝐞 𝐩𝐫𝐨𝐟𝐞𝐬𝐬𝐢𝐨𝐧𝐚𝐥𝐬 𝐰𝐡𝐨 𝐩𝐫𝐨𝐯𝐢𝐝𝐞 𝐞𝐬𝐬𝐞𝐧𝐭𝐢𝐚𝐥, 𝐭𝐢𝐦𝐞-𝐬𝐞𝐧𝐬𝐢𝐭𝐢𝐯𝐞 𝐚𝐛𝐨𝐫𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧 𝐬𝐞𝐫𝐯𝐢𝐜𝐞𝐬, 𝐨𝐟𝐭𝐞𝐧 𝐭𝐨 𝐩𝐞𝐨𝐩𝐥𝐞 𝐰𝐢𝐭𝐡 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐟𝐞𝐰𝐞𝐬𝐭 𝐫𝐞𝐬𝐨𝐮𝐫𝐜𝐞𝐬, 𝐰𝐡𝐨 𝐧𝐞𝐞𝐝 𝐭𝐡𝐞𝐦 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐦𝐨𝐬𝐭. 𝐈𝐧 𝐟𝐚𝐜𝐭, 𝐢𝐧𝐝𝐞𝐩𝐞𝐧𝐝𝐞𝐧𝐭 𝐜𝐥𝐢𝐧𝐢𝐜𝐬 𝐬𝐞𝐫𝐯𝐞 𝐭𝐡𝐫𝐞𝐞 𝐨𝐮𝐭 𝐨𝐟 𝐞𝐯𝐞𝐫𝐲 𝐟𝐢𝐯𝐞 𝐩𝐚𝐭𝐢𝐞𝐧𝐭𝐬 𝐢𝐧 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐔.𝐒. 𝐞𝐚𝐜𝐡 𝐲𝐞𝐚𝐫 𝐰𝐡𝐨 𝐡𝐚𝐯𝐞 𝐚𝐧 𝐚𝐛𝐨𝐫𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧.
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slide 1: support + protect reproductive rights graphic
slide 2: a preview of the digital option of the current issue of the zine
slide 3: fuck the patriarchy
slide 4: a list of resources for those who may need them

issue 2 of The Unschool Files Community Zine is he

issue 2 of The Unschool Files Community Zine is here!

if you are not supporting on Patreon, let me walk you through my website to show you how to obtain a copy, either digital or physical.
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head to theunschoolfiles.com and click shop, then select which issue(s) you’d like to receive and add them to your cart.

/digital copies are ᴘᴀʏ ᴡʜᴀᴛ ʏᴏᴜ ᴄᴀɴ, and will be sent to you in an email to view privately as well as the ability to download and print from home. (ᴅᴏɴᴀᴛɪᴏɴꜱ ᴀʀᴇ ᴡʜᴀᴛ ᴘᴏᴡᴇʀ ᴛʜɪꜱ ᴘʀᴏᴊᴇᴄᴛ)

/physical copies to be mailed have a minimum payment of $15 to cover the cost of printing, binding + mailing, ᴀɴᴅ paying above asking price helps the zine team break even, monetarily as well as provide zines to those who may not have access to excess funds or are unbanked.

next, head to checkout and enter your information to have your order set to deliver, and submit your payment via PayPal

last, the ᴠᴏʟᴜɴᴛᴇᴇʀ Zine Team will prep, package + mail your order (or send you an email) and you soon get to enjoy what this beautiful collective of ᴜɴꜱᴄʜᴏᴏʟᴇʀꜱ have shared, and trust me… it’s so worth it!

💜💙💚💛🧡❤️

this zine does not make me ᴀɴʏ money, and i do this work as a labor of love. i hope that it brings joy to the community and can be sustained for many issues to come! XX meghan

there’s so much chatter about what unschooling i

there’s so much chatter about what unschooling is… and what it isn’t.

rules, theory + frameworks.

there’s hot takes and hella gate keeping.

dogmatic discourse among adults over the proper way and even money being exchanged on the matter.

in my view, it’s 𝘴𝘪𝘮𝘱𝘭𝘦.
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unschooling isn’t about all the noise adults are making and semantics of proper execution of 𝘯𝘰𝘵 participating in school.
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𝘪𝘵 𝘪𝘴 𝘵𝘪𝘮𝘦, 𝘴𝘱𝘢𝘤𝘦 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘴𝘶𝘱𝘱𝘰𝘳𝘵 𝘧𝘰𝘳 𝘺𝘰𝘶𝘯𝘨 𝘱𝘦𝘰𝘱𝘭𝘦 𝘵𝘰 𝘢𝘨𝘦 𝘢𝘵 𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘪𝘳 𝘰𝘸𝘯 𝘱𝘢𝘤𝘦.

𝘵𝘰 𝘣𝘦 𝘧𝘶𝘭𝘭𝘺 𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘮𝘴𝘦𝘭𝘷𝘦𝘴.

𝘵𝘰 𝘦𝘹𝘱𝘭𝘰𝘳𝘦 𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘪𝘳 𝘪𝘥𝘦𝘯𝘵𝘪𝘵𝘺 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘪𝘳 𝘱𝘭𝘢𝘤𝘦 𝘪𝘯 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘸𝘰𝘳𝘭𝘥 𝘸𝘩𝘪𝘭𝘦 𝘣𝘦𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘐𝘕 𝘪𝘵. 𝘯𝘰𝘵 𝘴𝘦𝘤𝘭𝘶𝘥𝘦𝘥 𝘧𝘳𝘰𝘮 𝘪𝘵.

𝘵𝘰 𝘣𝘦 𝘴𝘦𝘦𝘯 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘩𝘦𝘢𝘳𝘥 (𝘰𝘳 𝘯𝘰𝘵, 𝘪𝘧 𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘺 𝘤𝘩𝘰𝘰𝘴𝘦).

𝘵𝘰 𝘭𝘦𝘢𝘳𝘯 𝘩𝘰𝘸 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘸𝘰𝘳𝘭𝘥 𝘢𝘳𝘰𝘶𝘯𝘥 𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘮 𝘸𝘰𝘳𝘬𝘴, 𝘸𝘪𝘵𝘩 𝘩𝘰𝘯𝘦𝘴𝘵𝘺 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘤𝘢𝘳𝘦 𝘧𝘳𝘰𝘮 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘢𝘥𝘶𝘭𝘵𝘴 𝘪𝘯 𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘪𝘳 𝘭𝘪𝘷𝘦𝘴.

𝐮𝐧𝐬𝐜𝐡𝐨𝐨𝐥𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐢𝐬 𝐩𝐫𝐞𝐬𝐞𝐫𝐯𝐚𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧 𝐨𝐟 𝐩𝐞𝐫𝐬𝐨𝐧𝐡𝐨𝐨𝐝. 𝐩𝐞𝐫𝐢𝐨𝐝.

in episode 34 Meghan takes to the mic alone to tal

in episode 34 Meghan takes to the mic alone to talk about mutuality, empathy, fearless listening and how it’s connected to the way we are raising children while unschooling.
*with a couple of F bombs, because language is powerful y’all*

Visit the website to connect with Meghan in various ways from being a guest on the podcast or supporting the zine to joining the Discord community - theunschoolfiles.com

issue 1 of The Unschool Files 𝐜𝐨𝐦𝐦𝐮

issue 1 of The Unschool Files 𝐜𝐨𝐦𝐦𝐮𝐧𝐢𝐭𝐲 Zine featured a young person named Cai who shared their local efforts to make whole food accessible to the community because food is a RIGHT, not a privilege.
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Issue 2 drops in May and the deadline to claim a limited print edition is APRIL 15th. (Link in bio)
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as always, digital/print at home versions will be available on a “name your own price” basis.
if you are unbanked or unable to give, no problem! just email meghan@theunschoolfiles.com for a copy, no questions asked.
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for now the zine is being funded on Patreon, but for those who cannot maintain subscriptions, but still want physical copies please PayPal or Venmo $15 by April 15th to claim your mailed copy.
The UFZ team is working hard to assemble those in the coming weeks and we don’t want to leave anyone out that wants one!

*updated graphic due to misspelling Nikolai’s na

*updated graphic due to misspelling Nikolai’s name*

in episode 33 of the podcast, Meghan is talking with Nikolai Pizarro of @raisingreaders on the concept of decentering school, to center connection and relationship.
this discussion touches on educational trauma, the pressure to uphold the school system and the values it thrusts onto families. Nikolai is very aware that many families do not have the ability to leave school, and wants to empower parents and young people to know their humanity is priority.
she gives real examples of ways folks can walk their children thru their agency while remaining in school. not focusing on the metrics that sort and divide children, and not letting schoolishness dictate how we see ourselves and our humanity.
we talk about the great lie of school with our feet firmly on the ground and in truth for parents who just can’t stop sending their young people to school.
connect. reflect. correct y’all 🫀
follow Nikolai at @raisingreaders and don’t forget the backyard food forest school @liberatorium
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toss some funds toward the groundbreaking (literally) work here -> https://givebutter.com/KStbEI so that young people can go play, be in nature and rest their hearts and minds🙏🏼

issue 2 is under production and the playlist from

issue 2 is under production and the playlist from the last one is fueling the work! ( that, and espresso!)
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every issue of the unschool files z i n e will feature several different elements, one of those being accessible off-the-page media that connects us a little further!
this playlist is ever evolving and not just one genre… but it IS music of the movement. you’ll hear sounds of liberation and freedom in many forms - but the best part?
you can add to this collective playlist!
the more it grows, the more it represents us all and the many ways we exist… and jam to music✊🏼
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subscribe to the z i n e for as little as $1 a month over at www.patreon.com/theunschoolfiles

*subscribe by 15April to secure a physical copy of issue 2 out in May*
-this is a limited print production-

i have been thinking about hierarchy, leadership,

i have been thinking about hierarchy, leadership, guidance and adultism when it comes to partnership (specifically with young people) and i have landed on this.
to be in partnership, we must be able to hear and hold multiple truths and experiences. it’s not just about us!
so when we partner with a young person, and we have access to tools, money and ideas they may not… we are leading, no?

the real ooey gooey shit of partnering and unschooling is in the c o n s e n t.
with that as a foundation for exploring and moving through out the world, our young people know we are safe.
we can be trusted.
we are here to be scaffolding not a framework.
also… young people flip the script and THEY become the leaders all the time! hierarchy may not come with age or time served! it just may mean someone may know a little more about a thing and so we lean in and let them show us.
it doesn’t HAVE to mean power.

the first issue of The Unschool Files Community Z

the first issue of The Unschool Files Community Z I N E featured the rad family, @life.long.learners!

each issue, we will get an up close look at a family who is living life without school.
having the representation of all the ways people are unschooling is a passion project, and this quarterly release will bring those faces right to the community. to connect us all, and bring our shared works, thoughts and practices of decentering the oppressive, industrial school model and bringing it back to ᴘᴀʀᴛɴᴇʀꜱʜɪᴘ ɪɴ ʀᴇʟᴀᴛɪᴏɴꜱʜɪᴘ.

if you’d like to submit your family to be featured in the z i n e, please send submission to meghan@theunschoolfiles.com

to support to the z i n e on a monthly basis and subscribe to get a PHYSICAL copy next issue… see the link in my bio for ᴘᴀᴛʀᴇᴏɴ 🙏🏼

👋🏼heyyy community! this is a call for submis

👋🏼heyyy community! this is a call for submissions to be considered for the next issue of the z i n e // due by April 15, 2022
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feel free to share this with all the Unschoolers and Self-Directed Learners in your life ✨
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if you haven’t subscribed, find the link in my bio to see the first issue and sustain this project 🙏🏼

don’t mess with trans kids

don’t mess with trans kids

young people know what’s up. - it’s rare to b

young people know what’s up.
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it’s rare to bring a) color to my posts 😆i fought the urge to make it black and white b) my face and c) stories down to the grid
but this one needs a permanent place 👀
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shout out to Penelope for being a rad kid ✊🏼
@bigmothering

deschooling never ends

deschooling never ends

𝗶𝘁’𝘀 𝗵𝗲𝗿𝗲! 𝗶𝘁’𝘀

𝗶𝘁’𝘀 𝗵𝗲𝗿𝗲! 𝗶𝘁’𝘀 𝗳𝗶𝗻𝗮𝗹𝗹𝘆 𝗵𝗲𝗿𝗲!!

after a few months collecting and curating the work of Unschoolers both young and adult, the very first issue of #theunschoolfileszine is available! and i can’t wait for you to see it 🙏🏼🗞👀

the physical copies were reserved via subscription (see bio for info) and are a limited production // digital copies are infinitely available to all who would like one!

𝗮𝗹𝗹 𝘁𝗵𝗮𝘁 𝗶 𝗮𝘀𝗸 𝗶𝘀 𝗳𝗼𝗿 𝗮𝘁 𝗹𝗲𝗮𝘀𝘁 $𝟭 𝘀𝗲𝗻𝘁 𝘃𝗶𝗮 𝗣𝗮𝘆𝗣𝗮𝗹 𝗼𝗿 𝗩𝗲𝗻𝗺𝗼 𝘁𝗼 𝗺𝘆𝘀𝗲𝗹𝗳 𝗼𝗿 𝗮 𝗺𝘂𝘁𝘂𝗮𝗹 𝗮𝗶𝗱 𝗳𝘂𝗻𝗱 𝗼𝗳 𝘆𝗼𝘂𝗿 𝗰𝗵𝗼𝗶𝗰𝗲

- send me a 🧾 of some kind via DM or email -
and you will have your own link to view the online, flippable page zine ✨

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