Welcome To Wide Eyed Ella - Starting Something New (But Also Old)

Well, here I am, starting something new again.

I have a habit of starting a new project every so often, because I get antsy and I need something creative to get my hands on. I can’t help it and no, I’m not apologising for it. I have a lot of energy to burn, big dreams to make reality and if I don’t attempt to do so, I will go stir crazy and start making a mess of my life and surroundings. I would live my life feeling very dissatisfied and frustrated and I don’t want that.

Admittedly, I had abandoned gracefully let go of most of my past projects, when I realised that they weren’t an accurate fit for me. Either because the anticipated excitement revealed itself to be non-existent and therefore, there was no actual energy for me to sustain the project once I’d started it. Or because they had been an accurate fit for me, giving me immense fulfilment and satisfaction for a long time - but at some point they simply felt done. Even if I technically had more heights to climb with the project.

I also have some current projects, which I still refer to as “current projects”, because I can tell they have simply been paused. I can’t find the excitement or energy to do them right now - they don’t seem to be right for the season I’m in. Yet, there’s still some energy there, bubbling underneath the surface. Like a pot on the stove that doesn’t appear to be cooking its contents, but if you look closely, there’s a very small flame still lit.

All of this to say, that I tend to start a lot of new projects, leave most of them at some point, and here am I again, starting yet another new project, this Substack called Wide Eyed Ella, with not much idea how it’s going to turn out. Yet, it’s not really, entirely new. I’ll share with you why.

Me at a certain spot off of the Great Ocean Road in Victoria, Australia, almost a decade ago. You’ll read in the next paragraph why this photo is relevant.

The joy of writing came to me as a beautiful surprise, exactly a decade ago. I started getting into new media (YouTube, blogs, podcasts etc) and specifically devoured any travel blog I could find. I was itching to start travelling myself and loved reading their adventures and insights.

After my first big trip (one month in Kenya - a fantastic experience), the universe was using random people in my network to send me a very clear message - start a travel blog!

You need to understand, I NEVER thought starting a travel blog was something I’d do. I’d just begun to travel, I was a self-proclaimed technophobe who knew nothing about running a website, and I definitely considered myself an introvert who values my privacy a great deal. And more importantly, I wasn’t a writer.

To cut a long story short; that travel blog was one of the best and most satisfying adventures of my life. What I thought would be a failed experiment of 3 months, turned out to be the most fulfilling passion project of my life at that point, lasting 6 years.

I closed that blog when I felt it was time, having received an infinite amount of blessings through it that I couldn’t have anticipated, and embarked on a new satisfying project that the universe had demanded I take on - writing a novel. Another project I NEVER thought I’d do, yet also provided me with immense satisfaction.

I’m now about to self-publish this novel (coming in June 2025!) and not only am I super excited to finally birth this project into the world, I know I need to (re)build an online presence, so that people can find the book, share with me what they thought and maybe stick around for any other creative projects that I’ll be putting out. (I have a lot more ideas up my sleeve that I’m waiting for the right time to bring into fruition.)

A part of that game plan is\should be social media - Instagram, TikTok, YouTube, whatever else. But… meh? Can I just be honest here and say that I don’t think I’m a fan of social media? Sure, I enjoy creating on social media on occasion, and there are certainly people that I love to follow. Obviously it’s necessary if I want to be creative online and I’ll definitely use it. But, it’s not where my heart sings. My heart sings in long form content, using thousands of words and a few amateur pictures, in a seemingly safer space on the internet, where I can talk to you directly.

And truthfully, for years I’ve been craving a place to write to my heart’s content again. Essays filled with musings, practical guides, tips and tricks from my many trades, and to deep dive into many of my favourite subjects. Writing, travel, spirituality, music, education, music education (I’m a music teacher by profession), and much, much more. I wanted to get personal again, while being ‘safe and secure’ in my corner of the internet.

But I didn’t want to open up a whole new website again. Buying the domain, buying a yearly hosting plan, investing in a design theme, etc. - all of that leg work that’s needed to get going, just wasn’t calling me this time around.

So, creating this Substack is my way of fulfilling my persistent soul desire to create, the practical needs of how I want to create (and promote my creations), whilst also slightly circumventing the ickiness I feel around social media and the financial and time investments that I’m not interested in making right now.

A couple of years ago, whilst still trying to figure out where to express myself online again, without reopening a travel blog, I was playing around with the idea of starting a podcast. I love podcasts and wanted a place to talk about everything and anything that interested me. So I thought, maybe I should start a podcast? I had recorded a few episodes to test the waters, but they never saw the light of day. I had abandoned the project, because my energy and excitement had fizzled out pretty quickly.

But I had given a name to this potential podcast. And what had I decided to name it? Wide Eyed Ella.

As a nod to my old travel blog (which was called Wide Eyed Wanderer) and with the hopes that I would be talking about everything and anything that I’m curious about. Not just travel.

I may have left the podcast idea, but the name stuck with me for the next couple of years. When I realised that I definitely still wanted a space to talk about all of my interests and showcase my creations, I just wanted to do that via writing and with low risks, Substack started re-entering my awareness and I realised that this could be the avenue for me.

This was the final header for my travel blog, back in the day. There had been many iterations and this one was created by a designer on Etsy who I had hired. I even made business cards from this logo that I still have to this day.

So here we are :)

(Just so you know, I’m not opposed at all to starting a podcast. I may still start one at some point in the future. But right now, I’d rather start where I am and do something that I’ve enjoyed for 10+ years and sorely missed - write.)

And what will I write here?

Well, I already mentioned that I would love to talk about my favourite topics, which are many and varied. And I will certainly be using this space to promote my novel coming out June 2025 - perhaps sharing behind the scenes stories of its creations, delving deeper into the themes of the story, and maybe add some exclusive bonus content and explanations of the world. Maybe I could even open discussions, initiate Ask Me Anythings and share how I wrote specific chapters. But I would also love to use this space to simply express myself and share with you more of my creations. I have notes and folders full of poems, essays, short stories etc. that I’m eager to find a way to share. I have 1-2 new novel ideas that I want to get working on too, as well as potential essay collections.

Basically, I’m anticipating this to be a beautiful mess. Especially because I don’t know if I can commit to anything, right now. I just want to try and see who’s out there and how this goes.

But as long as we’re all having fun, right?!

My biggest hope is to find my readers and that Wide Eyed Ella helps me do that. Those of you who are like me - wide-eyed, curious about the world and perceptive to the magic that exists in it. Soft hearts, strong minds and big spirits.

If you’ve read this far, then maybe you are indeed a part of my soul tribe.

Would you like to officially be a part of the soul tribe? Wide Eyed Ella is a reader-supported, free publication. Subscribe for free to receive new posts and support my work.

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So let me officially and properly introduce myself to you:

My name is Ella Capek, I’m currently 31 years old, I’m a music teacher by profession (and enamored with it), and a soon-to-be debut author. I’m married to my beautiful wife, who I’ve been with for 4+ years, and I live in a small city with a village feel, 5 minutes walk from family. I didn’t have the easiest of childhoods, but I’ve been creating a magical and beautiful adulthood, for which I’m beyond grateful. I’m bi-cultural and bi-lingual, having grown up in two different countries. And I consider my curiosity, resilience and ability to face harsh truths, some of my most important qualities.

It’s nice to officially meet you :)

If you’d like, I’d love to hear a bit about you too.

Who are you? Do I know you personally? How did you land on my Substack? And what are you wide eyed about?

Speak soon,

Love, Ella x

P.S. I must say a MASSIVE thank you to one of my best friends Netta, for creating the most beautiful logo for this newsletter possible! Isn’t it gorgeous? Netta, you rock!