Community Connection: My Thing, My Dream

Melissa Cosper Miller, Founder & Publisher at SlyGirl Publishing House

I’m sitting right next to my best friend from highschool in our finest lawn chairs in White Oak, TX at ourkids’ little league football game. Amber and I grew uptogether, and now our children are too.

On the right side of me is Amber’s family. All of them.Her youngest is barely walking, yet cutely stumblingaround the sidelines sporting white and maroon schoolcolors. Her oldest son runs past in his football uniformas Amber wishes him good luck on the field down thehill. One of the twins is playing his flag-football-heartout while her husband coaches and Amber jumps up tocheer with every good play.

To my left are my husband and daughter. My daughter is acheerleader for Amber’s son’s team. This is the first gameof the season, and I am looking forward to spending timewith my best friend every Saturday morning. However, mydaughter is decked out in her cheer uniform and big bowbut refuses to cheer or join the squad in any manner. Myhusband is trying to coax her into joining the chant and

dance. Simply put, it’s frustrating and embarrassing.

I look to the right, and I am incredibly happy about what my dear friend Amber has found to be fulfilling in life. I look back to the left, and all three of us are miserable.

“This is not our thing,” I say to my husband. “No kidding,” he replies.“What is our thing?” I ask.

“Not having kids,” he jokes, and we both chuckle.

“Well, let’s get the hell out of here and go figure it out,” I say in jest.

As we both laughed, we packed up those damned folding chairs and bolted mid-game.

Over the next several months, that question became a staple in our daily conversations. After mowing an acre of lawn or cleaning the pool in the winter, my husband would enter the back door saying, “Well, that’s not my thing.”

I spent an entire Saturday cleaning a home realizing more than half of it rarely if ever, had any traffic. “Definitely, not my thing.”

We put the house up for sale, all the while still asking and trying to figure out, “What’s our thing?” We started exploring community events in a desperate search for the answer.

Each time we visited downtown Longview for an event, all I wanted to do was walk around to experience the growth and culture. I would return home revitalized by observing art outside, enjoying fantastic conversation, eating great food, drinking craft beer, and so much more.

Lying in bed reminiscing the hours before, “That’s my thing,” I would sigh fantasizing about when I could return.

The Arts & Culture District is where I wanted to be. I started counting down the days until I could go back to my place and do my thing. And eventually, an opportunity presented itself to live in the historic Petroleum Building. I moved into my apartment two weeks before the world shut down in 2020. I lived in this neighborhood when it felt like a zombie apocalypse was approaching, and I live in it now when the district is thriving. It didn’t matter what was going on in the world, I have been able to look out of my window every day and confidently say, “This is my thing.”

I would return home revitalized by observing art outside, enjoying fantastic conversation, eating great food, drinking craft beer, and so much more.

Being immersed in an area with art, culture, and wonderful neighbors inspired me to take a leap in my career as well. I resigned from my 9-5 in 2021 to go out on my own. My dream was to work alongside artists of all kinds; poets, novelists, photographers, sculptors, and the list goes on. Alas, SlyGirl Publishing House was created. Making big publication dreams happen for myself and others has been the most rewarding experience of my life.

I spend my days collaborating with artists, walking the streets of my artistic ‘hood, waving at and chatting with fellow downtowners, sitting on the grass in the sculpture garden with my children, eating sophisticated food while the cook comes to say ‘hello’ or ‘thanks for coming,’ drinking craft beer with locals, and listening to talented live bands in my “backyard.” From the cooks to the business owners to the frequent visitors to the downtown residents; they are my friends and neighbors. My people.

This sense of belonging and connection to a community is the thing I have been looking for my entire life. As I’ve said before, perhaps this is the dream… my dream, to be surrounded by art, culture, food, and incredible company.