Welcome! My name is Ellie, and I see you’ve somehow managed to stumble upon my project, You Don’t Need Maps. The impetus for YDNM was found while working swing shift on a Sunday night, feeling anxious , depressed, and near-suicidal. Buzzed from at least two full pots of coffee, I decided to start writing my thoughts down about any and all things: my emotions, punk rock, literature, radical politics, and the combinations thereof seemed to be the topics popping up the most. Perhaps it was just hubris, but I didn’t want these thoughts to waste away on my Reddit account, or get burned off in late-night runs on Twitter and Tumblr, and I thought I could build a place for like-minded people to explore and have conversations about these sorts of things. Thus, the genesis for You Don’t Need Maps was born.

A few things to keep in mind before jumping in:

• This blog mostly concerns itself with a few key areas: my precarious mental health; punk rock and its various offshoots (including but not limited to post-hardcore, metalcore, tough-guy hardcore, powerviolence, skramz, blackened crust, riot grrl, pop-punk, Orgcore, folk punk, and so on); skateboarding; graffiti; radical far-left politics; literature; and the intersection of all of the above. Occasionally I may discuss hip-hop, disparate and weird strains of metal, indie film, television shows I’m currently obsessed with, or other topics, but mostly we will be discussing these things.

• You can and should follow me on Twitter for esoteric jokes concerning the above.

• Here is my Tumblr. It is an ask blog. Have fun.

With all that in mind, thank you for reading my inane ramblings. It truly does mean a lot to me, and I appreciate any and all feedback I can get. No Gods, No Masters.