Just Trying Something

Thanks for coming to ‘Just Trying Something’!

Hi, I’m Angela Walch. Welcome to Just Trying Something!

This space is about sharing my insights, research, and creations with others. It’s part of a “relaunch” of, well, myself.

Just Trying Something will be me, basically, being as brave, creative, authentic and honest as I can. As my daughters’ soccer coaches say, here I’m going to “take my space.”

This whole endeavor is experimental for me — hence the ‘Just Trying Something’ name. The name seeks to take the pressure off of putting stuff out into the world — to overcome the perfectionistic tendencies and rule systems that have stifled me in the past.

What I’ll Cover Here

Here are examples of topics I hope to explore in this space:

• Unconscious Protocol Participation (my research project as a Core Researcher in the Ethereum Foundation's Summer of Protocols program running May-August 2023).1

• Things I've learned and experienced during my year of unlearning and re-creation.2 Discussions of helpful and unhelpful books, podcasts, TV shows and movies, relationships, decisions, crises, barriers, paths and forks in the road.

• Experiences in law, academia, and in crypto.

• Taboos and rules/protocols of all kinds.

• Family dynamics and traditions.

• Living in Texas.

• Creativity and self-expression.

• Technology and humans.

• Religion (from a non-religious perspective).

• Group behavior, risk, and hubris.

• So many more ideas to share…

My POV and Style

If you have followed my work as a law professor and crypto researcher previously, Just Trying Something is different in that here you will get a broader expression of my ideas— unconstrained by disciplinary boundaries, rules about format or citation, or an employer’s expectations. (This is not a law newsletter or a crypto newsletter, but I probably will write about these topics on occasion.) So, the me you know, but more me.3

If we haven’t met before, here are some things about me and my approach that will shape Just Trying Something.

• Interested in humans and everything they do and are

• Intuitive

• Voracious learner / change mind as I learn more

• Curious

• Generalist

• Skeptical of hubris and solutionism

• Love:

  • ideas - coming up with them, sharing them, discussing them with others

  • analyzing ‘concepts’ (philosopher at heart)

  • seeking truth and wisdom

  • crossing disciplinary boundaries

  • mashing up concepts/ideas in new ways

  • thought experiments

• Good at:

  • making surprising connections between ideas/events

  • explaining things clearly

  • providing context that deepens understanding and reveals the importance of a topic

  • illuminating what’s going on beneath the surface

  • envisioning and showing big picture implications

  • teasing out assumptions and unstated rules

  • seeing through to the heart of the matter

  • asking interesting questions

  • having civil discussions about hard topics

  • researching broadly and deeply

  • exploring topics in original ways / putting something in a new light

Frequency and Form of Content

Because this is an experimental space, I am working out what a good frequency will be for Just Trying Something. Initially, I hope to share content at least 2-3 times per week, to get in the habit of learning, working, and playing in public. I expect this to change as I figure things out.

Newsletters may include essays (some personal), short commentaries, reflections on my creative process, interviews of interesting people, fiction, poetry, photography, and who knows what else. As I said, this is my creative space, so it will be revealing what my brain finds interesting and compelled to share. A (no longer) secret goal is to maybe incorporate a podcast or Zoom discussion sessions into the mix.(!!) After loving/hating Twitter for a long time, I also think it will be fun to engage in discussion threads or on Substack Notes.

My Background

May 2022 - Current: I took a leave of absence from my job as a law professor in May 2022 and spent the year focused on myself and my family. This was because I was, for lack of a better word, toast. This year has been a holistic project, involving rest, rediscovery of old interests and joys, exercise, therapy, travel, grief, reading, writing, reevaluation of my values and priorities, and so much more. This project is on-going, and the latest step is that I am resigning from my tenured faculty position as of May 2023. I am ready for new adventures, and Just Trying Something is part of my re-creation.

Recent Past: From 2012 - 2023, I was a law professor at St. Mary’s University School of Law in San Antonio, Texas, teaching subjects like Philosophy of Law, Law of Money, Blockchain Technology and the Law, and Contracts.

While a law professor, I reached out into the larger world through my research, writing, and public engagement on cryptocurrencies and blockchain technologies, which began around 2013. I’m proud of my work in crypto, which focused on describing the realities of crypto systems and the implications of those realities from legal, risk, and policy perspectives. My academic papers are available here, and my website has lots of podcasts, op-eds, etc, where you can find my takes on various crypto topics, and you can check out lots of fascinating debates/discussions I had on my Twitter feed. I met many amazing people, traveled and spoke all over the world, and got to share my work with people within the crypto ecosystem as well as those making decisions about it (e.g., regulators, policy makers, and more).

Less Recent Past: I practiced law from 2002 - 2009. I did transactional work at a big firm in Boston (Ropes & Gray) for a few years, then worked as in-house counsel at Harvard University and later, for two companies in London. For details, check out my LinkedIn page.

Deep Past: Law school at Harvard Law. Undergrad (English major) at Harvard College. Childhood in small-town Texas.

And the Pitch…

This is my best effort at describing my plans for this space. They sound fun and exciting to me, and I hope they do for you.

If you’re interested, I’d love for you to subscribe and share the Just Trying Something journey with me. Thanks for your consideration!