I just wanna put this right here.
Below is the earlier draft of the Thoughts on Writing article. However I felt like my thoughts are too complex and needed further explanation that's why I decided to write a longer article. BUT I feel like I don't want to leave this draft unpublished as well - that's why I decided to put it up on my blogĀ :)
I used to have a super love-hate relationship with writing
Cause I thought I need to always be beneficial in my writings
And my impostor syndrome always tells me I'm not good enough
And one of the things I hate is being someone who pretends to know-it-all
So many days passed without writing
I couldn't even achieve my "write once a month" goal
But now I realize
I write for me to understand myself
I write for my future self
I write to express myself
I write to open up opportunities
So I tried to just write whatever
And gathered the courage to publish it
And turns out there are people who are feeling helped by them
And itās one of my best decisions last year
And I can't thank u enough
Thank you for reading
Thank you for letting me know your thoughts
Thank you for your encouragement when my writings sound sad
And for asking if I am okay
Of course, sometimes I am not okay but I am okay with it
I just want you to know
That Iām grateful to have you
Canāt believe Iām saying this but I finished these 2 books & today is only the 5th day in 2022š¤Æ
ā
ANYWAY.. is Sayaka Murata a genius? Once I started these 2 I couldnāt stop reading āemā¦ both are stories about the unusual soul(s). Theyāre also a social commentary of how our society works - even tho weāre all different individuals but to some degree, there are these unofficial usual rules weāre living & if we donāt obey those rules thereās a big chance that weāll experience āsocial punishmentā such as being pressured to do the āusualā things. I love how she touches the topics that I think are not being discussed enough & how she effortlessly explains the point of view of these unusual souls.
I always define myself as a super slow reader even tho I like reading mangas & used to be a heavy reader of novelsā¦ I guess itās just because the books I read before were not enticing enough for me lol maybe bcs most of them are self help books?? I guess I prefer fiction like theseššš» Hope I can read more fiction in the future!
2021 is the year of disconnecting & reconnecting.
Itās the year of falling & getting back on my feet again.
Itās the year of discovering myself much more than Iāve ever done before.
Itās the year of embracing Anicca more - that everything is impermanent and always changing, including myself.
Itās the year of discovering the real story after being trapped in the one I made up in my head for too long.
Itās the year of healing, slowing down, and feeling loved again.
Itās the year of witnessing that I can grow more than what the voice in my head tells me.
Itās the year of realizing that I have significant control in ruining & saving myself.
Such as a conversation that I recently had with one of my friends, in which he told me he encountered someone who offers him a business opportunity and seems (& sounds) very supportive & nice. However, after he assessed further, the offer somehow is a bit scheming. Then I remembered I once encountered similar situations before, and I didnāt take em. In my opinion itās okay for people to do so (cause theyāre not literally lying, theyāre just really smart in constructing words) and I think itās common in a business or professional situation. At certain levels I also need to deal with something similar, but if I had the privilege to choose, Iād rather not be involved closely with someone who I believe to have a specific hidden agenda wrapped in sparkling glittery words. I am aware that things like this might be able to shorten the distance between me & my financial goal - but as I grow older, taking care of my emotional well-being is getting more and more important for me. As much as I can, I donāt want to spend too much of my time being wary. Itās tiring. At this point I think there are just too many things that I donāt want to trade with better financial opportunities. There are many things that we might not be able to take back and Iām enjoying my comfort zone. Thankfully, the definition of how enough looks like for me now is also getting clearer :)
Thank you for talking to me.
It warms my heart when someone tells me this. It's like they understand that sometimes it's hard to just "talk" to someone and it needs lots of effort too.
For me "talking" is not as easy as it sounds. Sometimes I would get really anxious & hesitate to just talk casually to someone - like offerig food or asking how they've been.
Before casual meet-ups sometimes I even list down the questions & topics that I'd like to talk about... Just in case the anxiety will leave me with no words to say :')
P.S. I wrote this note back then on 2019 & I can say that Iāve doing better these days. I think the key is to keep trying even though itās scary. Practice makes progress (not perfect) lol
To the child, teenager, and almost adult me
I wish you wouldnāt be easily intimidated by others. I wish I could tell you stories about privilege so you wouldnāt feel so small among bigger people, so you would feel less out of place. I wish I could assure you that what matters more is who youāll become when youāre a little more adult, when you have more control of your life, and I would assure you that youāll come much further than you thought.Ā
I wish you would appreciate yourself more, even if you failed to meet the expectation that others set on you. I wish you would know that you shouldn't have been compared, especially by people who claim that they love you. AND even if it did happen, itās ok if you lose. You donāt have to win all the time. I wish you would be able to set your own goals and not living in others' goals of you. I wish I could let you know that some things are just not meant to be yours, that hard work sure matters but it doesn't always pay off the way exactly you wanted it to be.
I wish you would see the beauty inside you and not let men that you swooned over decide it for you. I wish you wouldn't spend so much time being with men who couldnāt appreciate you enough. Men who somehow even worsen the comparison game that youāve been playing and hating since youāre younger, men who dared to put numbers on you among others. I wish you wouldnāt be obsessed and let those numbers affect you deeply. I wish you would love and respect yourself more.
But still and all, I would like to thank you for everything youāve done. Thank you for being so strong and brave. Thank you for enduring all the hardships and still moving forward. Thank you for giving me the life I have now :)
#1
It would be a casual dine out
That we both can brush off as "oh it's just a meal with a friend"
In case things don't work between us
Brunch, lunch or dinner are all right
What's important is the ambiance to have a good talk
If the food & drink were then it would be a bonus
Genuinely interested in each other
We would try our best to get to know each other
There would be a nice conversation going on
There would be a lot of "I think this could work" realizations
There would be a discussion about a second date next week
And then we would go home thinking
That next week is so damn far away
#2
We would curl up on a couch
Watching something that I'm curious of
Yet I don't dare to watch alone
We would be moved by the movie
And it would trigger an uncomfortable feeling
Which eventually leads to a rare deep talkĀ
I would pour my heart out
The pain and the worries
All the things that I've been keeping inside
Cause they make me feel weak
All the feelings that don't make sense
As if pouring em out can make em disappear
I would feel I talked too much afterward
I would regret it afterward
But then there would be you
Saying all the things that I need
Doing all the things that I need
And even though nothing would disappear
You would make em feel much more bearable
Then I would keep talking nonsense things til dawn
And we would fall asleep holding each others' hand
#3
8.30 AM the sun is up
And so are we
Which is quite rare I know
Getting ready for a bit and we would head out
Excited to see & experience new things together
Whether it's food or drink or place
I know it will be more interesting
Cause I'm with you
We would share everything we order
So we gotta try more things we're curious of
We would laugh at silly things
That others won't think as funny
We would hold hands often
Unless when we're holding our bubble tea
We would go home feeling full
But then you would cook instant noodles a bit past midnight
The one we found interesting in a convenience store the day before
And I would wash the dishes afterward
These days Iām most curious about myself
Just like a 3rd person point of view
Itās weird that I am me
But I am also not me
I feel many things that donāt feel like me
But I know itās okay to feel foreign things
And I donāt need to know it all
But deep down I still want to know nevertheless
Just like all people I have my problems
And putting them on the paper makes me feel like I could solve it
Yes, the keyword is āfeelā
Without concrete actions they would only look be on paper
Instead of being okay with people not liking me
Iām more like, I donāt even know if they like or dislike me
And it's fine that way for most people
I guess being indifferent is a blessing
I curse a little, maybe a little too much
But I donāt really mind
What I mind is when I lose my cool
And I surely never want it to happen, again
From time to time I would feel lonely
But being alone feels too safe
To the point that Iām afraid
Of causing too much distance with my loved ones
I wanna know more people
Their ways of living and perspectives
But I often donāt feel like talking
And Iām aware of my capability to only keep a few ones close
My talent?
Itās crying over upbeat songs
Eating ice cream in cold weather
And being at my harshest state to the people I care about the most
I donāt think I have grand regrets in life
I consider most of my mistakes as valuable
Even if I did have one day
I hope I remember that I can only move forward
Voidness has been a familiar feeling for so long
And I would still choose to disappear if I could
Well I understand that I canāt
Hence I hope I could live my life to the fullest