My fingers stopped for a moment as I wrote the title for this week’s newsletter. How did we step into the second half of this year so quickly? As I grow up, and so does my to-do list, the phrase “time flies” is starting to make more sense.
No month has flown by as quickly this year as July has. Monsoon brought slight respite from the heatwave, but sadly (or not?), it meant spending more time indoors because I don’t particularly enjoy the humidity that follows rain. Like most of us, I tend to go deep into my mind and address the things I have been too afraid to confront when I spend more time with myself. If I had to describe how July was for me in a single word, I would say it was intense.
There were some noticeable highs, but equally heavy lows. So, it made sense to divide last month’s lessons into separate categories.
How would you describe July for you? Comment below.
LESSONS FROM THE CHALLENGING PARTS OF JULY
Recently, I happened to log into my Instagram account by mistake which had been deactivated for three years. I spent seven minutes by the clock scrolling through my feed to see what people I closely (and not so closely) know are up to. Those seven minutes were enough to remind me why I chose to walk away from the platform all these years ago. I saw people travelling the world and me quite surprisingly being excluded from re-unions of some friends who I still try to catch up with via messages or phone calls.
No matter how much we say we don’t, we sometimes end up craving what we don’t have and neglecting what we do have in the process. Friendship and every other relationship is always a two-way street, not necessarily with a 50-50% effort all the time. Take a step back when you are the only one always showing up in friendships and the person in front of you is not choosing you even once over their priorities. Maybe they need to feel your absence to see how much your presence matters. Or perhaps it’s time for you to let go.
rightly said, “To those who want you, you don’t have to be anything; to those who’d never pick you, nothing you do will be enough.”LESSONS FROM THE UPLIFTING PARTS OF JULY
After 2.5 years of consistently showing up on the internet (very unlike me), I finally crossed a milestone where 1000+ people from all over the world willingly choose to read my newsletter every week. Looking back at my journey, I see that most creatives do not achieve success overnight. There is a long road between the moment you start and when you see noticeable growth. Sometimes you feel like your art is getting lost in the void. But trust me when I say that these moments are leading you to your ideal audience, so never give up on what you love creating.
As I am approaching the end of my Student Actuary journey with nine exams cleared and four remaining, I notice a sense of urgency in my mind. The urgency to skate through the next year and a half so I can step into the next season of life. But, urgency robs you of the present. If you too are waiting for a season of your life to wrap up, know that good things take time. We tend to look back at challenging seasons of life and think that they weren't as difficult as the ones we are currently experiencing. Let us appreciate all the good things we have now: the once-in-a-lifetime milestones, and the calmness amidst the chaos.
What I Am Looking Forward To Read This Week
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"No matter how much we say we don’t, we sometimes end up craving what we don’t have and neglecting what we do have in the process." Wonderful reflection, Mansi.
Once again, congratulations on the 1K readers; very well deserved. Thanks for the mention, too.
About the friends who appear to be moving on, I've realized that most relationships and interactions are 'out of sight, out of mind.' In your absence, people move on much quicker than you think.
The only constant is the in and out of each other's lives. We'll do it, and others will do it on us.
Congratulations for reaching the 1,000 subscriber milestone!
I love your lesson about friendship. It reminds me of a sentence in a Korean novel last year—Love is not a painful labor that requires effort to find evidence. This applies to any type of relationship.
For me, July was a very fulfilling and challenging month. I started writing on Substack with less than 10,000 English words of vocabulary and sharing my casual sketches on Notes. Despite facing many struggles during these processes, I have had a very fulfilling month as a creator. In July, I‘ve learnt that I want to continue writing and drawing, not retiring, until the end of my life.