Hello!
This month, TOAT turns one! It’s been one year since I started this newsletter, one year since I came out as a writer, completely embracing that identity and sharing it with the world. As I iterated in the introduction, TOAT came together as an idea to seek respite from creating trendy content that was dictated by an algorithm. I am not going to lie, I had it easy on Instagram- I had a growing audience base, people telling me how great my stuff was, and even sharing my content without any solicitation.
But, creating an Insta Poet aesthetic was beginning to feel unsustainable for me and the stats I saw from my audience were also slightly unsettling. The posts that received the most attention were the saddest, melancholic ones. If I wanted to continue, I could continue on this journey of tapping into some of my remorse-filled experiences and live in that world. I just didn’t think that was healthy. I decided to branch out of writing about just my feelings, and put more thought and effort into writing about things that were living outside of my brain.
TOAT is also more of an ambitious project than an Instagram Page. It is an attempt to get more people into reading. Reading with intention. Reading with patience. And, reading deliberately. The goal of this Project is not to go viral, it is to occupy a space on the internet where we take time to give attention to reading a newsletter: which seems to be so difficult nowadays.
Reading Corner
Deep Work by Cal Newport has been a good influence on me and also led me to start TOAT as a Creative Project. It talks about a shallow way of living- spending time in front of the TV, scrolling through social media, and letting digital apps take over our lives and replacing it with deep work- Work that is stimulating and enjoyable. Removing digital distractions, and changing our habits so that we are mindfully spending our time and gaining control of our lives.
Writing Corner
A fainting spell, a flu
scare, a cracked spine- it has
been a series of misadventures.What will work here is,
the protection of my
grandma- warding off
evil eye, with tight fists.three rounds
to the left, one to the
right, red chillies,
rock salt,
one broomstick, and
soft spits- thu, thu, thu.-Cure for the Evil Eye
Learning Corner
Lounge Corner
Thank you all for reading!
Pratiksha