Issue 15: I Wrote 37 Letters In 2020

I was inconsistent with writing to you in 2020, still, I'm super stoked that I wrote 37 letters!

Apologies for not writing on Christmas Eve as promised. At this point, my subconscious makes promises with the belief that I’m a machine. No dear, I’m not. In fact, I only learned that I am very human after 2020 threatened to snap me in two, quite literally and figuratively. 2020 was hard. This is a sentiment everyone around the world shares. I typed ‘2020 was h’ in Google and here’s what happened: 

I wrote 37 newsletters this year. I was disappointed when I made the count. There were 53 Thursdays this year. I missed out on 16 Thursdays. That’s about four months. In 2019, I wrote 40 letters even though I started writing to you on March 14, 2019. I was under a lot of pressure to match this number, to do better, and not miss any Thursdays at the beginning of the year. I really wanted to hold a level of normalcy (and more) over my head during the thick of the virus: writing my letters, writing fiction, reading, cooking, 9 - 5, and a bit of time for social media.

Eventually, I understood that things were different. 2020 is not 2019. Things changed remarkably for me, for the world and I had to accept that. Once I made peace with this (still making peace with it, if I’m being fair), I grew comfortable with my inconsistency. I learned that you don’t need to kill yourself, sacrifice your health for some unrealistic ideal or goal that you’ve set for yourself. Because Shonda Rhimes is doing it, doesn’t mean I have to. Ironic because I started this year with a letter to you on the problems with pressure. Perhaps, it was a bit of foresight on how the year would pan out.

 

That said, I’m proud of all my 37 letters. It’s small and I’m not winning any award or getting dollars for writing it, but I am proud that I did it. Maybe count your small wins too?

I wasn’t sure how or what to tell you in this letter. I didn’t want to rehash details of the awful, locked-down year. I didn’t want to preach about new/better beginnings and mood boards. I didn’t want to tell you about the lessons I learned because it feels too cliché to talk about right now. 

I decided to do two things: share some of the best performing letters of 2020 and one last thing -- you’ll find out what it is if you read till the end (pro tip: read till the end).

Best Performing Letters of 2020

#1: On Watering Your Friendships And The Power Of Storytelling

August 20, 2020

In this letter, I review ‘The Friend’ by Sigrid Nunez (one of my favorite reads of 2020), share my personal reflections on friendship and talk to Ifesinachi Okonkwo (author of The Year Of The Sun) about storytelling.

#2: How Would Your Story Be Told When You Die?

February 6, 2020

At the time I wrote this letter, I didn’t know how many friends, family members I’d lose in 2020. I had no idea that 2020 would take and take and expect me to move on. It’s a somber letter, the kind you read on the last day of the year as you reflect on the new year. 

#3: Learning How To Jump

May 7, 2020

Learning to jump was a metaphor for learning/improving upon any skill. During the lockdown, I learned to jump rope on two feet and it’s still one of the biggest accomplishments of my year. 

Thank you.

Thank you for reading and sharing my letters all the time. I know I made a lot of promises I didn’t keep, but we’ve agreed that this year was peculiar. Perhaps, I’d do better next year. Still, there won’t be newsletters on Thursday night if you didn’t exist. 

I’ll be giving out a few novels to two lucky readers as a late Christmas gift. All you need to do is tell me why you read my letters and what your favorite letters are. I’ll pick a winner at random.

Have a happy new year. Remember to be grateful.