not every piece of writing needs to be super deep for it to matter

enough with the trauma olympics on substack

Apr 20, 2025

i’ve been running a newsletter for almost four months now, and i’m like…fifty-ish essays in? which is pretty crazy (shoutout to all of you who’ve been following me on here and reading my stuff).

it’s actually…kind of insane to me because i don’t think i’ve ever been this consistent with posting on a social media platform in this way…in my entire life. i’ll go through little spurts where i’ll post a bunch in a two week span and then i’ll go ghost (especially on instagram)…but i’ve been sooooo on lock with posting on here…maybe it’s because i feel less pressure to show up super curated and perfect on here versus apps like instagram and tiktok that are so beauty-centric…ya know?

since being on here…i’ve come across some ridiculous pieces of writing. the amount of times i have caught myself reading through some 20-something’s beautifully written essay about some shit like “outgrowing imperfectionism” or “mourning your childhood” and i’m just scrolling through…reading the writing piece…snapping my fingers and saying “yessss” to myself like i just finished watching a liberal arts student perform mid slam poetry at a college coffee shop.

however…i do think there’s a subsection of people online who wholeheartedly believe that in order for a piece of writing (whether it’s an essay/journal entry/poem/etc) to really matter, it has to be super deep. and what i mean by that is: a lot of people seem to think that if your writing isn’t some kind of trauma-dump manifesto that probably should’ve gone to your therapist instead of the internet, then it’s not taken seriously. and honestly? i think that’s bullshit.

like…if we’re really talking about the full complexity of the human experience…at it’s core…we all move through a spectrum of emotions throughout our lives: joy…sorrow…rage…boredom…embarrassment…it’s all part of what makes us human. and in my humble opinion…i don’t think one feeling is more meaningful than the other. and sometimes…a story about some small joyful thing that happened in your day…or a first-world minor inconvenience that put a dent in your afternoon…can be just as meaningful as a heavy-ass think piece about your childhood.

like for example…the other day i had my own first world minor inconvience: i went to maru coffee in los feliz and as i was walking out with my matcha in hand…a bird shit on my arm.

let me say that again:

A BIRD SHIT ON MY ARM.

which is so fucking ghetto. like what the actual fuck? i mean thank GOD my overpriced matcha was left unscathed (gotta always look at the positives in every situation) but still…a bird shitting on you is such a fucked up unsanitary inconvenience. i don’t even remember the last time i had a bird shit on me (and it was a really BIG shit too…like i’d show a picture but 1. that’s gross and 2. i do not have a photo because 3. there is no reason in the world why i’d have any desire to photograph bird shit on my arm).

and look i looooove a good emotional thinkpiece…and i love writing them and will continue writing them…but not every piece of writing needs to be a soul-searching manifesto. sometimes…it’s okay to be silly and unhinged on the internet! write essays that are completely nuance-free! let yourself emotional depth every now and then! live a little!!!!!

if you enjoyed this piece…here are some others i’d recommend: