I went to India with my mom recently, and since coming back, my morning routine has been completely different. Namely: I’ve been waking up super early. I used to wake up close to 10 A.M. before (just unemployed things), but now I find myself naturally waking up between 7 and 7:30 A.M. I don’t want to jinx myself, but it has been over a month since we got back, so I’m going to keep my hopes high that this will stick. Honestly, I never took myself for much of a morning person, but I’ve really been digging this whole waking up early thing.
My mornings are peaceful. I feel like I get more time to myself than I did before. You might be like, “Sonali, don’t you get plenty of time to yourself if you don’t have to go to work?” well, not while living with my family, I don’t. I’m ever-so-grateful for this privilege, don’t get me wrong, but most days I’m driven to insanity.
There. Is. No. Privacy. In. My. House.
Ever.
Early mornings unlock a new level of peace for me that I didn’t know I was missing out on. Everyone is either still asleep, doing their own morning routines, or already at work. The house feels quiet, but still alive — completely different than it does late at night. I feel more at peace throughout the day and more levelheaded.
This week especially, I’ve added a few new things to my routine and it makes me feel very put together and productive.
Dear Reader, I have started incorporating workouts into my morning routine! This might not be the most exciting news to anyone, but it is to me. Rather embarrassing to admit, but I’ve been living a pretty sedentary lifestyle since graduating from college in December of 2022. Not my greatest moment, but if you lived in my house you would understand how hard it is to be active and still feel good about yourself.
Again, you might be like, “Sonali, that is so dumb. Who wouldn’t feel good being active?” The issue isn’t me, it’s my family. They have a thing against working out. Like they take it personally and they will taunt you for the littlest things. This applies to pretty much any aspect of life, though, so I put it off as another “brown people problem”, but it genuinely does put a downer when you just want to feel healthier and stronger.
Solution: workout in the mornings when the rare moment everyone is minding their own business coincides with me suddenly having so much time on my hands.
Casually dropping nosy-family lore aside, I don’t do full-blown workouts as much as random exercises with varying intensity to get my body moving and blood flowing. I go at it anywhere from twenty minutes to whenever I feel like stopping. It’s fun.
I don’t put pressure on which exercise to do or for how long, which really helps me actually look forward to working out and prevents me from getting bored. Not to mention, it’s pretty captivating to watch my body go through the moves in the mirror. I’m not a fan of the human body (sorry) (unless it comes to nice biceps like Kim Mingyu, Choi San, and Prayag Mishra have), but this is fun!
This week, I’ve spent a lot of time on Substack. And I mean a lot. I learned of this app about two weeks ago and was hesitant to get it until I had figured out exactly what I wanted to do with. Simply reading what others had to say was not an option because, first and foremost, I am a yapper. I love talking, and this is better than talking because I can type and not have to worry about stumbling over my words because my mouth can’t keep up with my thoughts. When I’m typing, I can just type the approximate word or sentence and then go back to fill in the blanks. It’s awesome. I love writing.
If I spent too much time reading what others were writing, I’d get all up in my head about how to “Substack properly”, so I wanted to figure out a game plan first. At the same time, however, I also knew that if I spent too much time trying to perfect my presence on here, I would never start (read: “If I Don't Start Now, I Never Will”). So, I downloaded the app on my phone, created an account, and got to exploring and reading. Again: So. Much. Fun.
I’m obsessed with this place! I’m now spending more time on here than any other app, which is huge for me. Let me tell you, it feels great. It’s like I can literally feel the cobwebs being dusted away from in between the squiggly crevices of my brain. I’ve been meaning to move away from social media apps like TikTok and Instagram because the brain rot I experience is so serious and so tiring, and this app is great because it gets the gears moving. It might even single-handedly fix my attention span.
The conversations I see people having on here are so different than other platforms — people actually put thought and care into what they say. I’ve only seen this in comments under my YouTube videos (not to brag or anything). And I really enjoy reading what people have to say in general. I think the platform itself is really cool and unique.
I was going to gatekeep it from people in my life, but, remember, that I am a yapper and also unable to make moves in silence. I have to share what’s going on in my life with someone(s) at all times or I will explode. My bestie had a blogger moment back in college, so I thought it would be up her alley and she would share the excitement with me. And she did!
Kita
is now also obsessed with Substack, and I proudly take 100% credit for it.
Anyway, it was a good thing I made that first move because it helped me discover a bunch of publications I now read (and re-read) every day. I read in a wide enough range that it’s become clear there’s no “right way” to Substack. I’ve come across newsletters that post multiple times a day to once every other month in the short time I’ve been here. Here are a few newsletters that I’m fond of and keep gravitating towards everyday:
- by
Tempest in a Teacup
Aradhana
I came across a Tempest in a Teacup post on the notes section of my homepage. I didn’t think much about the article before opening it, but it ended up literally taking my breath away. I immediately went and read the other two posts, then read all three again. I can’t wait to see more from this newsletter! The writing style, the language, the vibes — all immaculate.
- by
evie en rose
Evie
Another random find that I fell in love with at first-read. Evie’s writing has a charisma that has absolutely enchanted me. I’m serious when I say that I’ve been binging all of her posts for the past few days. I wanted to gatekeep evie en rose, but I’m actually obsessed. So.
- by
The Certified Readers Department
Amanda!
Amanda’s post, “How to be 'Substack Famous’”, going viral was the first thing that greeted me upon creating this account, and it was the first thing I read, as well. I was too shy and nervous to comment on it at the time, but went back a few days later to do so. Dear Reader, Amanda is so sweet 😭 I see her interacting with others on my home page every single day and she is so humble with only good things to say. “How to be ‘Substack Famous’” really gave me the push I needed to stop stressing about every single detail and start posting. I didn’t (and still do not) have any intentions to write on here with the goal of being famous, or popular, or having the most followers or whatever, but I did have a fear of being perceived and everyone hating my desire to do some good ol’ stream-of-consciousness yapping. I found this post to be very comforting. I’ve been reading through Amanda’s other posts and they’re all also very nice and really get you thinking =)
I got two new pairs of cargo pants this week! This is a lot for me, someone who prefers to pine over pieces of clothing online and in-store instead of actually buying them. The story here is that I’ve fallen completely in love with cargo pants. The pockets look so silly, but are so awfully convenient and make me feel so cool. I know I said they look silly, but they look silly in a fun, giggly kind of way. In recent years, I’ve been obsessed with more and more pockets — you can thank 2019 Wang Yibo for this. I literally found a pair of boots with pockets on them about a year and a half ago and can’t stop thinking about them. How silly-cute is that???? Imagine wearing those with cargo pants and a jean jacket with equally as many pockets.
What a riot.
For me: more pockets = cooler. And I hope it stays that way because they have changed my life.
The reason I bought two cargo pants is merely self indulgence. I bought cargo joggers for myself in India, and a cute top for my sister at the same shop. I could tell that the shirt might fit kind of awkwardly on her, but convinced myself otherwise because I thought she would like the pattern and the fact that it’s long-sleeved. Well. She did like the pattern and the fact that it’s long-sleeved, but she also thought it was an awkward fit.
I felt bad, so I offered her the beloved cargo joggers that I was excited to wear myself. They fit perfectly, and, because I am, at my core, a people-pleaser, I told her she could keep them. I was pretty sad about this, and I don’t want to lie to you so early on in our relationship, dear Reader, so I must confess that I am still sad about it.
You might not get it, but I spent an entire month in India waiting for someone to take me shopping for clothes that are not traditional wear so I could look for cargo pants, only for it to happen last-minute. I didn’t get to wear them even once, but they look so soft and comfortable.
Alas, it was not meant to be.
I found a pair of cargo joggers that were labeled as jeggings (but are definitely joggers and will be referred to as such) when I was out with my mom earlier this week, though, and am happy with them. They are not the same or even similar to the ones I got in India other than being joggers, but they are comfortable, which is what matters. The second pair is also comfortable, even though they are jeans. I’m not sure what kind, but they have a few Snoopy patches on them and they came with a belt-loop chain that had Snoopy-themed charms on it. I’ll be using that as a keychain for my purse, because I’m not big on belt-loop chains on myself.
The reason these cargo pants are important is because they provided the first bits of “junk” for my junk journal.
I learned about junk journaling last year, and it piqued my interest because it wasn’t the aesthetic layouts type of journaling (which I tried my hand at and failed miserably at during COVID-lockdown), and it wasn’t the type that’s really a diary but you call it a journal because it feels less serious (which I’ve been doing since 2017), but it was a creative way to keep memories. I gave it a little thought, but ultimately forgot about it because I usually stuff things loosely in between the pages of my it’s-not-a-diary-it’s-a-journal and call it a day.
Until a few weeks ago. I somehow entered the junk journaling side of TikTok, and felt the sudden urge to pick it up. I thought back to the clutter in my purse of business cards and other little “trash” I kept in the name of memories but did nothing with. Some things ended up in the trash, regardless. And I thought about how that wouldn’t be the case if I kept a little junk journal to store it all in. I took this as a sign and ordered a little unlined black notebook with one of those little straps that’s meant to hold the book shut and a pen/cil holder attached.
I saved the tags from both cargo pants, and finally made a junk journal spread! I had a lot of blank space left over, but that’s fine because I ended up filling it with chatter, lol. I hope that in the future, I will have more “junk” to fill the pages. I love seeing the ones on TikTok that are bursting at the seams and can’t be shut all the way. I think that’s the sign of a well-loved notebook.
Some miscellaneous things":
Made balushai for the first time this week! It’s a type of Indian sweet. I’m not very fond of sweets — it feels like the older I grow, the more they mess with my throat. One of the soap operas we watch happened to mention balushai, and my grandmother wanted to give it a go. It was a hit with the family.
I got a copy of Mary Oliver’s Upstream, but have yet to open it. She’s my favorite poet at the moment, and a really big inspiration (when it comes to nature as a muse). Upstream is a collection of essays that I want to read so I can learn more about the thought process behind her work.
I’m one of those people who is scared to use stickers in case I end up hating where I’ve put them, or wanting them for something else. I also feel guilty letting them sit around :( I think I’m going to start using them in my junk journal. I saw a quote a while ago that said “Personalize everything you own, or die with nothing to your name”. This has really stuck (LOL) with me, but I still keep backing out at the last second. Maybe I just need to be more spontaneous with this…
I’ve been trying to figure out how to balance writing every type of thing that I want to without posting every single day. Posting every day sounds nice, but I know myself, and I know that I would burn out in about a month and give up on Substack altogether. I love stream-of-consciousness writing (obviously…), but I want to exercise incorporating more purple prose, because that’s another love of mine. Be on the lookout for all types of posts in the future, this is a reminder that I have no set niche or topic I’ll be following.
That’s all for this post :3 thanks for stopping by, stick around if you feel like it, and I’ll see you when I see you — be kind, be smart, and stay safe everyone. Byeeeeeeeeeeeeeee~
xx Sonali ᡣ˶ᵔ ᵕ ᵔ˶𐭩 ♡
p.s. pls ignore any typos, thx :3
