The very best of 2023
What was your favourite not controversial issue of the year?
Welcome to the annual wrap-up of Not Controversial! 🥳
[If this email cuts off for you, please click “See more” — would very much appreciate your feedback at the end, and it can be anonymous too!]
Doing a yearly round-up is always easier when your year’s been overwhelmingly good. 2023’s been a mixed bag for me1, between creative & mental burnout and physical setbacks (an inflamed wrist), so I almost didn’t want to do this. But it’s important to look back and give credit to the times we showed up and did our best even (and especially) when we didn’t want to.
If you’re new to my annual round-ups, I pick 10 issues to highlight at the end of the year — 5 reader choices and 5 author faves. This year’s pool is smaller, and in the interest of sharing some other interesting stuff, we’ll do 3 each for 2023. I’ll share some behind-the-scenes about my thoughts and feelings while I was penning these. Lez go!
Quick stats for the number-lovers:
I sent out 14 issues in 2023 (For comparison, I sent out 40 in 2022 and 21 in 2021). Two of these issues were round-ups & update newsletters.
We grew from 937 subscribers (Jan 01) to 1,251 readers (Dec 19).
228 readers (👋🏼) found me from 28 (22 currently active) Substack publications recommending Not Controversial to their subscribers.
April, June, (July), & (Dec) were the only months I didn’t write a newsletter this year. (Months) only had round-ups or updates, so I don’t count them as full-fledged editions.
I’ve had roughly 20,000 views from ~13,000 visitors in 2023 (!!)
2023 Reader Favourites
Is it more expensive to be poor than rich?
The world is rigged to let the rich stay rich, while the poor dig themselves deeper into poverty.
Tl;dr: yes, it is. This was the first newsletter I sent this year, and I clearly started strong.
🏆 When I average out the numbers, this is the most-liked & most-commented-on issue of 2023.
I enjoyed writing this edition because it gave me a chance to flex my writing muscles within culture commentary, and it was an excellent way to share my opinion while also trying to present the reader (you) with as many facts as possible so you can make an informed choice about what you think about this as well.
Why are public spaces so uncomfortable nowadays?
Protecting and working on the welfare of their citizens should be the highest priority for governments, but that’s a pipe dream. So instead, we get pieces of public spaces that are redone under the guise of modern art but make it difficult for us to spend time there.
It’s wild to me that we’ve actively begun designing things to hurt or keep other people away from us — when that energy & those funds could probably be used to help them instead.
Are you being productive enough at work today?
There’s a healthy balance to be found between wanting to know where to improve vs doing a general privacy invasion on your employees on the daily. There’s also a lot to be said to motivate your employees better, trust them more, and recognize that humans are not machines (yet?), so we’re probably not going to be able to be productive 24/7 (or, in this case, 9-5).
I’ve written about work culture & productivity in the past, but this issue felt (and still feels) a bit different since I was a bit softer with how I addressed the topic. I feel a certain way about productivity monitoring (dislike it entirely and find it hella invasive), but I also wanted to try to understand the other side. But really, that just makes for a diluted opinion. I want to return to how I wrote these issues on productivity and asking for a raise at work and keep the same TOV in the future.
If you’ve found value in any edition of this newsletter and want to give me a tiny Christmas/New Year gift, feel free to buy me a coffee!
Nia’s 2023 Favourites
Do we not deserve to take the easy way out?
The easy way is for cowards, for those who want to coast through life without making anything of themselves. We’re not that, so no thank you, we will not be succumbing to the easy life today. We’ll persevere even though there’s an easier path available.
I’m great at giving advice I don’t take. It’s the human in me. Writing this issue was like holding up a mirror to the way I treat myself & the way I view how much & how hard I need to work at something before I allow myself to enjoy it or take a break2. Anyway, do I say and not as I do.
What does a legacy mean to you?
I may not get to leave a ‘conventional’ legacy behind but I can still chase after and create the legacy I want to leave behind. I can still choose to set and then find my life’s purpose, which is the point of finding out your purpose anyway: doing something about it.
One of my favourite newsletter issues across the board to write because I think a lot about the purpose of my life and what I want to have done by a certain age and/or by the time I die. I’m fortunate & privileged enough to have had several opportunities to do some very cool things, but ambitions keep shifting and growing, so there’s always more to be done. But the realization that I’d rather live my life with loved ones, filling it with laughter, friendship & green tea, was bittersweet and will probably set the stage for how I think of life ahead.
The darker side of the holiday season ❄️
The end of a year can make you feel like you’ve not done much at all this year. But I think it’s worth remembering that not every year has to be great or even good. Most of what people post on social media is an extremely curated look into their lives. People only post the highlights and a few well-chosen low points they’re comfortable sharing — but in reality, we’ve no idea what went on behind closed doors.
Technically, this was published in 2022, but because it went out one week before last year’s round-up, it didn’t get a fair chance to be included in either the reader or author faves section. As we move into the holiday season, please take a moment to hold some space for those who are grieving, lonely, or need someone and check in on them when possible. A friend’s university put up invites for international students to join in on a Christmas day lunch, and as I think of my friends who can’t fly home for the holidays, I hope they have something like this to cheer them up in what can be a sad & lonely time. Winters in several countries are absolutely soul-crushing, what with the lack of sun and the cold, so being left out as everyone goes home can be super painful.
The “best” issue of 2023 for Not Controversial was my update on why I hadn’t been writing as frequently this year. I’ve yet to reply to the comments (fully blaming burnout & stress on that), but I was incredibly touched by everyone’s well-wishes & support as I navigated my goals for this newsletter and my physical health limitations.
Thank you for reading Not Controversial & for sticking around 🖤 — whether you joined us yesterday or in May 2021 when we began, I’m grateful for your time and am always open to constructive feedback and criticism.
Tell me what you think of this newsletter!
It's all anon, so please share freely!
And that’s it! I hope you’ve enjoyed reading some of these issues in your inbox and found some you may have missed — enough to keep you going until I’m back in your inboxes with another non-controversial edition on Jan 09, 2024!
Gonna end this email here since it’s a long one, but here’s what I'd like to tell you if you need a little boost of positivity. 🎁 Fun links will be back in Jan 2024!
Thanks for being a HUGE part of my 2023, and I’m excited to see what 2024 brings for you, me, and this newsletter! 🌟
I’m back home, having moved out of Amsterdam because of *gestures at the economic market* and am settling into a familiar yet new life again. The move has been hectic & despite the impromptu break over the last month; I’ll only return to regular programming in 2024, so keep an eye out for me in your inbox.
For example, I fought myself very hard to take breaks from this newsletter throughout this year. Each week I didn’t send an issue out, I was mean to myself, despite knowing that rest isn’t earned and even if it was, I’ve earned it since this is a passion project for a reason.
Nia!!! So good to see this email. I hope you take the time to rest and recharge. It is heartbreaking when plans change because of extrernal factors that are no fault of our own. I love your writing and look forward to the letters. I am eager to read more from you in 2024. happy holidays and may the new year bring good things