Making you question job loyalty, romantic love, passion-fueled careers and more
Welcome to a round-up of some underrated editions of this newsletter you might have missed!
Hi friends, welcome to the Saturday of the year! (Ever since someone mentioned that October-November-December feels like Friday-Saturday-Sunday, I haven't been able to stop thinking about it.)
I'm writing this from my deathsick bed. Like scores of people around the earth, the changing weather has given me a cold/fever/flu1. Idk, it's something (not covid, thankfully — I've had covid twice, and this is nothing like that).
So, while I drink plenty of warm fluids and try to rest without stressing my brain out, here's a cute little roundup to keep you company this week. Seeing as we've now got a growing readership of 850+ folks, there are some old gems (even before this newsletter was rebranded to Not Controversial) that you might have missed.
Your job isn't your family, and neither should it be the sole source of your identity
One of my earliest issues (number 3, to be precise), I go back to it often to remind myself that workplaces aren't family — your actual family can't replace you, but your job sure as hell will. Jobs come and go, but your mental and physical health, time with your family, and your dignity/will to live are all things that can wear away when you pour too much of yourself into your job, no matter how amazing it promises to be.
"It's a bitter fact that is most often overlooked. We need to learn to draw boundaries between our work spaces and private lives." - Anon
Recognizing that many women and their uncredited contributions have shaped our world
The patriarchy has been incredibly awful for pretty much everyone, but one specific way I'd like to highlight is how women in caretaker/homemaker roles never receive credit for their contributions to inventions and innovations. From typing out manuscripts to co-writing some of history's most famous songs (Imagine), their work has been silent and unacknowledged — either the men don't want to give credit or don't realize that they should share credit.
Should creative professions get less pay simply because folks are passionate about it?
I wrote this at a time when publishing professionals were quitting the industry in droves. From burnout to being overworked and underpaid, there was plenty going wrong — yet the salaries haven't changed very much to reflect just how eye-wateringly expensive life has gotten.
I've got a part two to this issue brewing in my mind with a special focus on teachers and nurses — two vocational professions that have to care for others, and yet we continue to disrespect them with poor pay and working conditions across the world.
"Yep, this sounds extremely unfair. Publishing seems a mad place where imagination/creativity/talent is undervalued, when one would have thought it would be prized above everything. Every time I hear about another celebrity cookbook/memoir/crime novel/children's book I die a little inside. Advances for these people are unjustifiably high, given the percentage of the last three options that really are successful. I wish you the best of luck in your future endeavours." - E Lawrie
Give it up for your tiny wins just as much as you do when you hit the big goals
The end of the year is nigh, and soon, we'll have year-end recaps and best-of posts coming out of our ears. But as fun and gratifying as it is to highlight the big goals you've managed to crush, take a moment to celebrate your tiny wins too!
After attending a co-working/coaching session hosted by Sonia Simone, I began writing down my weekly accomplishments — even the basic ones that I thought didn't deserve any mention (cause, well, I had to do them anyway). It helped me see that I actually do get a lot done in a week!
Romantic love isn't the most important kind of love there is
I wrote this around valentine's day earlier this year. As more and more of my friends enter into what I anticipate are long-term relationships, I'm more keenly aware of how society puts more pressure on romantic relationships than platonic/familial ones. Adult friendships take a backseat to life and all its many obligations anyway, but it would be nice if we didn't categorize or rank love and companionship, you know?
"Love this and appreciate your thoughts on things like this that we all experience! Genuinely the only 'newsletter' I read :)" - Anon
Other roundup editions if you'd like to check out more underrated issues:
Women's Day Roundup (actually useful information for women instead of meaningless platitudes and marketing)
How did you like this roundup issue?
I’m not saying I’m already working on it, but I do want to do a 2022 wrap-up at the end of the year. I would be delighted if you shared your favorite issue of the year or the one that made you subscribe — reply to this email or use the anon link below!
Wanna buy me a coffee to show your love for this newsletter? Please and thank you!
Stuff I've been checking out from my bed:
It's not a secret that I'm a huge BTS fan2 (it's literally in my bio on Twitter), so it's a fair assumption that I've been fairly teary listening to the goodbye song (The Astronaut) by one of the group members (Jin).
It's a day late but tomorrow is All Souls Day (which is still as spooky as Halloween in some ways), so here's a review of Dracula that I thoroughly enjoyed!
There are some great recommendations here in case you're in a reading rut and need a fun book to immerse yourself in (might be helpful for any reading challenges you need to complete?).
Some quick (and shocking) math to tell you why we definitely need to focus more on menstrual health and research.
A cognitive bias cheat sheet — does your work for you.
Leaving you with some pretty spacey artwork:
I’ll see you next week — maybe not at the same time, but definitely the same place.
Feel free to send in all your tips and advice, thank you in advance!
I know k-pop isn’t everyone’s cup of tea, but if you’re gonna be rude about it, we’ll have words.