first

hey friends,

the first day of a month near the end of the year has me thinking a lot about how i approach starts and finishes—and whether or not i use starts and finishes as moments to hold myself back or to push myself forward, with either self-loving or self-sabotaging intentions.

sections of this week’s letter below reflect the ongoing conversation with myself about the musings mentioned above.

as always: thank you for reading, listening, and being here with me.

-SN

the story

first

she collected beginnings

she craved starts

she made The New

her art

one day

she readied herself

for yet another morning

but the blossoming air

didn’t feel so fresh

she supposed it was time

—and it had only been a matter of time—

that she retired

from entry level

insights and revelations

it was time

—high time—

for a setting

of sorts

for a settling

into

something

some steady

ascent or decline

it didn’t matter

too much

which way

so much

as it mattered

that the way

wasn’t so wayward

so the sun rose

and her heart sank

because she knew

that an identity

that she had clung to

that she had belonged to

had fallen away from her

like a too-worn name tag

that had lost all of its adhesiveness

by noon

she was in deep mourning

but by dusk

a very old truth

about every new thing

dawned on her:

all endings

are beginnings

and so

as the sun saw its way out

her heart ran with open arms

to welcome

her last

first…

the conversation

the questions

do you prefer a perfect start or an imperfect continuation? either way, are you very sure that you want what lies on the other sides of the finish lines? but anyway, do you even need to be sure? if you surveyed all of the journeys that you’re currently traversing, how do you feel about the past launch days, the present mundane days, and the future after days?

the curation

• if you have the time, the entirety of this fantasy news update by Daniel Greene is worth watching, but i would recommend starting at 13:50 to hear how a “new” Bram Stoker story was found after over a hundred years of hiding. it honestly makes you wonder if the book recently decided that it wanted to be found… ooOOOoo… :) but October is behind us, so we’ll move on from spooky stuff and from one hidden masterpiece…

• …to “These Georgian & Regency Era Dramas are Hidden Masterpieces” curated by a new-ish YouTuber. i will watch and rewatch all of these gems between the Hallmark and Netflix Christmas movies that i will be devouring until the new year.

• and for this week’s last entry in this section—as a word nerd i couldn’t click fast enough to listen to linguist Gareth Roberts answer questions about word origin stories.

the playlist

new month, new playlist! this month’s musical vibe is “fireplaces, steamy mugs, flannel blankets, and heartfelt thanks”—from the playlist’s description. i’ll add tracks each week, but we’re opening with a handful of tunes that i hope make you feel cozy and content as the weather cools and crisps. i’d like to highlight Dreams by The Cranberries for uncountable reasons but primarily because of this scene from You’ve Got Mail that i will defend as the most perfect, autumnal, romcom scene ever filmed in the history of cinema. :)

the readings

sometimes the best book recommendations come from strangers. so, i turned to a stranger who had turned to other strangers to recommend some books for you this week! in this video, Morgan Long visited three bookstores and asked random patrons for their reading picks. Paladin’s Grace by T. Kingfisher has made it to the top of my TBR list.

the good stuff

Ne'Kiya Jackson and Calcea Johnson have been at it again! and again! and again…! these two teenaged math geniuses have come up with nine more trigonometric proofs to the Pythagorean theorem. last year, they were the first to discover a proof after 2,000 years of mathematicians staring down the slopes of hypotenuses.

and yes, it is super fun to say “hypotenuses” out loud. so go on. try it… see? :)

the awe

i’m introducing a new section this week highlighting stuff that fills us with wonder and existential crises. :) i mean who doesn’t love tumbling into the void now and again, right?

to kick off this section, here is an article summarizing a study that attempted to measure the “speed” of quantum entanglement, which should really just be described as “instant” and left at that. but no; apparently, quantum entangled particles react to each other “on attosecond timescales — a billionth of a billionth of a second.”

here is a bit of the article’s closing statement: “So next time you blink, remember that in less than a trillionth of that time, entire quantum events are unfolding…”

kay.

will do.

right after my silent scream into the wtf-ery of the universe.

the affirmations

who You Were

who You Are

and who You Will Be

are all worthy

of your own

admiration and adoration

for no other reason than

you are You

the archives

so our first letter was in August, which means that we’re entering our fourth month together (!!!). we’re nearing the end of an entire season of this project, so it might be time to look back at some of the moments that we’ve shared. something about our conversation this week reminded me of the story in this is good. i’m excited to see what connections form from some of these snippets and sections piecing themselves together as we continue…

i am all gratitude

for all of you.

again and again and again…

thank you.

—Sarah Narei

thumbnail photo by Nick Fewings on Unsplash