17 Again

Dear you,

We’re a third of the way through this year and despite everything that’s happening in the world, it’s personally been a great start to 2024 which is a milestone year for me as I’ll be attending both of my high school’s 10-year reunions in November.

Just last weekend, I reunited with mates from both of these schools at a friend’s engagement party and I honestly walked away feeling like I was 17 again. Picture a cramped up apartment, standing either outside on the balcony or around a kitchen bench with red cups in hand, music playing in the background, disposable cameras flashing and the right mix of both deep and light-hearted conversations that replay in your head on your long drive home from the city to the suburbs. That was my Saturday night and I can’t remember the last time I felt that kind of buzz leaving a party.

The whole premise of this newsletter is for me to keep in touch with dear friends by writing about snippets of my life every week. For most people, the simple solution to that is posting an Instagram story unless you’re stuck in the 19th century like I am…

To me being on Instagram boils down to one thing and one thing only - connection. In previous editions of this newsletter, I may have said IG leads to a false sense of connection. Whether it’s true or false, at the end of the day you do feel more connected by being on it and as someone that’s been off it for 6+ months, I can attest to the opposite ie. feeling disconnected. For instance, I wouldn’t have known about my friend’s engagement had it not been for a mutual who saw their post on Instagram and passing on the news to me at a barbeque. Not to mention losing out of touch with friends overseas which actually accounts for 50% of my subscribers here.

All that being said, I’m looking forward to my 10 year reunions. The last reunion was in 2019 right before lockdown but most of my peers were still studying longer degrees or only in their first year of working at the 5-year mark. Either way, I felt inspired then and from the soundbites I heard last weekend, I’m already motivated and getting new ideas about not only career opportunities but little lifestyle choices too.

💬 Made you think

Someone first told me this in DC last year and I got reminded of it recently again (I believe through a Jamie Dimon interview). This goes against what I wrote in a previous edition where I claimed that you can’t have it all but I was just thinking impatiently as usual.

The next third of the year for me is basically just a tonne of weddings squeezed in the months of June, July and August. On a more spiritual level, I’m excited to be restarting Quran classes every Tuesday night for the next 10 weeks. Taraweeh this year felt like a challenge and I think it was largely because I don’t understand Arabic so these classes are a pretty big step for me considering I haven’t had a teacher since 2007. I realized I learn little to nothing online so I made sure this was in person in a mosque with a friend so I have no excuses.

I hope you’re thriving and feeling pumped to take on the rest of the year. Reply with any thoughts from this letter and/or your views on Instagram.

Till next time,

Azam