i wrote this in 7 minutes

and i think it shows

Saturday has arrived, and so has a new email in your inbox from Sushi Box. I have promised myself to keep this one unedited, raw and frankly, kind of imperfect. No, I haven’t checked back for the right usage of oxford comma, that one metaphor that makes sense in my head and synonyms for the words I overuse. This one is a short and sweet read, bringing back your attention to some human, messy and real words.

I have been reading a fair bit lately, especially essays. The sheer talent and wisdom is impeccable, but I also see far too many cases of generated/regurgitated content that breaks my brain just a little bit more than I’d usually allow. Some of them are genuinely brilliant. You know, the kind that make you want to quit writing forever because how could you ever measure up. There's also this epidemic of perfectly polished, algorithmically optimized content that feels a little like it was pre-assembled in a factory I didn’t know existed. It's superbly technically correct, thoroughly researched and completely soulless. I want to read authentic words, even if they’re bad. Especially, if they’re bad. Please show me where your train of thought doesn’t take you to the wisest station or when you forget to use punctuation in the best way possible.

I want to read words that feel like they were written by an actual human being who occasionally runs out of coffee and brain fuel mid-sentence and maybe uses "literally" a few too many times but means it every time. I want writing that feels like we're having one of those conversations at 1 AM on your porch where everything seems profound and connected in our shared bubble of intoxication, even though we're probably just tired and a little tipsy on cheap white wine. The kind of talk where you repeat yourself three times because the idea feels so important, and your friend nods along like you've just solved a murder mystery when really you've just rediscovered something everyone learned in high school. I want to reach into what you think, authentically. Can we have some more of it please?

There are writers here who get this completely. Their work doesn't read as imperfect or trite at all. It reads as real. As human. As the kind of thing you'd take screenshots of in your phone to read again when you need reminding that other people's brains work in similarly chaotic ways. It’s refreshing, so original and straight from their minds. Which I simply admire. Click on what you might like and get ready to transport yourself into their porch hangout experience.

1. “No one is missing me right now” - Antonia Bentel

2. “Poetic silence - From Anand Bhavan to 3039 and back” - Amit Charles

3. “Souls we were meant to find” - Alina Peng

4. “Can intellectual intimacy replace physical desire?” - Caitlyn

5. “The strength it takes to be soft” - Rose

Thanks for reading this far! I churned this up in some seven odd minutes because I missed writing and connecting with you lot on here. It's not one of my best works and definitely unpolished, but it's mine, and boy is it so real. For this Saturday, I claim this to be more than enough. My more carefully crafted and coherent words will find you in the lulls of your day soon enough, but until then—read something real, drink your tea, and stay you!