Dear Person

I'm writing this article just for you. All of them, actually.

I don't know who you are, I just know you are out there. A blessing and a curse of the internet is that you can be certain that there is someone out there who thinks like you. Maybe you like the sound of people crunching croutons. Maybe you believe the earth is flat. It doesn’t matter. You can find someone who thinks like you, for better or for worse.

At last, we found each other. ☕

To keep it simple, I will just imagine you and me. Talking to another person feels different than talking to a room full of people. For one thing, you can speak at any volume that feels comfortable for both of you. I don’t want to scream into the void. I want to smile into the void and offer it a cup of vanilla chai. I want to feel a sense of warmth back, and sometimes I do.

It also feels less risky to share something personal.

By imagining you, I am changing myself. I could do that privately, but this is not just an exercise. It is not just for me. I really believe you are there. Maybe we can help each other grow.¹

I like turn-based strategy games because you have all the time in the world to choose your path. For some turns, I have played Civilization in near-real-time. That’s how I feel, sitting down to write. I invite you to feel the same as you read. You can let me know if anything is unclear and I’ll try my best not to make it even more confusing.

This will fun. I’m glad you came.

1. This doesn’t have to be a one-way conversation. You can respond to this email, if you are reading it as an email. If you’d like to, you can sign up for the emails on the website. I won’t be able to read every email, but I will always read some of them. We can talk to each other through the void, with comfort in the uncertainty that anyone is listening.