Thanking You, My Readers
I have the chance to live the life I crave, and it is only because of you
I am terrible at expressing my emotions. Which is why this brief essay will be wholly inadequate at capturing the depth of my gratitude toward all of you, my readers. Fans feels pretentious and followers makes me sound like a messiah, so readers it is. When I was four and read my first novel, a Famous Five title by Enid Blyton, I decided there would one day be a book with my name on the cover. Today there are four.
Make no mistake: that would not be possible without you. Whether you loved, hated, or were indifferent to my novels, your feedback helped shape, and will continue to shape, every sequel. Without you I would never have learned my novels sometimes have pacing issues, that sometimes I fail to strike the balance between focusing on the characters and the central mystery, and I am working hard to rectify those problems for my next.
However, if you are reading this, you likely know me from here, on Medium, where I have written 330+ articles on topics such as mental illness, productivity, self-improvement, books, writing, movies, video games, and the like. When I started writing on Medium it was solely for self-expression. I suffered from severe depression and anxiety and needed an outlet. A friend of mine recommended Medium.
Over the past three years I have fallen in love with Medium. There is a reason I keep coming back here. My journey on Medium can be classified into three periods: the initial burst, where I wrote dozens upon dozens of articles, the year-long lull where I wrote perhaps two to three a month, and the resurgence over the past three months, when I have begun writing with renewed frequency, with a target of twelve per month.
Recently I completed my undergraduate dual degree in law and business management. I have yet to obtain the final degree, but in the interim I can apply to companies, using a provisional degree. But I now realize I do not want to. I have changed. I am no longer the person who enrolled in the law program. I worked at a firm during my fifth year and it was among my worst experiences in life. I hate corporate culture.
The idea of years of tedious, mind-numbing routine, waking up, wearing a uniform, sitting in a cubicle, is demoralizing. I am not lying or exaggerating: I admire those who work 9–5s. I wish I could. I really do. It would be a stable source of income. But I cannot. I am not wired that way. This is what I want to do. This is all I want to do. I want to be a writer. I want to be an author. This is my calling, my role in society.
All of this has been a long-winded way of saying thank you to each and every one of you, because you are the only reason I get to be a writer, that I get to gradually build my profile, that I get to earn from Medium. Without you I would be nothing. You spend your hard-earned money on a subscription to Medium and whenever you read my work I get a small percentage of your membership fees. You are the only reason I am here.
You cannot begin to understand how grateful I am for all of you. I set up an account on Buy Me a Coffee recently, fully expecting it to lie empty, but a couple of you actually donated! I hoped for that, but I did not expect it. So thank you, all of you. As long as you keep supporting me and giving me a voice, I will be able to bring you quality, research-backed content. I will keep giving to you, as you have been giving to me.
On a final note, I have tried to find good alternatives to Medium, but there really are none. Medium is a remarkable platform. It is not perfect, but it is constantly evolving, and the sheer quality of talent here is stupendous. Medium has its own ecosystem, and I am so, so grateful you all have allowed me to become part of that ecosystem. Without you, I would have to find a corporate job. And I think, I think, I would die inside.
Thank you. From the bottom of my heart, a million times, thank you.
If you enjoy my writing, please consider joining my newsletter for exclusive content and buying me a coffee. I am immensely thankful for all your support.
