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Is This Even Real is back! Finally!

I kept delaying this relaunch because I wanted to do it “well.”

Which is funny, because “well” or “perfect” is a made-up place your brain sends you when it’s scared of being perceived. And y’all must know: I go to this special place in my brain quite often. I overthink every day of my life. I’m even overthinking this newsletter I’m about to send right now!

So yes, here we are. I’m relaunching because I miss writing. I needed to write long essays. And because we’re living in a moment that makes zero sense. Literally the weirdest, hellish timeline we could possibly be in.

(Except for this special moment when Alysa Liu stepped on the ice and gave it her all. It was a healing moment for all Millennial women, especially moi. But that’s for another newsletter.)

Anyway. We’re overstimulated and under-contextualized. Everyone’s posting, but no one’s processing. The internet is loud, the world is on fire, and somehow we’re still expected to answer emails like everything is normal.

We’re drowning in fleeting moments of 15-minute fame: trends, brands, memes, news, AI slop, conspiracy-core, influencer scripts, hot takes that aren’t hot takes, “healing,” and whatever new identity the algorithm assigned you this week.

And I’m not above it. I’m in it too. This week, the algorithm decided I was a 23-year-old dark academia princess, which I am not. I, too, get lost in the algorithmic void of things. Which is why I need a place to think in public again.

Last week, I went to the movies with my friend Stephanie, watched Wuthering Heights, and left with a full thesis in my head about how something can try to be scandalous and still end up conservative. That’s when I remembered, “Oh, right. I can write about this!” I watch. I spiral. I connect dots. I write. And Is This Even Real? is the culmination of these things.

Also, it looks different now. I entered a rebrand era and reemerged with a new skin. I’m a butterfly! Same brain, though. I want to give a HUGE thank you to Jen Lynch, designer/art director extraordinaire, for making it feel like something I actually want to be part of. An extension of my ✨very✨colourful self. Y’all should hire her for your design needs. Follow her on Instagram! Give her some love!

What you’ll get

Yes. We’re moving things around, and I’m organizing my writing in four categories. I call it the system. Expect it to be different, while remaining a bit of the same. Here’s how it will go:

THE SELF
Identity, taste, becoming, and what the internet keeps revealing about us (and mostly, about my own cultural consumption).

THE EMOTION
The feelings underneath the take. The subtext. The psychic weather. (Nothing is random. And yes, YOU CAN FEEL THINGS. Even if they’re on your algorithm.)

THE CURE
Recs, rituals, and soft exits from the doomscroll. Small ways to make life feel less cursed.

THE IDEA
Receipts + context + who’s cashing in on you buying the trend. This is the analysis your feed refuses to do. And it’s the one I wanna do.

All this dropped twice a month, like emotional rent, into your inbox. And sometimes on socials when I’m acting right.

What I want from you

Read it. Reply to it. Tell me what you agree with, what you hate, what you’re confused by.

And if it hits, forward it to your best friend, your group chat from hell, your secret lover, your crush, your mom. (Especially your mom. Moms love context.)

See you very soon. ;)