THERE WAS A TIME when the term “multipotentialite” did not shoot a dart of cringe down my spine. I used to lump myself in that sorry group of people who had just too many interests and had too little time; and so, I too, had inhaled varying doses of ‘copium,’ deluding that I can do eight things all at once.
Note: This predated us entering our collective ‘delulu’ era, which it also is not…exactly the same thing. Believing in one’s self is fine on its own, but it has a darker, more evil twin — not showing up for your dreams.
That’s just the sick punchline. Multipotentiality (for someone like this writer who isn’t neurotypical) had me hoard a full shelf of multiple potentials, sealed in mason jars, waiting to be let out. Writing and creativity, my two greatest passions, had been lidded shut, too, in the process.
It’s not like having multiple interests is a curse to be dispelled, either. Other people seem perfectly well-oriented to carry all of their varied passions, with the ease and finesse of Carrie Bradshaw “hobbling” across the street crossing. I consider having various skills, interests, and hobbies a good thing…in a perfect, infinite world. It is a truth to be accepted, a circumstance to make peace with.
But see, life will constantly remind you of the finiteness of everything. Time, money, energy, creativity, attention, love, and passion — all of it, finite. Oliver Burkeman constantly reminds us that we, fate be willing, will only have four thousand weeks on earth. That makes our primary task to tap in and determine whatever the heck we want to do with our time, money, energy, creativity, attention, love, and passion.
Why am I telling you this? Why start with such a grim frame of mind at the top of this ‘thought garden’? This is a necessary step if I didn’t want writing and creativity to be locked away in the catacombs where my other creative pursuits slowly rot away because I didn’t follow through. I consider this a reiteration of my love for writing and telling stories and creating cool things on the internet. That I choose it, above others…always. That I’m keeping the lid on other potentials unless we open it together. That I would have myself reminded to constantly say “yes” to this one thing, even if it means saying “no” to countless others.
I’d make sure that this time the paint dries, the leather patinas, the hands callous. I’d take it like a contract as binding as marriage—a commitment to myself. Finally.
ON TO THE FUN STUFF. This ‘thought garden’ is meant as a repository for my personal musings. Much of it can be random, but since it revolves around my life and work, it will likely be about writing, creativity, culture, the arts, and my travels around the world.
I’ve tilled the ground (garden puns, yay!) with only two available sections:
- Thoughts, which will be the primary feed of articles and essays (a blog, remember those?)
- Reading is a running log of the books I’ve read and the notes I’ve taken while reading them.
For now and for the foreseeable future, those are the only two pages you’d want to navigate. I’ve made the decision to keep the design as simple as I can, and that’s owed thanks to Anders Noren’s theme, Pulitzer, which gave me a good framework to make the site, aesthetically, my own. Oh, and if you’re wondering about the type, I’m using varying weights of Outfit, which is a free Google Font.
As for the posts’ cadence, I didn’t set out to publish regularly. If I have something interesting to say or a good story to tell, I’ll hit send, but ultimately, I advise against holding your breath.
Off-site, here are my other ongoing projects.
- Deep Cuts, a horror newsletter and YouTube channel. I send a weekly horror roundup and post horror reviews and analyses on the ‘tube.
- Armand Writes, my freelance copywriting practice. I service B2B & SaaS companies, primarily.
Other places you can find me: I log every film I watch on Letterboxd, but for quick social updates, I’m on Instagram and Threads!
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