Hello you, and welcome to the first ever edition of the brownieblend newsletter. Making a newsletter has always been something i wanted to do ever since i started off as a creator on Instagram back in 2015, to have a place beyond the constraints of the algorithm where i could pour my heart out into the words i write, knowing for sure there are people who would want to read them. It gives a feeling of exclusivity to you as an audience because you will be consuming the kind of content i might not post online, and peace to me as a creator knowing my content is being read by those who actually give a fuck about it.
This newsletter will come out monthly and with every edition, it will consist of some of the best and hardest hitting write ups from my end along with all the important affirmations / things you would not only just want but also need to listen to, a few exciting and therapeutic journal prompts, and just me telling you about all things i find interesting, you know? I mean its a newsletter, of course i’ll tell you about what’s new in my life, if there would be any, i hope. Overall, this is a very personal project, something very close to my heart and i think something i would be more inclined and interested towards more than creating content on an app which limits you from reaching out to your own existing audience, let alone, a newer one
Part One: Some of my favourite pieces
For when you feel replaceable
You're irreplaceable, and i hope you know that very well. I'm sorry if you were ever made to feel as if you were not, and i'm sorry if all that made you question your worth and feel more insecure than you already used to, but the truth is you are unique in countless ways and there's no one quite like you. And honestly i could tell you how, i could write those pretty little sentences about how you're so different and make you feel good about yourself, but who are we kidding, that reassurance will last only about a few minutes until you'll start feeling replaceable again. So here's the thing, consider this a therapy exercise, write down five things that make you, you, five things about yourself that you think set you apart from the everyone else, five things you think you admire about yourself, and then think, if you're really as forgettable and replaceable as you feel, or is it just the trauma talking?
Don't make finding love the primary purpose of your life
Looking for love so desperately and making it the most important priority in our life only ends up creating a void in our heart which grows bigger with time, making us feel empty and incomplete, which honestly is one of the worst things we could do to ourselves.
Some of us spend so much time wanting to be loved by someone and to find love, that we end up making it our life's primary purpose to do so. Every time we look around and look at people in love, we feel sad because we feel we don't have what they do - which then makes us feel alone and lonely. Looking for love so desperately and making it the most important priority in our life only ends up creating a void in our heart which grows bigger with time, making us feel empty and incomplete, which honestly is one of the worst things we could do to ourselves. I think some of us really need to understand that we don't need anyone to feel loved or complete, we don't need anyone to make us happy.— we just need ourselves.
At the end of the day unless we learn to be happy alone, we shouldn't look for love, because if we find love with that void still in our heart— we'll only end up sucking away the energy of the other person since all we'll ever do is be dependent on them to make us feel good. We'll end up sucking the good parts of a relationship which could have been beautiful otherwise. And I think that's why they say to not fall in love with someone unless you fall in love with yourself first.
Did I ever tell you about my favourite colour?
I don't have a favourite colour, but i guess i'll have a favourite person one day, whose favourite things would automatically become my favourite, be that the sushi i never liked or a colour like magenta pink.
i've never had anyone ask me what my favourite colour is, but if she were to do so, i'd give her three guesses. three guesses to guess my favourite colour, without once worrying if she'd get it right at the first try or not, because the truth is, i don't have one, i don't think i've ever had one, so i'll just go with whichever colour she would blurt out, or whichever would be her favourite. I'd say yes, even if it's magenta pink, I, without hesitation, would say yes, and then watch her jump out of excitement like a little kid for having guessed it at the first try.
So no, I don't have a favourite colour, but i guess i'll have a favourite person one day, whose favourite things would automatically become my favourite, be that the sushi i never liked or a colour like magenta pink.
Part 2: Itish's personal update(s)
I've stopped finding love interesting
And honestly I don't think I'm going to write a love poem or a love write up again, not for a very long time at least— and I think that's because somewhere, I've just stopped thinking about it, stopped caring about it, stopped seeing the excitement and beauty in it, and I know, it comes as a bit of a surprise or a shock, especially to my own self since there was once a time love was all I could think about, it was all I wanted, but that has changed. As of today, there are things in my life that have a much greater priority, and love amongst them stands nowhere. And when I say thinking of love doesn't excite me anymore— now that could be a drastic change since I'm now probably turning into that guy from the movies who doesn't care about love because he's happy with all the money he has and also because he's so self sufficient, and if you were to tell this to my past self, he'd laugh in your face. But I guess if a hopeless romantic like me could just stop finding love exciting, then I think that really proves how we have no fucking idea how much we're going to grow or change in just a few years and how life is so unpredictable.
are you in a similar situation?
Absolutely, i find myself less inclined towards these things
Nope, hopeless romantic since day one
I'm taken, i gladly do not relate
Part 3: Where I show you my unreleased or less seen work
Why some people take longer to move on
we tend to rebuild ourselves in beautiful ways, with lessons that they taught us and scars they left us with— we mould our hearts right back into shape, dripping with gold and eventually get to a point where nothing about us reminds us of them
I think one of the reasons why some of us take longer to move on from the person we loved is because we miss who we were with them. We miss the way our hearts smiled everyday thinking of their very existence and the way our soul danced when the realisation would kick in of them actually belonging to us, being our person, you know? “I wonder how did i get so lucky”— you’d ask yourself every time you thought of them, and it would make you feel elated, as if you were on cloud nine— it would make you love life more and in turn make you love yourself more. I mean, isn’t that why they say “when you love someone who’s kind to your heart, they make you fall in love with yourself too”? So eventually and fortunately when they leave, when our hearts break, we miss them, but more than that, we miss the person happy person we were with them, the way we’d always be on a constant high, and we hate how all of a sudden we’ve become a crying mess unable to get a hold of ourselves. It’s the deep rooted attachment we had with who we once were which hurts and makes moving on tougher than it’s supposed to be. But you see, that’s just the thing, after they leave us in pieces, we tend to rebuild ourselves in beautiful ways, with lessons that they taught us and scars they left us with— we mould our hearts right back into shape, dripping with gold and eventually get to a point where nothing about us reminds us of them. It takes time, but we get there, we heal, we move on, we grow, we always eventually and inevitably do.
You are on your way to where you're meant to be
The disappointments, the heartbreaks, the rejections- everything guides us towards where we're meant to be
Life doesn't always play out the way we want it to, or the way we think it would. Sometimes no matter how badly we want something, we don't get it, and that's because we're meant to get something better and something greater. Sometimes life takes us in an unexpected direction and that's because it's taking us where we're supposed to go, and I think all the hurdles in our way act as barriers just pointing us in the right direction. The disappointments, the heartbreaks, the rejections- everything guides us towards where we're meant to be and that's why if you're at a confusing place in your life, I want you to trust yourself and know that all these instances, these new beginnings you didn't think you'd have— will soon one day make perfect sense and you're on your way to where you're truly meant to be.
(*there will be 2-3 more in the actual regular blend editions, since this one is free, i'm keeping the length short)
A few journal prompts for you to feel just a little bit better
Body Scan: Close your eyes and focus on your physical sensations. Scan your body from head to toe, noticing any areas of tension, relaxation, or discomfort. Write down what you observe without judgement. This can help ground yourself in the present moment and clear mental clutter.
Gratitude Shower: Think of 5 things you're grateful for, big or small. It can be anything from a delicious meal to a supportive friend. Write about why you appreciate them and how they enrich your life. Focusing on gratitude can shift your perspective and clear negative thoughts.
Free Flow Writing: Set a timer for 5 minutes and write continuously without stopping, regardless of what comes to mind. Don't worry about grammar or spelling, just let the thoughts flow freely. This can be a great way to release pent-up emotions and clear your headspace.
Remember to be as honest as you can be with yourself while doing so
The Part where this comes to an end
(but before you read the end, here is the song i was vibing to while making this at 1am)
And that's pretty much it for this free trial, don't you think? Having made this, i kind of feel giving out so much for just $1.5 on an average is me undervaluing myself by a lot, but hey, we all start somewhere, and my primary aim for this newsletter is to first make people happy, inspire them in whatever ways i can, and then making money from it.
"Do enough good and the money will come automatically"
There are so many more things that i plan on including in the premium newsletters such as:
shouting out an artist (writer/ graphic designer / singer + any creative field) i find inspiring and believe deserve more recognition
a few snippets of the books i haven't published yet (and don't plan on doing so anytime soon)
Journal Prompts that will help you de-clutter your mind and bring you closer to your emotions
Heck i even plan on interviewing some of my favourite artists and if somehow i'm able to do that, you'll find them in these newsletters
And as the name has it, a "news"letter, all the things i would not otherwise disclose publicly would be found here, just some minor to major life updates, you guys will hear it first.
and i might, (might,) shitpost with whatever interesting or stupid ideas that come to my mind (the possibilities are truly endless)
Overall, i want this to be as fun for you as it is going to be for me, and if you as a reader can benefit from it in any ways possible, that'll be more than enough for me. I Hope this was worth telling you why you should subscribe to the brownieblend, i hope to see you on the other side, until then, i'll take your leave.
~Itish Pande
(@writix // creator of The Brownieblend Newsletter)
