In November of 2021 as a birthday present to myself, I made a commitment to start a Substack newsletter and publish an essay twice a month for a full year. On January 25, 2022 I emailed Puzzle Flow to a handful of family and friends. Though relatively infrequent, the bimonthly deadline was challenging for me but it was just the push I needed to produce work consistently. It also forced me to publish work that, while arguably good enough, was not perfect. A desire for perfection has prevented me from doing a lot of things and I know better now. A year has passed and for the most part I met my goal, gaining over 300 subscribed readers along the way. Thank you.
On Feeling Safe, a short piece I wrote about gun violence in the wake of the assassination of former prime minister of Japan Shinzo Abe was the most popular post by far. I am grateful to online friend, fellow writer and publisher of
, for recommending it to ! A chance encounter with comedian Dick Gregory that turned into a reflection on New York accents and Make 'Em Say Uhn, a short piece on how learning to communicate in Japanese informs my ability (or lack thereof) to listen are two of my personal favorites. Unexpectedly, I wrote quite a bit about food in 2022. A post on kakigōri, a Japanese shaved-ice dessert, seemed to tap into childhood summertime memories for many readers and proved to be the second most viewed of the year. However, it is White Bread & Miso Soup, a look back on growing up vegetarian along with Sweet and Strong Like Plum Wine that round out my favorite food writing.Looking ahead, I’ve got ideas for new content and possible collaborations. In addition, I want to try my hand at longer form writing that doesn’t necessarily fit here. So I’ve got some planning and reconfiguring to do.
And so I’m going to take a break to try to figure it all out. In the meantime, please let me know what you enjoyed and what you want more of. And while I’m gone, consider taking a look at one of the 17 newsletters I recommend or take a deep dive on Substack on your own. Lots of good stuff out there.
More than anything, I wanted to take a moment to thank you. You read Occasionally Impervious and that means more to me than you could ever know. I thank you and I am grateful.
Take care of yourself. I’ll be back soon.
-Zakia
In Case You Missed It:
Newsletter No. 23 was a look at how Christmas is celebrated in Tokyo.
I’ll be looking forward to whatever you do next. Your posts are quite enjoyable, no matter what the topic. It’s a treat to see Japan through your eyes.
Happy New Year.