Has it always been this loud?


Has it always been this loud?

Heyy.

Last week I stumbled upon a game and spent hours building my virtual farm. This took me off social media for a few days. When I returned, I noticed how loud the place was.

Like the experiences of a hundred people had been injected straight into my brain.

I wondered — is it like that all the time? Had I simply not noticed?

I had to write to you from that question.

I've always had a complicated relationship with social media. This is true and the closest to me can attest to that.

But I write to you to bring your attention to the noise you might not notice. The noise that comes from these platforms.

Do you still hear yourself? Are you aware of how you're feeling right now? Have you had some quiet time in the last few days?

I was pleased to find an activity that fed my quiet more than it fed my noise.

I hope you have that too.

Let me know your thoughts. All my love. Xo

Y.


P.S. I've renamed this newsletter — it's now called A letter from Y.

I've always enjoyed receiving thoughtful emails or letters. A note from a penpal comes to mind. I thought Pause letters should carry that same feeling.

Pause, 22, Jalan 16/6, Petaling Jaya, Selangor 43650
Unsubscribe · Preferences

A letter from Y. – Pause

Letters on life and the things worth noticing. Reflections you can actually respond to.

Read more from A letter from Y. – Pause
Close-up of delicate white flowers in soft focus.

Every single choice takes us there I used to get very anxious about the outcomes of my choices. I have sat with regret one too many times. I have mourned what could have beens. But recently I had a thought that took me to a more pleasing state of being. I was pondering the idea of what's meant for us versus our freedom to choose. How do we 'make sure' we achieve something? Why should we even 'make sure' we get it if it's written for us? How does that measure against our freedom to choose our...

a black and white photo of a tree

Pause March 27, 2026 Nowhere to go. No one to be. I thought about this recently — and wanted to share it with you. — I often think about how fast we move sometimes. About all the things we put on our to do list. I often think about how tired we get at the end of the day. Often from dealing with nothing meaningful in particular. Someone else's deadlines. Schedules that aren't forgiving. It would be nice to create little pockets of time where we have nowhere to go — and no one to be. Nobody...

Geometric shadows cast on a textured wall

Pause March 27, 2026 The courage to use our voice How rare it is to find a woman who speaks her mind with ease.How rare it is to feel comfortable hearing ourselves. This is something I noticed when I began writing. When I first started—while working on a research paper on reflective writing—I was analysing my own practice. I kept a month’s worth of writing for the study, and when I looked back, I noticed something. I was mainly writing about the things I could not say out loud. I looked back...