Send the Damn Text
A message to anyone feeling stuck.
In our twenties, my friend’s brother was widely regarded as a bit of a bum. We’re Indian, after all.
We like to tell ourselves that lives must change slowly.
That we need a concrete plan.
Clarity. Certainty. A clear next step.
But most lives look the same externally for years — until all the messy things you’ve been doing quietly collide with opportunity.
And then boom. Overnight success.
He was the only one in his family to go to university. Studied film. Had big creative ambitions.
But by twenty-five, he was back at home. Dead-end job. Still obsessed with film.
Always making things. Experimenting. At one point he was huge on Snapchat — no one really took it seriously.
Then a job came up.
He applied. Called the London office of his current company. Tracked down someone already in a similar role. Asked questions. Learned exactly what they did — then told the new employer that was his day-to-day.
Within months, he’d moved to Switzerland.
Earning well over £80k. Doing work that looked impressive — but was really just a culmination of all the “random” things he’d been playing with for years.
Another friend quit her job on a whim. No plan. No clarity just a gut feeling.
There were false starts. A lot of them. Interviews that went nowhere. It wasn’t looking good.
Then a friend of a friend mentioned something — completely left field.
Now she works in a school, helping disadvantaged kids and handing out detentions like Pringles. She loves it.
Looking back, it all looks neat. You can trace the thread.
But when you’re in it, it doesn’t feel like a story.
It feels like fog. Panic. No clear way out.
Most of the time, nothing will come of it.
The message won’t be replied to.
The meeting won’t lead anywhere.
The opportunity will dissolve.
But if you keep your life closed, the odds stay at zero.
Stagnation isn’t inevitable.
But staying closed makes it so.
And that shit scares me.
It should probably scare you too.
Thanks for reading. If you like essays that are observational, honest, and occasionally close to the bone — I publish every Sunday.