Writing For Myself
[This is a repost of my Substack Post, if you appreciated it then kindly consider giving it a like on that Platform as well :) https://longformthoughts.substack.com/p/writing-about-myself ]
Hi! It’s 13/02/2026
As I start to write this “About Me” section for this publication, I’m thinking about how “long form” it should be :)
The tl;dr is that I’m an overwhelmed and confused kid. My Substack bio reads “trying to stay present while staying curious.” I’ve carved out this publication to allow myself to freely express myself, without any constraints.
These blogs are, first of all, for me. I’m quite clear that I’m writing this blog for myself. Not only as a reader but also as the writer - I want to have fun while writing. The first criteria for me in deciding stuff like topics, design, etc., is about how I want it to be.
Let me tell you about three pieces of advice which I think are some of the most useful things I’ve heard.
The first piece of advice is that one needs to learn to differentiate between what they really want, what is being influenced by others, and the khayali pulavs (lofty dreamy assumptions - like winning a lottery) we have. I don’t know how to do this yet, but I think the first step might be to do what you want to do,— taking initiative for the sake of yourself, and maybe over a long period of time observe recurring feelings. [Theoretically though, for gaining knowledge, the better option is to find a person who knows the answer and ask them]. I hope I can figure many things out across the years.
I want to understand things for my own benefit. Across these writings, as a writer, I’m offering my perspective on topics. Would better perspectives be available? Surely. Can I be fully wrong in my op-eds? Statistically it seems quite likely (insert a nervous smile and a gentle laugh).
Since yesterday, I’ve been thinking a lot about the topics of future posts. I want to write 101s about Macroeconomics and Policymaking. I also think devlogs like my first post can be quite useful, so now I’m thinking of trying out many things - coding a reasoning model from scratch, trying to make an RL agent, simulating game theory scenarios. I have no idea how to do these, but let’s see. When I was writing down all these things which I want to understand, the questions I’m curious about, it felt like a breath of fresh air. Allowing myself to be free. So let’s work on this.
The topics are more beginner-based: 101s and beginner/middler devlogs. I think over many years, this might change. Initially I was quite confused about what this blog is or should be: technology or finance? Textbook or op-eds? Based on other writings or an original expression? Include tl;drs or not? I’m making peace with not having all the answers right now.
The second piece of advice is that one should do “real-time analysis.”
I don’t know what this blog will look like 5 years from now, but I do know the next 10 topics I would want to write about. I don’t know how long it’ll take me to put them out, or what my publication schedule would look like, but I do know what to work on next and when.
I don’t know myself, I guess - my own feelings about a number of topics. I think I kind of do and kind of don’t. I hope I can figure many things out across the years. And I can make peace with knowing that since my thoughts about my own self are muddly, the nature of the blog will also be so.
I’m afraid of a lot of things. I think I’ve been more so recently than I used to be. But you know - I’m in a dilemma about what to say and not say on this in a public forum, not knowing how it’ll age with time.
I once asked someone: will the fears and the anxiety subside over time? Like, is it in their nature to go away?
The third piece of advice is that having fears and anxiety is not a bad thing. But when you focus too much on the future, it creates tanaav (tensions). If we try to direct our attention to the present, then these tendencies can inform us by helping us be more alert.
I want to conclude this by introducing you to Aditya Sharan.
He’s doing a dual major - Computer Science and Economics, at BITS Pilani. He has worked on projects implementing AI Agents for Synthetic Dataset Generation, Finetuning LLMs, Modelling Implied Volatility Surfaces and Forecasting them using Transformer-based Architectures.
What he won’t tell you is that he was convinced Chemistry was the future in his first year with the Chemistry major life had awarded to him, before switching to Economics at the first chance. He also won’t admit that he secretly loves making tangible tech stuff and having long conversations about finance and macroeconomics. Though he’ll openly tell you “I’m never gonna be a trader or work in finance” (let’s see what time proves). Aditya likes organizing people and pitching ideas, and has recently gotten involved with the Gen AI scene at BITS.
He really likes to teach stuff. Some people have complimented him about his knack for explaining things and his writing. So, betting on that, believing that what he can offer is special enough, he’s taken this step of launching a blog called Long Form Thoughts (it’s a well-thought name, one must say).
By the way, as a reader you can help with small gestures like liking, commenting, or sharing (maybe even consider subscribing! It’s free). By expressing support in your own way, you can be a part of his journey :)
One thing about him which I slightly dislike is how sometimes he completely switches context from one paragraph to another. But I think even with all those side tangents included, he’s able to weave together something which fulfills the central purpose of the article. I admire that about him. His little sister told him that she’s not interested in reading his stuff because they’re too long (insert puppy eyes). But he cites how the outside world maintains that long form is a stylistic preference that can be defended. In a similar pretentious way, he defends not correcting certain grammatical mistakes in the name of presenting with a certain rawness and honesty.
Aditya, I wish you all the best in this endeavor. All the best for your new blog - may you be consistent.
I want the best for you. Even though I might not understand what that is exactly, what I can tell you are the three best pieces of advice I’ve heard:
Differentiate between what you really want and what’s just khayali pulav. Focus on what’s next, not what’s five years away. Stay present, and let anxiety become alertness.
You’re writing for yourself. That’s enough. That’s everything.
Try to stay in the present while staying curious. I’m rooting for you.
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