Hi.
This is Somil.
It was a cold evening in late December of 2016.
As per my schedule, I was laying down and staring at the ceiling. It is a hobby of mine – staring into nothingness.
While doing this activity, I realised that I need a better form of expression other than random updates on social media I was active on at that point of time.
Facebook wanted me to behave a certain way for friends and family (I am no longer active on Facebook). Instagram wanted me to be a photographer (at that time, now its all brainrot content). LinkedIn wants me to write intelligent content and be serious.
There is nothing wrong in what these myriad platforms want from me. But I cannot behave in a way a platform dictates.
Therefore I would end up cracking jokes on LinkedIn and writing deep work related ideas on Facebook/Instagram which did not make any sense to anyone.
As Walt Whitman said, “Do I contradict myself? Very well then I contradict myself, (I am large, I contain multitudes.)”
And hence with this thought, this blog was born. I wanted my own private space on this World Wide Web. I tried blogging tools but then also found them too restrictive. Also, as a kid from the 90s I always wanted to have my own website (Yahoo Geocities was a thing back then).
So in the era of vibecoding, I over-engineered a flashy website. It seemed nice to me but I lost all interest very soon. So then I vibecoded a simplistic / minimalistic website which I don't have to constantly look into.
I have been blogging on and off since 10 years now.
This website is my scrapbook, my journal, my blog, collation of my serious thoughts – it is like a 5 in 1 subject notebook one would bring in college. There is no target audience for this. Anyone who likes what I write is my target audience. I am not building a personal brand.
Please have fun. Treat this website as a leisure park. Stop and admire if you like something.
If you wish to share any feedback or views, I am reachable at somil@somilmakhija.com.
Disclaimer: All views expressed are personal and do not represent the viewpoints of my employer, alma mater or my friends/family/neighbours/local street dog.