I thought about that a lot

image text says: I’d filed my first love away in the nineties nostalgia compartment of my brain. The band that was once my everything became the band I only ever brought up in ‘first gig’ icebreakers. ithoughtaboutthatalot.com

In 2024, I thought a lot about my first love

www.ithoughtaboutthatalot.com/2024/my-firs...

image text says: In 2024, I thought a lot about muscles

"How can the strength of my testosterone-fueled vessel co-exist with my tenderness? Where does the need for control and competition meet my delicate emotions and thoughtfulness? Why do we treat men with privilege, yet our number one killer is ourselves?"

www.ithoughtaboutthatalot.com/2024/muscles

image text says: Mum was vivacious, sharp and courageous. She’d had to be to raise three boys, alone, in south London. But Alzheimer's is taking that away. And that's devastating to see. ithoughtaboutthatalot.com

In 2024, I thought a lot about my mum, her Alzheimer’s, and the Gregg’s sausage roll scam

www.ithoughtaboutthatalot.com/2024/my-mum-...

image text says: In 2024, I thought a lot about why I am embarrassed to be human

Last year, I saw a bloodied, dead baby outside a hospital.

I've been seeing dead babies quite frequently since, and I've noticed a lot of people seem to ignore them.

Maybe they don’t see them at all.

www.ithoughtaboutthatalot.com/2024/why-i-a...

image text says: Legend has it that the 3 wise men didn’t follow a star, but Halley’s Comet. It’s a good story, as is much of religion. ithoughtaboutthatalot.com

In 2024, I thought a lot about markers in time and space

www.ithoughtaboutthatalot.com/2024/markers...

photograph shows the inside cover of the book with a line drawing of a character holding an umbrella and walking a dog.

photograph of inside the front cover and underneath the flap. image shows a line drawing, sitting on a stool with thought bubbles escaping from their head

🌟 Here is your last-post-before-Christmas warning!🌟

We have a few copies of the I Thought About That A Lot book left (like, I can count them on my fingers). If you'd like one in time for Christmas, order your copy before 2pm tomorrow (Friday 20 December).
www.ithoughtaboutthatalot.com/shop

image text reads: in 2024, i thought a lot about ghosting

"Ghosting needs a rebrand. The term feels too cute – a bit silly. Stick your tongue out and wink ghost emoji. But it is serious, it takes a real mental toll."

www.ithoughtaboutthatalot.com/2024/ghosting

image text says: I felt my creativity was a thing of the past and that my imagination was lost to adulthood. I decided to take a career break. ithoughtaboutthatalot.com

In 2024, I thought a lot about creativity and self-discovery woo-woo

www.ithoughtaboutthatalot.com/2024/creativ...

image text says: in 2024, i thought a lot about why my dad was like that

"At 17, Dad wound up on the Arctic Convoys which sailed to the Soviet Union in perilous conditions, and under heavy threat of German attack. Dad’s ship was torpedoed and he survived by clinging on to a plank of wood. He was one of only six survivors."

www.ithoughtaboutthatalot.com/2024/why-my-...

image text says: My selfish soul whispers resentment. Not resentment at my partner. But an impossible resentment directed at the universe that put us in this position. ithoughtaboutthatalot.com

In 2024, I thought a lot about caring and my selfish soul

www.ithoughtaboutthatalot.com/2024/caring-...

image text says: in 2024, i thought a lot about my top right canine

"I’ve never really had an OK time at the dentist – not since The Incident back in 1971 at the hands of my mother and Mr E. This year, some rather unfortunate dental activity in the top right corner of my mouth has triggered some terribly bad memories."

www.ithoughtaboutthatalot.com/2024/my-top-...

Shop – I thought about that a lot A new anonymous essay published every day in December in the countdown to Christmas.

Friends! We only have a handful of books left. They include good words, 162 pages of munken pure rough 120gsm paper, lots of white space and cute illos.

TL;DR: they look and feel nice, and therefore make gorgey Christmas presents.

www.ithoughtaboutthatalot.com/shop

image text says: We realised we’d probably expected everything to stay the same when we went another way to everyone else. ithoughtaboutthatalot.com

In 2024, I thought a lot about friendship in my child-free forties

www.ithoughtaboutthatalot.com/2024/friends...

image text reads: in 2024, i thought a lot about Taylor Swift

"Most new music’s not aimed at us Millennials. While I can appreciate Sabrina Carpenter’s lyrical quips, the teeny-tiny outfits age me out. I like Charli XCX, but I’m too tired to have a brat summer... But Taylor manages to feel like she’s for everyone."
www.ithoughtaboutthatalot.com/2024/taylor-...

image text says: I am a feminist. But I didnt used to be. ithoughtaboutthatalot.com

In 2024, I thought a lot about why we still need feminism

www.ithoughtaboutthatalot.com/2024/why-we-...

image text reads: in 2024, i thought a lot about my losing football scarf

"Losing a bundle of red & white woolly fibres may seem trivial, and mourning its loss perhaps childish – but do NOT mistake a football fan’s scarf for simply being a piece of functional, mass-produced and easily-replaceable clothing."
#Arsenal #AFC #COYG
www.ithoughtaboutthatalot.com/2024/my-lost...

image text says: in 2024, i thought a lot about my lost football scarf

"Losing a bundle of red and white woolly fibres may seem trivial, and mourning its loss perhaps childish – but do NOT mistake a football supporter’s scarf for simply being a piece of functional, mass-produced and easily-replaceable clothing."

i-thought-a-lot-about-that.webflow.io/2024/my-lost...

image text says: there are people who only want to see things so they can be seen seeing things. ithoughtabouttthatalot.com

In 2024, I thought a lot about TikTok tourism

www.ithoughtaboutthatalot.com/2024/tiktok-...

image text says: In 2024, I thought a lot about my pouch of Douglas ithoughtaboutthatalot.com

The nurse was holding my hand as I opened my eyes. She leant in close.
“The operation was a success,” she whispered. “You’ve got endometriosis, but we’ve removed the cells we found.
They were in your pouch of Douglas."

www.ithoughtaboutthatalot.com/2024/my-pouc...

copy on the image says: By resisting change, we are upholding the manufactured systems that we are forced to live within. The same systems that are rigged against us. ithoughtaboutthatalot.com

In 2024, I thought a lot about getting the fuck out of our comfort zones

www.ithoughtaboutthatalot.com/2024/getting...

image copy says: in 2024, i thought a lot about shutting up. ithoughtaboutthatalot.com

"I became addicted to the dopamine hits from interactions with my content. As my profile grew, I found my career started to benefit and I leaned in more and more... But now, as the poster child for openness, I want to close myself off."

www.ithoughtaboutthatalot.com/2024/shuttin...

image text says: as someone who has been living nomadically for a few years, i dont have a traditional home. for me, home is every place that just feels 'right'. ithoughtaboutthatalot.com

In 2024, I thought a lot about what home feels like for a nomad

www.ithoughtaboutthatalot.com/2024/what-ho...

A life witnessed through the lens of the most delightful-sounding garb. Forever a joy to read @hardyps.bsky.social

Another Christmas cracker from fashion darrrling @hardyps.bsky.social 💅

text says: in 2024, i thought a lot about selling parts of myself on vinted

"Some buyers think I am both a chat facility and an Evri delivery driver coordinator. There are those who haven’t bothered to read my crafted sales copy, and send 1 word Qs about my wares that remind me of my time on dating apps: “Length?” “Size?”

www.ithoughtaboutthatalot.com/2024/selling...

image has text on it that says: a friend asked if my son would be my favourite if we had another kid. maybe. because whose spirits might our next child be? ithougthaboutthatalot.com

In 2024, I thought a lot about my dad reincarnated as my son

www.ithoughtaboutthatalot.com/2024/my-dad-...

Photo of a book called, ‘I thought about that a lot’. The book is bright yellow, with an illustration of a cartoon figure who looks like they are thinking and has mini bubble heads floating out of their head. The book is on a white desk.

What a beauty 😍

www.ithoughtaboutthatalot.com/product/itat...

@amymcnichol.bsky.social @allconsuming.bsky.social

yellow image with copy that says: in 2024, i thought a lot about boys who hate women. and there's a line drawing of a genderless character, sitting and thinking

"Our male students are using expressions such as ‘alpha’, ‘simp’, ‘sigma’ and ‘lone wolf’ – the same words that Laura Bates discovered are part of the language incels use about themselves and other misogynists."

www.ithoughtaboutthatalot.com/2024/boys-wh...

image is text that says: It's the kind of attention-seeking I've always been taught to scorn. Don't be too vain, too brash, too loud. But how much has that meant holding back, and diminishing myself in the process? ithoughtaboutthatalot.com

In 2024, I thought a lot about Gladiators
www.ithoughtaboutthatalot.com/2024/in-2024...

It’s the 1st of December. @amymcnichol.bsky.social is kicking off her annual advent of essays. Every year I wondered what I might write about. This year I figured it out. This one’s from me.