Welcome to The Sunday Digest — a free Sunday newsletter featuring long (and some short) reads, original columns, things I’ve saved over the last week, relaxing playlists, episodes releases, exclusive product drops, and more. Yes, you can reply to this email. I’d love to hear from you. Or, if podcasts are more your speed on Sundays, we’ve got that too.
Sunday Read: Bill Watterson’s Commencement Speech
by Bill Watterson from 1990
I’ll never fully understand why, but my 4th grade teacher let me read Calvin & Hobbes books during quiet reading time instead of the books everyone else was reading. Perhaps she knew I simply wouldn’t read anything else, maybe she knew my brain was wired a little differently, or maybe she had an unstated appreciation for the comics themselves.
As far as childhood obsessions go, Calvin & Hobbes ranked near the top for me. Between having all the books and getting personally offended by those bumper stickers, I still think it was a healthy obsession compared to the media I could’ve been taking in.
The older I get, the more I realize the value of what Bill Watterson was trying to convey through a boy and his imaginary friend. You can even see the influence on the Sunday Scaries Instagram page where the font used is scarily similar to that used in the titles of his books.
This week, a different sort of Sunday read. The below screenshots are taken from a tweet that crossed my timeline this week. And during this lead-up to an election that’s been giving me night sweats, I think his 1990 commencement speech hit me at the correct time.
Truthful, purposeful, meaningful, and redeeming. Something we can all strive for.
The Sunday Haiku: “A weekend well spent.”
The initial crisp air,
first time putting on a coat—
New York in the fall.
Things I Saved This Week
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What a wonderful reminder of the importance of an inner life, a self-defined compass of success, and the importance of listening in. Calvin and Hobbes forever!