Hi. My name is Abhi. I also go by Familiar (we’ll get to that in a bit).
This is my Coloring Paper site, where I’m keeping some of my personal writing from the past. Most of these were written for and posted to Facebook.
This work has been a powerful tool for personal growth and exploration. And now, these pieces will serve as an anchor as I tell my story of abuse at the hands of many problematic people and multiple problematic “communities” in Austin, TX. (For more, see my companion project, coloringbook.xyz)
Here are the pieces:
- TGS Fun-raiser ‘23 Hype - a piece promoting The Gong Spot's fun-raiser and reflecting on my personal growth within an adjacent community
- (in between is Burning Man ‘23, where I came up with the burn name “Familiar” for myself, as I sat alone in The Gong Spot’s space, feeling a sense of safety)
- FR intro - an intro piece shared in the group chat for an event called Family Reunion. I talk clearly and openly about my burn name and its meanings
- Housewarming post - an overshare before my housewarming party. My party was the week after Family Reunion, so I cleverly named it “Familiar Union”. Interestingly, the only people from FR who came to FU were the ones I was already close with.
- Birthday ‘23 (”The Monkey that lives with me”) - a piece I wrote impulsively on the morning of my birthday, finally finding focus I’d been seeking for months. I suspect my plans to hang out with Ground Score in the afternoon helped motivate me.
- Post about my balls - a piece I wrote shortly after ending things with Ground Score, a difficult, complex, and sudden decision. I’d been searching for a better burn name for her, and during the writing process, I came up with “Qubit”.
- Hi, I’m Familiar - a piece I wrote about a month after Monkey moved out. I was completely losing my mind, due to serious psychological abuse at the hands of people from the communities I spoke well of previously.
- Eye-opening magnet - a piece I wrote shortly after an interview with Succinct Labs for a role that I thought was “ZK Education” but turned out to be “Dev Rel”
- Complementary - my latest piece, where I declare my plans for my dream job and for calling out toxic behavior as needed
I asked Notion’s AI to analyze my pieces, as well as identify “ways in which my ideals and my journey align with the 10 principles of Burning Man”: Notion AI analyzes my Coloring Paper