Dear Subscriber First Name,

The other day, a friend asked what I’m looking forward to in 2023. After pausing a moment, I answered, “continuing to nurture my friendships”.

One thing I know for sure is that I have really amazing people in my life. Without them, weathering the uncertainties in life, working through self doubt, and celebrating the wins would be harder and less fun.

Celebrating our dear friend Tim’s 40th birthday this weekend was a beautiful reminder of that truth. The home was so full of love from different walks of his life—relationships he described as core to his life experience and who he is. As I looked at the big-hearted people in that room, and thought about my own friends who always hold space for all facets of me, I felt so much love and gratitude.

Shared moments are so special. As we grow older and our lives reshape with different commitments, friends who continue to make time for each other are keepers. Cherish those people. They are the secret sauce to what makes life good.

Looking forward,
Haemee

🧮 Ever wonder how your pay rate holds up against inflation? Not sure how to calculate how much of a raise to ask for? Your Rich BFF, Vivian Tu, shows us how to do the math.

❓ The holidays are coming up, which means lots of family time and general socializing. Here’s a seemingly neutral question to help you pause instead of immediately reacting, creating distance from not-so-pleasant encounters.

🎒 Brown University is the first Ivy League university to add caste protections.

🌟 If you make one change to how you approach work next year, make it creating a “brag book” if you don’t already have one. This Reddit thread shares ideas on what to include, and how to leverage this list to your advantage.

✍🏻 As we round out this year and usher in 2023, reflection will help us turn the page and prepare for the next chapter. This free booklet by Year Compass asks questions to help you “uncover your own patterns and design the ideal year for yourself." (discovered via Creative Morning’s newsletters).

Reading: Work Won’t Love You Back by Sarah Jaffe - “A deeply-reported examination of why "doing what you love" is a recipe for exploitation, creating a new tyranny of work in which we cheerily acquiesce to doing jobs that take over our lives.” To learn more, check out our resident bookworm and Social Media Coordinator/Designer, Ashley’s review.

Watching: Atsuko Okatsuka: The Intruder (HBO) - “In her first HBO stand-up comedy special, comedian and actress Atsuko Okatsuka brings her brand of ingenious, offbeat storytelling [as] she dishes on the futile art of impressing teenagers, attending a “Magic Mike Live” show with her grandmother, and the alarming reactions that she and her husband had to the unwanted presence of an intruder.” (Rotten Tomatoes)

Eating: Gochujang Caramel Cookies by Eric Kim - Slightly crispy and perfectly chewy, this savory and slightly spicy cookie is the holiday cookie we’ve been missing. The description is something of poetry, “A gentle amount of ground cinnamon lends snickerdoodle vibes, and the dough is raked through with ripples of clay-red gochujang “caramel,” in which brown sugar and butter mellow the chile’s heat.”