Esme Stewart

Over the past few years, I've watched artist after artist share genuinely incredible work online, only to be met with comments that have absolutely nothing to do with what they've created. Instead, people fixate on the person. Their gender. Their race. Their sexuality. Being criticised for the quality of your work actually feels like a luxury now. At least then people are responding to the work itself.

Back in 2021/22 I almost completely stopped voluntarily listening to music. Not out of protest or as some kind of mindfulness practice, but because the sheer amount of music available to me, combined with my mental health at the time (like a lot of people, the post Covid years were dark ones), meant that I couldn’t listen to a song all the way through without skipping it. It was compulsive. Even songs I liked didn’t make it all the way through to the end.

A deadly serious, not-at-all-satire guide to surviving - no THRIVING - in your 20s