Welcome to the void

an amuse-bouche

C'est moi

Hi,

I’m Baibin (Bay-Bin).

Yes, it is an unusual name, it’s Irish.

No, I’m not actually Irish, but my mum is. I’m from London.

Got it? Okay, great, hi.

You would not believe how many times I have had that exact conversation. Having an unusual name really is the gift that keeps on giving.

Now that’s out of that’s out the way, I’d like to take a minute to set out what you can expect from the void. Your internet time is precious, so here’s the gist.

Let’s start by filtering out people who almost definitely won’t like my work.

The void is not for you if:

• you hate people over sharing

• you think everything is just fine and good in the world and everyone should just be quiet and stop making a fuss

If that’s not you then hey, welcome, come on in.

I am quite new to Substack. Although I have been writing for a little while I’m still finding my groove, voice and formats that work best for my ideas, so I expect the next few months to be a bit of a playground while I find my feet and see what sticks.

My intention for this page is that it covers a few different types of content:

• Big Feels Non-Fiction: That’s a genre right?  I am doing a lot of existential reflecting on the lives we lead and the life I have led.

• Babys First Journalism: I am currently doing a university short course to learn some actual journalism skills. A huge part of what made me want to start writing is that there are a few topics I feel horrifically strongly about. I am working on putting those thoughts into actual articles.

• Recommendations: I am a glutton for podcasts, books, documentaries etc. I don’t mean to brag, but my Spotify Wrapped consistently puts me in the top 1% of podcast listeners worldwide. I know, it’s impressive, my parents are so proud of my achievements.

• Poetry because I just have a lot of feelings

Topics to expect:

• The Gender Health Gap

• Patriarchy, Masculinity and Feminism

• Growing up in a Queer family and the importance of LGBTQ+ visibility

• Navigating work and life as a neurodivergent, chaotic Zillenial

• Cultural Deep Dives and Retrospectives

• Hormones, PMDD, Contraception, Mental health

• The meaning of life (???)