About The Societeas
Founded in 2019 by 15 year old Natalie Tai, The Societeas (otherwise known by its original name, Train of Thought), took a creative turn in late 2020 to be renamed in reference to the modern slang “tea” (meaning gossip) while citing its main topic of social issues as an effort to convey a goal of discussing contemporary community illnesses. Originally a plan foreseen to only dip toes into a world of creative writing and activism, The Societeas has transformed from a personal blog documenting the imperfections of society, to a forum shedding light on some of society’s most underrepresented communities and unaddressed illnesses while saluting the milestones of societal progression, so as to encourage and empower new outlooks on humanity.
Though The Societeas’ was Natalie’s first official website, this publication wouldn’t have been possible without her preceding experience with website creation. Natalie first experimented with web creating at the age of 13 through the free wix website creator which she used to design a photo gallery documenting the growth of her avocado tree by the name of Alavado. Adopted from the avocado fruit she pitted for her breakfast guacamole, Alavado was Natalie’s first child and bravely allowed itself to test her plant parenting abilities that later proved to be non-existent. During Alavado’s critical years of budding, the poor child passed away from severe dehydration, marking an end to a fortunately unpublished website.
Having studied in over 6 schools in 3 countries by the time she turned 14, Natalie has always strived to find structure and abiding passion for academics and extra-curricular activities. Regardless of the inconsistency of her upbringing, one trait of hers prevailed through time and everchanging environments: she was ambitious to change what she was unsatisfied with. Natalie wanted a platform to push her hopes and dreams to its potential through meaningful works in the community, even if that means starting small. Ready to explore some of her drafted ideas that sounded of nothing short of insane, Natalie’s first article was published in the January of 2020.
By dedicating her free time in and out of school to explore the depths of society's nooks and crannies and later, exhibiting her discoveries through the narrative of a Singaporean teenager living in Taiwan, Natalie’s cross cultural experiences has taken a principle role in the inspiration behind her writing. Aligning more with her upbringing in Taiwan, her pride for the country’s freedoms and unshying celebration of democracy has shown great presence in her writing, oftentimes manifested through a narration of Taiwan’s balance between progression and conventional traditions of diversity. On the other side of her bloodline, Natalie still wears her identity as a Singaporean with great pride. Memories of the days she’s spent at the Kopi Tiam indulging in some of the most authentic syncretic cuisines of Malaysia and India has pushed her to reconnect with her hometown through this newfound platform. The Societeas has hence become an embodiment of Singaporean-Taiwanese cultural similarities and differences, both with their own injustices to fight and prides to celebrate.
Outside of writing, tea, music, film, and free-thinking has become a ritual Natalie fails to live without. Finding it increasingly helpful for slowing down on the rush of citylife, having the freedom to simply space out, oftentimes in the company of music and visuals, has given her perspective and rationale on life’s priorities. She has also begun exploring interests in photography, especially to capture the middle ground of modern culture and history.
The Societeas aims to grow its platform with every opportunity that arises. By expanding its network of people through interviewing community changemakers, and investigating relavant local issues, The Soceiteas hopes to pivot its content more towards community engagement and frontline workers, showing more of the solvencies and fighters of the human race. By reading and sharing the stories told through The Societeas' articles, the word of kindness can spread.