Debbie Millman’s ongoing project “What Matters,” an effort to understand the interior life of artists, designers, and creative thinkers, is now in its third year. Each respondent is invited to answer ten identical questions and submit a nonprofessional photograph.
Shrutika Manivannan is a Strategist at the Wikimedia Foundation, the non-profit responsible for hosting and protecting Wikipedia and other Wikimedia projects. Originally from Mumbai, India, she previously worked as a graphic designer and architect before moving to New York in pursuit of the strategy behind creativity, a new challenge, and good bagels.
What is the thing you like doing most in the world?
Watching TV. I’ve always been obsessed with it. I remember fighting with my granddad over the remote pretty frequently as a six -year-old. I didn’t always win, so maybe that’s where I got it from.
What is the first memory you have of being creative?
I loved dolls and was the proud owner of about 20 Barbies (plus one Ken) and their wardrobes. I would make up stories and switch outfits to match until I eventually moved on to designing clothes through my school years.
What is your biggest regret?
Buying into the idea that we only exist in the mind of others and letting others’ opinions of me outweigh my own. I wish I had learned how to lean into my own feelings sooner.
How have you gotten over heartbreak?
By talking about it. Incessantly, despairingly, candidly, with a few friends I trust (and who have the capacity to listen). I’m an advocate for talking about pain and sadness—I think we all leave too much unsaid. A lot of misery is a shared experience, so why not be relatable?
What makes you cry?
Human suffering, lately.
A bittersweet nostalgic trap, usually.
Any movie with a dog that doesn’t end well, always.
How long does the pride and joy of accomplishing something last for you?
I remember feeling nothing when I graduated from college, despite the literal blood, sweat, and tears shed during those grueling five years, as if it were the bare minimum. Not one day of pride or joy, really. Learning about hedonic adaptation and good therapy has helped with that. A few years ago, I started tracking things I’ve learned that I didn’t know a week, a month, or a year ago as a way to build confidence, and I’ve found it to be an effective way to prolong pride and joy. I felt so much more of it after grad school and since.
Do you believe in an afterlife, and if so, what does that look like to you?
I joke that my two interests in life are love and death, so I think about this a lot. Right now—as for the last 10 years—I don’t. I like to believe that once we’re gone, we’re gone. It has a reassuring effect on me. The idea that all things come to an end isn’t depressing and is instead hopeful. If I were to be pushed to think of an afterlife, I would like it to be similar to what was shown in the movie Eternity recently, except you get to switch between your chosen afterlives (having to stick to one feels too punitive).
What do you hate most about yourself?
A few years ago, this would have been a long list, but as I write this, I’m struggling to think of an answer. So I guess that’s progress. I hate that I often still rely on others’ opinions to form my own—of me and the world.
What do you love most about yourself?
A few years ago, this would have been a short list, but as I write this, I can think of quite a few. So I guess that’s progress. I’ve become fairly growth-minded in these years between, and that’s made the biggest difference. It’s influenced how I interact with my own headspace, built resilience, and shaped how I approach relationships of all kinds. It’s helped me sit tight, not always buy into fear, and believe in repair and change.
What is your absolute favorite meal?
Not to be cheeky, but that would have to be my mum’s spaghetti. Growing up, that was everyone around me’s favorite meal, too. Any pasta purists would be enraged because of how Indian her version is, but the taste still holds up. She inherited the recipe from her mother, who recently passed, so it’s made more special now.
Credit: Photo by Sushant Khire
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