Article 200: A Letter to My Twins — Why Dad Builds Things
The 200th article on NoteArc Insights isn't about code or business. It's a letter to my twin children — explaining why their dad spends hours at a keyboard, why he builds businesses that might fail, and why he writes articles that might never be read. It's about the why behind everything.
Dear loves,
You're too young to read this now. You're busy with more important things — discovering that blocks stack, that dogs are fascinating, and that the world contains an inexhaustible supply of things to point at and demand the Tamil word for. But someday you'll be old enough to ask: "What does Appa actually do all day?" And I want this letter to be the honest answer.
Why I Build
I build things because building is how I understand the world. A developer doesn't just use software — he understands how it works, why it was designed that way, and how it could be better. This understanding — pulling things apart, seeing the structure underneath, and putting them back together improved — is the same skill whether I'm building a website, a business, or a bookshelf for your room.
Building is also how I contribute. The articles on NoteArc help developers who are stuck. The clothes from Kimaya Threads dress children whose parents want quality without overpaying. The tools and services I create solve problems for people I'll never meet. Each thing I build is a small addition to the world — not revolutionary, not world-changing, but genuine. I'd rather build many small genuine things than talk about building one big imaginary thing.
Why I Write
I write because writing is thinking made visible. When I write about a technical concept, I discover gaps in my understanding. When I write about business decisions, I clarify my reasoning. When I write about parenting, I process the overwhelming joy and occasional terror of raising you two. Writing doesn't just communicate thought — it creates thought. The ideas in these 200 articles didn't exist before I wrote them. The act of writing brought them into existence.
I also write so that you'll have a record. Someday you might wonder: what was Appa thinking when we were toddlers? What worried him? What made him laugh? What did he believe? This archive of 200 articles is an imperfect but honest answer — a time capsule of your father's mind during the years he was learning to be your father.
Why Some Things Fail
Not everything I build will succeed. Some businesses will lose money. Some articles will be read by nobody. Some products will be returned. And that's fine — genuinely, completely fine — because the alternative is not building anything, and a life of not building is a life I don't want to model for you.
I want you to see your father try things that might not work. I want you to see him fail, acknowledge the failure, learn from it, and start the next thing. Because the fear of failure is the most common reason people don't attempt the things that matter to them. If you grow up seeing failure as information rather than shame, you'll attempt more, learn more, and build more than if you grow up seeing failure as something to avoid at all costs.
Why Balance Matters
I'm not going to pretend I've figured out balance. Some weeks, work takes too much. Some weeks, I'm distracted during playtime because my mind is in a codebase. I'm working on this. The ambition to build must coexist with the commitment to be present — and when they conflict, presence wins. Your childhood happens once. A business opportunity comes back.
What I promise: I will be at your school events, not just working to pay for them. I will play with you, not just provide for you. I will listen to your stories, not just solve your problems. I will be the dad who is there — literally, physically, emotionally there — not the dad who was always "busy building things."
What I Hope You Learn
Be curious about how things work. Build things, even small ones. Write your thoughts — they become clearer on paper. Fail without shame. Help others with your skills. Learn languages — they open worlds. Read widely. Exercise daily. Love deeply. And when you find the thing that makes you lose track of time — the thing that you'd do for free, that challenges you and satisfies you in equal measure — pursue it with everything you have.
You are the reason I build. Not the only reason — but the most important one. Every article, every product, every business, every late night at the keyboard is ultimately for the same purpose: to create a life where your father can look at you and honestly say, "I tried to build things that mattered. I tried to be good at what I do. And I tried — every single day — to deserve the extraordinary gift of being your dad."
I love you both. More than code, more than business, more than all the articles on all the platforms.
— Appa