“The reading of all good books is like conversation with the finest (people) of the past centuries.” – Descartes
concept playlists
it’s bacchanal time, baby: songs for when you infiltrate a group of classics students and you all love each other. you hold a bacchanal together and see spectacular visions of dionysus and immortality in the midst of ecstasy. when you return to your body you feel you do not know yourself and question if you ever can. the light of the fire is dying and you’re covered in blood. you’re all covered in blood.
lime green slushies & god: you’re in a gas station food mart in the middle of the night and you meet someone. you know they’re not human, but they might be. all you know is that they’re holy. and you’re not. you get a bright green slushie and want to ask them for guidance. they pay for your slushie. you’re neon now.
bottom of a hotel pool: it’s your birthday and you’re at the bottom of a hotel pool. you know you should come back up. you know you shoulld go to the candles and frosting. you stay at the bottom and listen to the muffled thunder in the the distance. you feel the water’s divine power within you and you know you can breathe.
literary liaisons: you’re following your crush in the library. you’re taking note of the books they pick up, picking up one of your own. an hour before close, you go back to the shelf they went to and pick up their book. through the shelf’s gaps, you lock eyes with them. who’s following who now? and why? There’s a metallic taste in your mouth, and you lick your lips.
pink silk & poison: the sweet smell of the rose oil you’re putting on your body hangs in the air. the doorbell rings. you wrap yourself in your pink silk robe and go down to open the door. it’s the police. your husband has died. at least he left you his will. you turn up the volume of the record player.
motel terrors and subtext: there’s a boy in a motel room on his knees with a gun to his head. there’s a girl in a motel room with her finger on the trigger. a bottle breaks. that means ‘i love you’. you shut your eyes. what a pair.
glitter pluming between us: you’re in a club where everything is washed in blue lights. there’s a boy with glitter dusting his cheekbones and he’s all you can see or want. you should be the villains in each other’s stories. but under the lights and music all you can feel is love. you’re both in the alley now and out here the glitter cuts like a knife.
season of the witch: it’s near halloween and you’re discovering a new kind of power. in the hidden section of your university library you discover grimoires. in yourself you discover magic. somehow you know your whole life’s path has led you here.
get your lyres out, boys: you’re the oracle of delphi. amidst the smoke of incense and offerings of grapes and honey you witness history. the rage of achilles, the burden of atlas, the flight of icarus. time does not exist.
raging feminist: you’re a raging feminist. you’re dismantling the patriarchy and rallying. you’re discovering the power in femininity and womanhood.
sunday morning cappuccinos: it’s sunday morning and you wake up early to the smell of breakfast. you pull on a cashmere sweater and go into the kitchen of your loft where your lover is pouring you coffee. you both have goals and are working to achieve them. it’s cold and you make plans to have a movie night together in the warmth.
all this, and love too, will ruin us: you’re in love for the first time and you feel like you’ve discovered something no one ever has. you’re consumed and can swallow the world whole.
Do y’all think henry winter shipped achilles and patroclus yes or no
Me: :(
History: names ending in -ac in southwest france are likely gaulish or at least gallo-roman in origin (-acum > ac). -ac is a suffix highlighting that something is possessed. You could translate it by "belong to" or "with". It is prominent in the south mostly because of said gallo-roman influence in the region (multiple settlements to be found). In conclusion villages and towns' names are often anthropotoponyms, meaning we can trace back that the area belonged to a specific man 2000 years ago. For example mauriac means "the possesion of marius"
Me: :)
M104, Sombrero Galaxy
trying is much more important than succeeding
10 minutes of studying > not studying at all
being a college student is more than academics. it’s also learning how to enjoy your own company, learning and occasionally screwing up meals, wandering outside campus like a tourist, questioning your ideals and presuppositions, discovering new talents and skills for the hell of it, and SO much more. if you feel burnt out in one dimension of college life, that’s a sign to spend some time relishing in another dimension.
if you need more time, take a deep breath and shoot that email to your professor/TA asking for an extension. at worst, they say no. and don’t stress over properly explaining yourself/your situation. hell, just email them: “Hi, Professor. I need your help. Sincerely, y/n.” all it takes is that one initial reach out and the rest will follow.
failure does not reflect character. read that again. remind yourself as often as you see fit because at one point or another, you will feel like you’ve failed. it’s growing pains. once you’ve accepted that, learn to view any setbacks as a hint that you need to try a new method/approach. didn’t do well on that math quiz? don’t beat yourself up over it–instead, regroup with yourself and see which metaphorical gear got stuck in your personal learning process machine. for instance, maybe you used flash cards and that wasn’t really your style. act like a detective, not a bully.
THERE IS NO NORMAL TIMELINE FOR YOUR COLLEGE CAREER(!!!!!!). a lot of people need more than 4 years, a lot of people need 4 years, and a lot of people need less than 4 years. and every single one of those timelines are valid. the worst thing you could do is squeeze the living hell out of yourself into some rigid schedule that is incompatible with who you are and how you learn. trust me when i say u will find yourself doing the best work when u do it at YOUR pace.
canis major
a primer for the small weird loves, richard siken
photography by familiarspirits