literally though if you feel like your life is slipping through your fingers and every day goes too fast… try doing hard things, not just taking the easy route, like reading and making art and exercising and cooking a meal from scratch and journaling, doing these things without distraction, without being absorbed on a screen… the time will stretch and you’ll be reminded that life is long and beautiful if you make it so.
why is life sooooooo beautiful and profound and sad and completely empty
i’d say the best thing i have learned this year is to just let people be who they naturally are. no psychoanalyzing them, no overthinking my actions, no asking what i could possibly do to keep their presence in my life. i just bring my best self to the table and always move from a place of love and respect. how that person responds is ultimately up to them. if that causes them to exit my life, i just let it happen. i will never be in the business of changing people. people are only ever ready to change when they’ve made the conscious decision to. all i can do is check myself and be kind always.
I LOVE being alive so I can be mediocre at SO many different hobbies
another important thing to remember is 1) u can pick up any hobby at any point in ur life and get outstandingly good at it & 2) the project u've been working on & aren't pleased w the current outcome so far will not be your last. u will draw/crochet/paint/sculpt/write another piece, and another, and you will have many chances to be fully content w your craft. so you should cherish the joy of making art instead of worrying ab the results & think ab how lovely it is that we're all vessels for artistry and we can share the divine act of creation!!!!!
Evelyn Waugh, from Brideshead Revisited (1945)
one thing i need to start living by is “become the thing that you want” if i want friends who throw themed parties maybe i should start throwing those parties. if i want someone who writes me love letters maybe i should start writing letters for the people i love. if i want to hang out at museums and pretty cafes maybe i should invite my friends to these places. and maybe even then i won’t find the kind of people i want to be around. but then i would have become the exact person i want to be around. and maybe that’s good enough.
@ryebreadgf / The Truth About Grief, Fortesa Latifi / bone deep, m.v.e / Sidewalk, Richard Silken / unknown / 60 hours, m.v.e / @itsblackleader / Salt, Nayyirah Waheed / @heavensghost
Anaïs Nin, The Diary of Anaïs Nin, Vol. 1: 1931-1934
Its okay if you dont have your whole life together by a certain age. Life is not a script you should follow in order to have everything be perfect (without it containing any changes whatsoever). You still have time to learn, you still have time to love, you still have time to find out, explore and see. Don't be afraid to take your time to achieve your goals and shape your life the way you want it, but also don't forget to stop and enjoy the beauty you might find on the way.
“i don’t like writing about my day, but i want to keep a journal”:
quotes and copywork. when reading, if you find something you enjoy, just copy it into the notebook. you can copy a whole chapter if you wish, highlighting what caught your attention the most.
definitions. look up on a dictionary and copy it. you could write your own dictionary as well, making up definitions for words.
lists. a classic, write movies to watch, books to read, the playlist of the month or just the groceries you have to buy.
maps. when going somewhere, you could draw the route you took or just a map of the place itself. just look up the place on google maps and copy it. you can draw a little map of all the places you have lived or the schools you have attended as well.
photos
take “notes” as you watch movies / documentaries. write down phrases that caught your attention or doodle.
illustrations and clippings. if you see an image or piece of art that you liked, put it in your journal. if it’s from a book or from a magazine I would recommend scanning it, tho’. it will serve as a record of what kind of art you enjoy through the years.
newspaper clippings from the day.
tickets and pamphlets. from movies, museums, transportation.
postcards
records. you could record for a month what the temperature was when you woke up and when you went to sleep. if you do that for a year, it gives you a better notion of the passing of seasons. you could record rainfall and other seasonal changes as well. you could choose something (an animal, a plant, an item or object) and write down every time you see it.
rubbings of leaves, coins, landmarks.
count. there’s a scene in the movie Coraline (2009) where Coraline’s dad tells her to go count the windows. you could do the same type of counting game if you are bored and write down.
mindmaps/sketchnotes + timelines of books, movies, music albums.
collages
pressed leafs and flowers
your collections. if you collect anything you could write down an inventory or maybe try to draw the items.
recipes. write down recipes and give it a score every time you try it. you could do the same for drinks you try out.
stickers
comic strips. you can find a bunch of it online, glue your favorites in your notebook.