Striking Three-Dimensional Interventions By Mr. June Layer Geometric Paintings Onto Architectural Elements

Feeling Like Myself Again

Mental illness wrecks you. You feel like a shell of yourself, constantly in a daze. It’s terrifying when you think about it. In an effort to find myself again (er, maybe to create myself for the first time), I’m compiling a list of things I love, things that make me feel like me, things I know are no good for my mental health, and things that make me feel fake. This is an ever-evolving list, so stay tuned. 

| Things I love |

1. Running—not fast, just simply putting one foot in front of the other. Occasional weightlifting.

2. Weddings. Check out my Pinterest board.

3. Planning, being organized, sticking to a schedule.

4. Traveling. Road trips, backpacking, hiking, camping. Taking flights, dressing the part, finding the perfect outfit to roam around a city in, gathering inspiration from people-watching, creating new goals based on lifestyles I see.

5. Hawaii. Literally everything about it. The relaxed vibes, the *mostly* constant sunshine, the waves, the vivid hues of the water. The food, the coffee, the adventure, the lifestyle. Oh, and it helps that there is a military base for every branch on Oahu ;).

6. Learning and problem solving. Reading nonfiction books about topics and people. Using the NT part of my personality (ENTJ). The feeling of accomplishment when I solve something challenging. 

7. Nutrition. The science, the creativity, the recipes. 

8. Eating clean. Little sugar, lots of fruit and nuts, whole grains.

9. Fandoms. Star Wars, Doctor Who, Harry Potter, etc.

10. Outer space. Complex theories. Technology. Fierce debates. 

11. Concerts. Symposiums. Expos.

12. Shopping. Finding steals. Buying myself and others little treats just because.

13. Exploring cities—the neighborhoods, the shops, the bakeries/restaurants.

14. Daydreaming. Writing down ideas for businesses, inventions, my personal life, etc. 

| Things that make me hollow |

1. Partying. I do enjoy hanging out with friends and playing competitive games, but drinking makes me sick. Being out till 2 am makes me sick. Pretending to be someone I’m not in order to fit in makes me sick. 

2. Going to the gym every single day of the week and feeling worthless and disgusting if I don’t. 

3. Hiding my more feminine side to blend in with the guys in my major/field of work.

4. Hiding my more daring, badass side to blend in with the girls in my sorority.

5. Not having a routine sleep schedule.

6. Excessive scrolling on Instagram. Comparing myself to other girls. Not embracing myself. 

7. Putting far too much face value on how I look, the stretch marks I have, the shade of my skin, my frizzy hair, my red blotches or blemishes on my face, the fact that my thighs touch, the fact that I’m naturally curvier than most girls.

8. Being excessively spontaneous and never having a plan. 

9. Drinking too much coffee. Like 3+ cups per day.

10. Hanging out with people I don’t enjoy just so I won’t be alone.

11. Being a “yes” girl. I cannot emphasize this enough. Say no. Take care of yourself. You don’t have to be in charge of everything or even part of everything. Do. Not. Spread. Yourself. Too. Thin.

12. Being lazy. Not kickstarting my day early.

Moonset Eclipse via NASA http://ift.tt/2FBeAY5

Surprisingly, the INFP one fits me better than the ENTJ one. What is this sorcery...

DATE IDEAS FOR INTUITIVE TYPES

INFP: Something calm, but exciting. Feeding ducks. Walking through a not familiar part of the area you live in together. Listen, adore, have fun. If you go to an amusement park, make time for eating cotton candy in a calm corner and talk about things close to your heart. Ask them what they liked the most, and make it your personal tradition. Hugging before parting the ways, if they are already close to you is also nice.

ENFP: Do something crazy. Skinny dip in lakes, run through busy places. Order a super spicy meal and cry and laugh together because neither of you can eat it. Go listen to outdoor music and offer to dance with them, even if no-one else was dancing. They will dance with you. But after the crazyness, take tem to a cafe or home, and talk about everything you felt and experienced that day!

INTP: Ask them what they’re interested in. A movie that just got into teathers? A game they just purchased? A concert of a band they really like? Do it with them. Show interest in things they are into, and experience them together. Show that you want to learn what they already know. And eat good food while doing it. Even skype dates are ok, just make sure your minds are in the same place.

ENTP: Challenge them. Mentally, physically, however you want to! Take them to place with games! Bring a secret twister mattress to your picnic, ask them to haunted houses in amusement parks and see which of you can figure out better how things were made. And remember: it’s not (always) about winning. It’s about the crazy analyses and speculations, and the fun!

INTJ: Good food from a place they like already. Stand-up shows, zoos, nature parks. Dress up, pretend to be professionals together in modern art gallery. You together make the environment fun by being there, the environment can be almost anything. Don’t choose too hectic places: if you want to go swimming with them, go at evening when there’s only few people.

ENTJ: Invite them to a date. Make it clear it’s a date. Wear at least smart casual, and tell them also what kind of place your going so they can also think about how they want to look. Offer them little fancier drinks or prepare picnic basket with wine classes (even if you drink juice XD). Follow the plan you have talked about, but suprises like flowers and small extra program is always nice! Also, just photoshooting each other with ENTJ might be fun!

INFJ: Be honest about what you want from the date, because they will notice if you’re not having such a good time, and it will affect the whole date. They want to paint and you want to get icecream from your favorite place? Do both! Do stuff like decide to walk on top of a hill with a nice view. Reward yourselves with talking while admiring the view, or go and buy something nice together.

ENFJ: You don’t need a sharp plan. Decide what you want to eat or drink on the spot where you meet them. Drinks? Sure! Shopping? Why not! That nice movie that’s on tv today? Sounds like a plan! Sometimes even though you would have asked for the date, it might seem that they come up with everything else. Randomly going to tennis hall or minigolf. Taking frisbee to beach just if you feel like it. There are many possibilities that will present them on the date day!

NGC 6960: The Witch’s Broom Nebula

Ten thousand years ago, before the dawn of recorded human history, a new light would have suddenly have appeared in the night sky and faded after a few weeks. Today we know this light was from a supernova, or exploding star, and record the expanding debris cloud as the Veil Nebula, a supernova remnant. This sharp telescopic view is centered on a western segment of the Veil Nebula cataloged as NGC 6960 but less formally known as the Witch’s Broom Nebula. Blasted out in the cataclysmic explosion, the interstellar shock wave plows through space sweeping up and exciting interstellar material. Imaged with narrow band filters, the glowing filaments are like long ripples in a sheet seen almost edge on, remarkably well separated into atomic hydrogen (red) and oxygen (blue-green) gas. The complete supernova remnant lies about 1400 light-years away towards the constellation Cygnus. This Witch’s Broom actually spans about 35 light-years. The bright star in the frame is 52 Cygni, visible with the unaided eye from a dark location but unrelated to the ancient supernova remnant. Credit: Martin Pugh (Heaven’s Mirror Observatory)

Cozy afternoon 🍁

Guide to Zero Waste as a college student.

I know. Just the thought of it made me scared. When I first started a year ago, I dived head first and told myself if I didn’t start now, I would never start. It didn’t matter if I would make a mistake, I had to start and then learn from my mistakes.

Boi did I make a lot of mistakes. But I learned. Here are some steps you can take to become zero waste.

1. Look at your trash. 

What is in there? Plastic bottles? Straws? Jars? Wrappers? Foam containers of that one take away? Take a look at your trash and determine why you are producing that amount of trash.

2. Plan. 

After figuring out what’s in your trash think about what you can do to stop making it. I like to guide myself with these three questions:

Do I really need this in my life? If not, then it is a good time to stop buying/ using said thing.

If I do need it, is there an eco-friendly alternative? Do they sell it or should I look for a DIY-option? The important thing is not to get stuck just because you can’t get it!

What habits can I adapt to make transitioning easier for me?

3. Set goals. 

At first, I dived right into it. Which was probably not the best option. After some months I realized it would be better if I took one step at a time. Goals are a good way to get you there but the only way goals can actually work is of they are smart. These are some of the goals I had when I started.

Every day I must fill my reusable water bottle and take it everywhere with me. I am not allowed to drink from any plastic cups, straws any other form of packaging that is recyclable but not necessarily reusable.

Every day I must go out with my reusable straw and my utensils. In order not to forget them, I have to always keep a pair on each of my bags.

4. Keep track. 

I will admit: I am not perfect. But keeping tracks of what I do with zero waste helps me see what I can do better. And that’s what this movement is. What can we do to get a bit closer to producing no waste? Some people get discouraged but this personally encourages me to work harder.

So are you planning on becoming zero waste? Are you already part of the movement? Let me know!

-Shirou

“South Pacific Ocean" by | BeJamin

what to do when everything’s a mess

Wash your hair. Don’t worry about all those articles online about the best haircare products of 2019 and whatnot, get in, wash it like you usually do, get out. Leave it to air dry, it’s less work for you.

Brush your teeth. Even if you brushed them this morning and are probably going to brush it tonight, do it anyway. Especially if it’s exam time, all that tea or coffee you’re most likely downing (props to you if you only study with water) probably makes them feel kind of gross.

I know most of these lists tell you to run a bath, but let’s face it, for those of you who even have a bath in the first place, the thought of filling that tub and sitting there in complete silence for a couple hours seems like a trek. And ironically exhausting. So instead, just brush your hair, take a nap (set a nice soothing alarm) and once you’ve gotten out of bed, wash your face or at least splash cold water on your face.

CLEAN clean clean clean CLEAN. Easier said than done, but at least start by clearing one messy component of your area; it could be your floor, your desk or your bed. You don’t need to clean and re-organise your entire room marie condo-style for you to actually have a reason to take the time to clean in the first place. A little goes a long way, and you don’t ALWAYS need to do the hard yards ya know.

I would say read a book, but sometimes your brain is melting or buzzing so it can’t really focus on anything lengthy. So instead, find someone reciting a poem online, and just listen to it. I recommend Jeremy Irons and his voicing of tons of T.S Eliot poetry, or Allen Ginsberg reciting his own poetry (Howl is a classic).

If you’re one of those people who drowns their sorrows by listening to music, don’t listen to music!! Don’t reinforce your pain!! So to that I say, listen to a podcast. If the classic podcast genre of true crime is a little too stressful and you’ve already cried twice today, listen to interviews with actors, screenwriters and directors. It can be really refreshing to listen to people you already enjoy the content of talk about their work. I recommend Awards Chatter and Happy Sad Confused.

Stop staring at screens! Just physically sit outside for a bit, you don’t need to go for a jog or do a general workout, just…sit. People-watch, try and memorise the exact scene in front of you, from the mis-en-scene to all the colours and sounds and the way the sunlight feels on your eyelashes. Write it down if you want to, you could even denote a single notebook to your little outdoor descriptions. Or just write on a napkin. To each their own.

Have you eaten today? And I mean something hearty, something that isn’t primarily made out of air and salt. Something that falls under the umbrella of snack does not count; meal is more like it. If not, eat. Preparing food might feel exhausting, but so’s going a relatively long amount of time without something nutritionally substantial.

If you’re feeling emotionally heavily, get out a notebook or even just a scrap of paper, a pen and cry until your eyes are as blurry as can be. With tears down your cheeks, scribble out how you’re feeling. Don’t bother with how neat or messy it is, whether the sentences even stay on the lines, it’s not about being aesthetic. In fact, it’s about being as messy as possible. Let all of it out, and let is act as a physical manifestation of what’s going on in your head. Don’t fight it or deny it, relieve yourself by both constructing and understanding yourself.