- in a gothic cathedral
- lying in bed, listening to summer rain
- a hot bubble bath on a wintery day
- a bookstore or a library
- pine forest, neck craned upwards at trees against the sky
- natural history museum
- sunrise from a hilltop, with only the birds for company
- near a crackling fireplace with a good book and a teacup
- in the grass at sunset, watching the clouds and the butterflies
- riding a bike down unknown roads and getting lost
surround yourself with happy scents; lemongrass, lavender, freshly baked bread, and bedsheets clean as cloud. let foreign fragrances steal your worries away with spiced breezes; cinnamon, pear, pepper, cloves, chamomile and mulberry wine. be enhanced by the sweet potency of popcorn, peach water, and soft winds churning cherry blossom into pointed noses. smell is an underrated sense. it can lift your mood more than you could ever imagine.
take care of yourself
me @ all my mutuals: amazing, spectacular, wonderful, the greatest thing ive ever seen, great, terrific, show stopping, top notch
so i have a birthday curse. you know all those people who are like “oh no i hate my birthday” but secretly love it? no. i fear my birthday. every year something goes catastrophically wrong. like catastrophically.
one year i broke my wrist. another i accidentally set my hair on fire. one year i was so hungover from the night before that i spent the whole day curled up in bed with a bucket. i plan a party outside, it rains. once the movie theater i’d planned to go to had a bomb threat and was closed for the day. this year i spent my day at the doctor’s. yeah, blood-test birthdays aren’t the best.
which brings me to say: fuck it. you know what, 2016 fucking sucks. but i’m giving myself do-overs now. your birthday isn’t beautiful? congratulations on your new birthday on a day that works; enjoy your cake. you spent your prom sick in bed? guess what i am your new prom date, get dressed up, we’re gonna take a ballroom dance class (many are free) and then go and get ice cream and fries. christmas felt like a joke? ho ho ho july 25th is christmas in july, give out presents, santa; go ice skating and eat snow cones.
we live in a world that gives us one day to get something right. we build it up in our heads and then when the day comes around, we feel oddly empty. that’s just not working and i’m your mom now and i give you permission to make any day as magical as you want it to be. no more waiting for an excuse. this is your excuse. we only have so many days. why only spend a few of them celebrating.
surround yourself with happy scents; lemongrass, lavender, freshly baked bread, and bedsheets clean as cloud. let foreign fragrances steal your worries away with spiced breezes; cinnamon, pear, pepper, cloves, chamomile and mulberry wine. be enhanced by the sweet potency of popcorn, peach water, and soft winds churning cherry blossom into pointed noses. smell is an underrated sense. it can lift your mood more than you could ever imagine.
who you are in high school is not who you will be in college and who you are in college is not who you will be when you are 30.
when you accept that you are malleable and ever-changing, you will be less resistant to new ways of thinking and being and you will grow into the beautiful person you are meant to become.
resist the urge to remain stagnant. there are always things to learn about the world and yourself. let yourself learn them.
- sit in the sun without anything to do, feel the heat of the rays hit your skin, realize that this sunlight has travelled a very long way to reach you
- walk around barefoot and try to feel as much of the ground under your feet as you can, notice every rock and blade of grass
- sit quietly for a while and notice the touch of breath in your nostrils, feel how the air gets cooler as you inhale and warmer as you exhale
- drive around aimlessly and blast some of your favorite songs, scream/sing along to them and feel the vibrations of your favorite lyrics as they change the air in your throat and around you, feel that the music is healing you from the inside out
- stay away from alcohol or drugs for a few days, try to be as aware and present as you can in every moment, stop trying to numb or dull your senses
- eat a few meals without any distractions, notice every bite and taste every flavor that covers your tongue, be grateful for it all
- look up at the stars and the moon, understand how small we all are and how immense the universe is, realize what a miracle everything is, let your heart swell with amazement and admiration for life itself
