Hey there! Thank you for opening this. It’s been a minute and I’ve missed you. Usually, I aim to have these little newsletters in your inbox by mid-month. Last time I was early, this month I’m late. In the immortal words of Tony Soprano: “Whaddaya gonna do?” Let’s get into it.
I don’t want to fall into the the tired trap of grandstanding about how great aging is or peddle a bunch of platitudes about accepting yourself, but if I’m being honest, getting older really has done wonders for my self-esteem and general outlook on life. Still, I understand why people cling to youth culture (even after it’s no longer theirs at a certain point). I’ve found the most peace in just leaning into the things I love authentically, no matter if they’re on trend or not. Don’t get me wrong, I donated most of my little black skinny jeans in favor of relaxed fit ones a while ago. I also ditched ankle socks a decade ago, even though everyone makes fun of my slouchy grandpa socks. My family has this long-running joke of repeating something I said to my uncle when I was a very little kid, which was: “Be yourself, I don’t care.” This was, I guess, in reaction to something he did at a family gathering. I think little kids know more than adults sometimes.
I finally picked up Julia Cameron’s book The Artist’s Way after a friend of mine had recommended it to me. I only had a vague idea of what I was getting into beforehand—basically that it was self-help for creatives. The book is meant to be completed over 12-weeks and aims to “unblock” artists through a series of tasks, mantras, and self-reflective questions. I really appreciate Cameron’s belief that everyone is an artist, and that a lot of what keeps us stuck comes down to mindset, time management, and pushing through the discomfort of making things we won’t necessarily like. I’m about five weeks in and the practice that’s been most challenging for me is writing what she calls your daily “morning pages”. I know that seems funny given that I write on a very consistent basis (and always have, even if it was just a diary). The main hurdle is just building in the time. You’re supposed to fill a full three pages of stream-of-consciousness thoughts and it can be hard to brain dump like that first thing in the morning (at least for me). I’ve taken to trying to do them in the afternoon or when I have a free minute, but I wonder if I’m bending the rules by doing this. If you’ve done it, let me know!
Last year, I borrowed this idea from a friend where you can invite people to collaborate on a birthday playlist. Anyone can add their song picks and the result ended up being really cute. Below is my one from last year for you to enjoy. Consider it my gift to YOU, lovely reader! And yes, that is me at age 12 in the thumbnail photo. I was really excited about getting the new Mandy Moore album.
Until next month,
Dana