^stupid square head

I value hunger a lot. By that I mean hunger to create, hunger to learn, hunger to accomplish things. I bear no judgment for people who want to live relaxed, laidback lives, but I also recognize that prolific art and breakthroughs were conceived through a person’s utter fascination & obsession with a certain topic. Yes hustle culture sucks, but I do think that there’s a tendency to shame people who’re ambitious (especially in the arts??) that I especially disagree with. The hunger to achieve things has always been a vital part of memorable creation tbh, that’s just the part that people don’t want to hear because they’d much rather be under the impression that art (and achievement) equates to innate talent or mythological concepts like “being tortured into creating art.” The reality is a lot of artists (writers, painters, whatever have you) were obsessed with their crafts and very cunning about it too.

No exaggeration but theeeee most critical lesson I learned in my 20s was letting go when it was time. It’s so cliche but it’s so true. I used to hold on so venomously to people, put on a tap dance for their approval, force relationships to last past their expiration date, carry the heavy lifting for reaching out because I didn’t want to feel “passive.” But when someone doesn’t want your effort it’s not about passivity. It’s literally about self respect, not wasting your time, and gravitating only to people who have your best interest in mind and celebrate you. I’ve met so many older people who don’t know how to let go and it truly scares me that this could easily be me. It’s better to develop this skill early than it is to spend an entire lifetime begging for love and belonging.