Bri

listening to classical music on the bus, different playlist for morning and night

romanticizing the small things because sure, your school might suck and class is boring, but if you act like a scholar who knows a dark secret about the school, it makes it a little more bearable

going above and beyond on assignments in hopes of getting into your dream school someday

getting really excited when the class read is a novel you enjoy

getting really excited when your friends ask what you’re reading/studying and accidentally going into a very long and detailed explanation about it

drinking hot tea on colds mornings while waiting for school to open

using dark academia as a way to make school seem a little less boring and a little more fun

friendly heated debates with your friends about random topics

attempting to learn a language, passing broken worded notes to your friend in said language

taking detailed notes in rushed handwriting

creating yet another wishlist of items that fit the aesthetic

staying up late to continue reading “just one more chapter” is what you said ages ago

always carrying a book on you

putting yourself on a book buying ban and failing miserably

“it’s starting to smell like scary movies!”

no.

This isn't meant as a 'suggestion' list (but feel free to take it as such if you'd like). These are just things I do because it makes me feel more confident and put-together!

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Waterfall lights hanging over a blood-red curtain, to give late-night studying a more fantasy-novel dorm room feel

Old mason jars filled with crystals and sea glass from adventures long past. Tall jars stocked with fancy pens and stained paintbrushes

Candles. An unnerving number of candles.

A sizable chunk of smoky quartz, gifted to me from a friend whom I helped pass Statistics

Small, delicate angel statuettes. When I was a little boy, my grandmother put them around my room for protection.

Stacks of books (quite obviously), but especially the stack of battered, thrifted ecology and wildlife identification books I've collected over the years (since long before my decision to study the natural sciences)

A four-generation family photograph, taken with relatives I barely got a chance to know

Because tuition is expensive and my job doesn't pay much.

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Letter-writing. Decorate the margins with simple doodles that you know they'd appreciate. Find your own, distinctive sign-off. (You can also do this online by customising emails, Google Docs links, etc.)

Libraries. Campus libraries and their hum of student chatter. Once they begin to get too loud for your liking, visit a public library and study amongst the towering shelves.

Thrifting. Slowly phase old porcelain tableware into your kitchen. Walk to class in a gently-battered long coat. Thumb through copies of classics with worn corners and an old love note on the inside cover. Especially if you find an ornate teacup or mug that you can keep at your study space to be completely yours.

Make it yourself. Press flowers between heavy books and use them as decoration in your journal or sketchbook. Cut up some scrap paper and make bookmarks with your favourite book quotes.

Explore. Wander around public parks in your favourite pullover or blazer, taking photos or sketching whatever it is that catches your interest. Investigate back corridors and secret passages on your campus.

Read all those books in your TBR. (I know you have a lot on there.)

"Beautiful. Autumn-raw. She must be a witch of some kind."

In the Homeric world, as a hero (e.g. Achilles Odysseus), you gain HONOUR during life, and after you die, you gain the GLORY, which will offer you immortality through songs that start getting written in your name. Basically, you remain in the memory of everyone, and this is the way you become immortal!

Studying either at home with music blasting or at the public library, very quietly.

Possibly drinking a pepsi or something, whatever you got from a vending machine.

Whatcha reading? Books on anarchy, or maybe history, political movements, social studies -- anything that opens your horizons and educates you.

Hell, maybe you're even studying the history of punk rock? Getting familiar with its core philosophies?

Or, you know, you could also be reading a fiction book or a zine.

Taking notes on your notebook with a pencil.

The notebook is filled with poems and lyrics you've created or you've liked from other places.

Written rambling on whatever you read, something that might go up on your blog, or your zine if you have one.

Doodles, designs and stickers all over that notebook and the notebook cover too.

You're dressed however the fuck you want??? As you should??

Your hair is also however you want, casual, mundane, crazy as fuck, who cares.

Finding ways to help your community and those in need, that seems very punk academia.

Discussing what you learned with others.

Educating people who aren't in your scene, too.