Leah Tolstoy

2013-2016 filters (master list) 💝

Here are all the filters I have made that are inspired by the 2013-2016 eras! <3

2014 faded summer filter (instagram)

2013 rosy blog filter (instagram)

2015 autumn filter (instagram)

ariana grande insta filter (instagram)

2014 it-girl instagram filter (instagram)

Rosy blog filter (picsart)

2014 faded grunge filter (instagram)

2014 travel filter (vsco)

2015 cool girl filter (iPhone)

Here are some things I enjoy about being a STEM major (idk if these classify as dark academia but we’ll go with it):

-First and foremost, Vivaldi. Specifically, Storm. Listening to that piece while doing your work will make you feel like a mad scientist.

Pouring over math, pouring over biology lab work, practicing on a cadaver, anything.

Put that song on and bam, pretentious mad scientist whose on the brink of discovering something that will shatter the scientific community, or quite literally, shatter the world. I never said they were a good person, did I?

- Starting different journals for different subjects. Anatomy, botanicals, chemistry, biology, quantum physics, anything. Just writing, drawing, and sketching and genuinely enjoying learning about all these topics. You never know when it could come in handy.

-Wanting to become the Tony Stark of our times (not the war crimes but the innovation and knowledge) and always daydreaming about creating something magnificient. Maybe you could create an iron suit one day, a real life, fully functioning one.

-Continuing with wanting to become Tony Stark, obsessing over electrical engineering and astrophysics. Learning about flight, the atmosphere, how to build and create flight vehicles, and having millions of sketches of aircrafts on your desk and all over your walls.

-Talking about flight, can we talk about Da Vinci? Growing up obsessed with him and pouring over his artwork and scientific studies. You felt and still feel understood by him. He combines your love for the arts and your love for science beautifully. Wishing you could live in the reinassance era, being a pupil, studying under all of these talented people.

Btw, you’re still obsessed with him. Yes, till now.

-From Da Vinci, discovering Galileo, Michelangelo, Raphael, Donatello, and falling in love with their works. Eventually developing an obsession with the reinassance era in its entirety and basically memorizing the entire timeline and historic events of that time period.

-Visiting as many libraries as you can with the countries you visit. Personally, the most magnificent library I’ve seen is the Bibliotheca Alexandrina.

-Having an ancient mythology obsession. Ancient Egypt, Ancient Greece, Ancient Rome, Ancient Persia, Ancient China, Norse mythology, anything you could get your hands on. These stories shaped your childhood and are still very dear to your heart.

-Hating the idea of monolithic religions from a young age (mainly because of religious trauma) and deciding to rebel by praying to ancient gods. Nothing big.

For me personally, it’s Greek gods. A small prayer to Athena when I’m cleaning or using olive oil or crocheting. A lil prayer to Aphrodite when I’m doing my makeup or skincare. A lil prayer to Artemis when I go shooting. It’s an act of defiance and makes me happy. What’s better than that?

-Also, hating the academic world yet wanting to participate in it. I mean you honestly hate the world at this point but let’s just focus on this. It’s so pretentious and exclusive and misguiding/misleading most of the time. Also, the fact that white, old men are at the top doesn’t really help.

-From that, having an intense hatred for the collegeboard. Going on rants about how pointless and stupid these standardized tests are. I mean, what’s the point of it? Give me one solid reason we take them. Go on, I’m waiting.

-Taking programming for the first time and just simply hating it but also secretly loving it. I mean, there’s nothing more satisfying than submitting your coding assignment and getting an A but those goddamn punctuation signs (idk what else to call them).

Imagine finishing your code then running it and it tells you there’s an error. You search for hours and hours and then finally realise, you wrote ‘}’ instead of ‘]’. A breakdown is on its way.

aesthetic for @sleepystemkid

dedicating yourself to learning, always wanting to know more

anatomy sketches in the margins of your notes

keeping a list of documentaries you want to see

heavy engineering textbooks piled on your desk

a true crime podcast playing in the background while you go about your morning

reading biographies of Leonardo Da Vinci and other great visionaries

rewatching your favorite movies after a long day

a map pinned to the wall above your desk

getting books on your current interests from the library

closet filled with muted colors

a love of problem solving, working through complicated issues to reach a streamlined solution

hours spent studying in the library

drawing circuit diagrams in your notes

heavy book bags filled with texts on a variety of subjects

going down research rabbit-holes when you get interested in a new topic

growing plants by your desk

Or the assumption that just because you can read well or you like math class, you’re somehow more EMOTIONALLY mature than your little kid brain is actually capable of being.