harry :)

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20 y

💬 portuguese (native 🇧🇷) + english (C2)

i study english literature at college

interests

literature (specially classics!)

language study - (studying now) spanish, latin + french, german and italian (wish to study someday)

teaching

photography

journaling

shakespeare!!!!

literary research (i currently research women writers from the early modernity in england, specifically isabella whitney)

music

yesterday, i was listening a really nice podcast about why someone have switched their fountain pen to a mechanical pencil, and that had me questioning my stationary choices (lol!).

the argument of the person was that they, once, were carrying some journals — written in fountain pen ink — and an energy drink exploded, leaving all the writings gone. then, he started to write in lead/mechanical pencil since if the paper gets wet, it is still able to be read. yes, it can be erased, but they argument that the lead always leaves a mark that was there.

well. that got me thinking. i’ve always been a mechanical pencil person. in high school i’ve tried — and still try/have/use — multiple lead sizes — from 0.5 to 2.0!. in my first years of uni, i’ve used only pencil to write my annotations until i found a system that worked for me. but i’ve always liked it only for the love of it — like some things in life should be. i’ve never thought really why i liked it.

but this video changed it.

after getting into uni, i got a fountain pen and felt in love with it. also, this year i’ve been getting really into gel pens and have been really liking. i have been wanting to buy a sturdier fountain pen for me to carry around (the one i have is the kakuno one! really good), and that video/podcast came into my youtube home page.

at first, i agreed with the video. i understood the point, and also thought “wow, what if my notes get wet? i would lose everything!”. and yes, i would lose every thing. but is that so bad?

“(…) not everything has to last forever in order for it to be special” - harry styles on his song ‘coming up roses’

i agree. before getting into journaling and before it made its way into my life, i had a really strict and compact system. i didn’t even think of changing my system. it was like this with my pens, with my journals. but i believe that there is a time you understand that things can change, and it’s okay.

you change. your system should change too. and this, today, after thinking so much about the video and pages getting wet made me think about it. i do would like to keep my notes and pages, and obviously would be really sad if they were ruined, but if these notes are really important, they will stay with me.

nowadays — besides uni —, i write for today. i write because i need. the coming back and revising is a consequence. but i write to remember now. if some quote or note gets wet and ruined, if i really love it, it will stay with me. like the quote from harry styles, or a quote from the picture of dorian gray — “to reveal the art and conceal the artist is art’s aim.” —.

so i believe it’s important to, after journaling has made its way into your life, understand why you are writing. for what purpose. and then, choose the tools you like. experiment. try out new things. make mistakes. change. i, for example, like and bought my fountain pen when i got into uni because it made me feel like a proper literature student — silly, but it has helped me so much!

this is life, right?