Andorinha

Public transportation is humbling, by which I don't mean there's anything lesser about it, but that it reminds you in the best possible way that you're not the main character of the universe. Even in a world class public transportation system you're occasionally going to encounter people begging, crying babies, people talking loudly or emoting, people wearing outfits you may consider weird, body odor, delays and inconveniences. I'm not saying you need to put up with straight up harassment or anything like that, but you need to accept that the world exists outside of you. If your entire world is your workplace, your car and your nuclear family, that is going to impact your politics and your perspective. It's no wonder so much of the US is designed to this exact end, and how so many suburban Americans who value comfort and convenience over all else are losing their damn minds. The US is an international embarrassment when it comes to transit, but even in sophisticated networks you still have to share a space with other human beings and you need to act like an adult about it.

Don’t hold the younger you to the standards you hold yourself to today. You didn’t know as much. You were in a different headspace, with different things affecting and scaring you, facing challenges that seemed big at the time. Maybe you were even lonelier. What’s important is that you know better now, and you know more now. That’s something to move forward with, not something to curse the past with.

the most awkward part of learning a language is when you are able to understand a sentence but you have no idea how to make that sentence

forget baby fever, the perceived need to grab any piece of free furniture you see in your 20s is unreal

lemon is so so so fucking good in sweet food and savory food and spicy food and salty food and drinks. she has it all

bell hooks mentioned going through a time in her life where she was severely depressed and suicidal and how the only way she got through it was through changing her environment: She surrounded her home with buddhas of all colors, Audre Lorde’s A Litany for Survival facing her as she wakes up, and filling the space she saw everyday with reinforcing objects and meaningful books. She asks herself each day, “What are you going to do today to resist domination?” I also really liked it when she said that in order to move from pain to power, it is crucial to engage in “an active rewriting of our lives.”

it’s okay to do a little of a lot of different things! you don’t have to devote yourself to 10,000 hours mastery of one particular thing if you don’t want to. you can spend a little time on 43 different hobbies. did you have fun? or learn something? then you spent time and resources well

friendly reminder that you didn’t waste your year. any moments of happiness or comfort, any small accomplishments, they all matter. this has been a really hard year, and simply surviving is something to be proud of.