academia
actually study! study the things you love, the things you like, the things you know nothing about — the pursuit of knowledge lasts a lifetime, and there is so much to learn
visit your professor’s office hours! it always helps to make yourself known to your teachers (i’ve been given grade bumps and had great conversations with my university lecturers)
avoid and check yourself for the pretension that can often accompany academia — it hurts no one to be kind and mindful
delve into the realm of philosophy (for starters: metaphysics, epistemology, aesthetics) it will broaden your mind
stay late at your university library studying (if you can do so safely, preferably with a friend). university campuses feel magical in the evening
style
wear darker, muted colours
plaid coats, pants, or skirts
button-up shirts (Peter Pan collars are a bonus)
turtlenecks
tie your hair with a bow
accessorise! a vintage watch adds sophistication to any outfit. try wearing it with a ring or three
practice good posture — standing tall creates an air of elegance, confidence, and if paired with the right amount of nonchalance, mystery
media
films
dead poets society
cracks
the dreamers
thoroughbreds
breathless (à bout de souffle)
cléo from 5 to 7 (cléo de 5 à 7)
handsome devil
tv shows
gilmore girls
chilling adventures of sabrina
black mirror
the good place
the politician
books
the secret history
the picture of dorian gray
the goldfinch
the line of beauty
persuasion
the collected poems of oscar wilde
ovid’s metamorphoses
music
listen to classical music as you sleep/read/study
you can check out this dark academia playlist for inspiration
aesthetic activities (think of this as a little checklist to get you underway as a fledgling aesthete)
make yourself tea in pretty teacups (you can find plenty in secondhand stores!)
light candles in your bedroom, and read by candlelight
dry flowers for your room/desk
explore secondhand bookstores for old, pretty editions of novels you may or may not have heard of
give handwritten letters to your lovers/friends/yourself
wake up before the sun rises to watch dawn break
brood during a thunderstorm, and write extravagant, flowery poetry on parchment
join a secret society
exist in the real, with your books and art, and your turtlenecks and plaid coats, as a mystery. social media can give too much of you away
host an unceasing bacchanal for you and your pals
I hope this serves as a nice little guide for some of you wanting to get more into the aesthetic! There’s no real right or wrong way to go about it, these are just my suggestions from my own experience and perception of and within the community.
Enjoy,
Juniper x
today I: went to the barn took notes finished speech outline sewed sleeves went to a meeting wash and folded clothes wrote 800 words registered for classes
for my daily allotted complaining time, I had to wake up at 4AM to register for classes, and then at around 11, I went to the barn for practice, which went well, until it was time to turn the horses out and one escaped, so me and the coach spent the better part of an hour attempting to catch a runaway horse, and while I wanted nothing more than to shower and spend the rest of the day in bed, I didn't let myself wallow in the embarrassment of what happened, I showered, and made myself tick things off a now manageable to-do list
fuck it. be creative even if you never really *make* anything. write out plot synopses of stories and then move on. design OCs you'll never use. make mood boards and concept art and don't do anything with them. life's too short to forget everything that inspired you and creation doesn't have to be "complete" to be worth the time you put into it.
sorry for romanticising the mundane. i have little else
as someone who has gone long stretches without electricity, let alone an internet connection
BACK UP YOUR WORK---YES, EVEN PHYSICAL COPIES. HAVE OFFLINE RESOURCES. KEEP YOUR LANDLINE. CARRY CASH. DON'T GET IMPORTANT APPLIANCES THAT RUN ON WIFI. LEARN TO READ A PAPER MAP
basially why i haven't been posting
if you can't get rid of it, you might as well romanticise it, right?
lying awake on hot summer nights and listening to a sad girl playlist
sitting by the ocean or lake while looking melancholic
collecting sea shells and other little trinkets to look at
reading ancient philosophy and russian literature in public
strolling around your neighbourhood and befriending stray cats
eating way too much fruit
thinking about the fig tree
watching the moon and staying up until sunrise
mourning your non-existent summer romance
wired headphones
getting really good at making iced coffees
watching sad summer movies
writing poetry on postcards that you will never send
taking lots of Polaroids of mundane things
crying
I myself have been dealing with what I like to call "the summer blues" so I felt like writing something like this, I hope it resonates with some of you!! As always, please feel free to share your own suggestions and tips in the comments! <3
love ya ・:*₊‧✩
so i just read a secret history, and Richard what the fuck?
sorry from the brag in the title but I'm very proud of myself and how much my writing has improved in the past year so i thought I would share some tips that helped me
read alot
analyize the style of authors you enjoy or want to write like (ie: story structure, diction, voice, tone, sentence structure, figurative language) i have a template i use if anyone wants
write daily ( it could be journaling, fanfiction, or even a blog post, writing daily builds a habit, and anything, any words on paper, is better than nothing at all)
if you're stuck, find a quote and write a short story around its use
your first draft is allowed to be crappy, hell it should be, it will never be perfect
it probably will be, but its only supposed to be first one, edit and revise as many times as you need to
tell what happening, show emotions
" she yanked the chair from underneath the desk, and sat down starring at the floor, before putting her forehead flat on the desk" sounds better than " she pulled the chair from underneath the desk, and sat down starring sadly at the ground."
Jane Austen really said ‘I respect the “I can fix him” movement but that’s just not me. He’ll fix himself if knows what’s good for him’ and that’s why her works are still calling the shots today.
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