"Not everything feels like something else"
Plus: 3 q's for you, photography fails, exclusive doggie pics & more
Hello & happy August! Please rise for our national anthem.
Recently I’ve been thinking about how we compare things to other things (this will get more eloquent, I hope promise). Comparisons of one city or country to another was something I’ve encountered a lot in travel journalism—“The Paris of the South,” for instance, or “a city filled with so much to do you’ll think you’re in New York City.” Writers sometimes go to a place and find the best way to describe it is to use another (often Western) city for reference. Although I was really conscious to avoid doing this in my more recent years of travel writing, I’m certain I did this earlier on in my career.
There’s a poem by Angie Sijun Lou called “Jessica gives me a chill pill,” originally published in Muzzle Magazine. An image of a couple lines from it that keeps popping up in my TikTok (in those slideshow posts with various heartbreaking quotes and moody music—if you’re on TikTok, then you know the ones).
Jessica
has a forehead scar from
the deep end of a pool. I
ask Jessica what drowning
feels like and she says
not everything feels like
something else.
I get that it’s easier to understand something if relate it to a more familiar thing, and I’m sure some part of that is merely a coping mechanism of being human. If we felt all things in a new way all the time, we’d get so, so exhausted. But I love this quote as a reminder that it’s okay to experience things—situations, art, places, music, feelings, etc etc etc—with fresh eyes and novelty. From a personal perspective, doing so can help you focus more intently on what it is you’re actually faced with vs. taking mental shortcuts (and again, mental shortcuts are useful sometimes, but they’re not always what we want). From a creative perspective, doing so can set you free, helping you to, say, replace cliched descriptions with more apt ones, embrace differences in culture and art with an open mind & heart, or shed expectations of what you want to make so that you can simply make without judgement. ✿
Interviews(??!)
The other day I had a silly little thought recently that I’d love to feature creatives on my Substack and do Q&As with them about what makes them tick, how they balance a creative life with All The Things, what challenges they’ve faced, and general words of wisdom. And then I was like, maybe it’s not so silly! I love interviewing people for my job (whether for articles or for my podcast), so this would be using my passions and skills to bring you fun new stuff to read. These interviews would be Q&A format, would focus holistically on living a creative life, and would be (I hope) all-around fun.
So, I’d love to hear from you before I start doing this. Would you please answer these 3 quick questions for me, dear reader?
I am still sorting out exactly what these interviews could look like, so I appreciate your input. If you’d like to elaborate on your responses at all, or have any other thoughts about this, please let me know in the comments below.
Photo Stuff
Ugh, okay, I’ll just come out and say it: I am woefully behind on my self-portrait project. I suspected this might happen, because one very different self-portrait every week is a lot of work! But I also can’t shake the disappointment of not having kept up with it, because I was and am genuinely excited about the project. With the weeks I completed, I could really see my photography improving.
All the feelings I’m feeling might be better saved for a later newsletter, but for now I’m debating if I’m going to try and just go wild and try and catch up (that’s one way to push myself artistically) or readjust my plans a bit and aim for 1 per month for the rest of the year (more forgiving for sure). What do you think? Should I choose chaos?
In other news, I took photos for another Humane Society event, their 45th Annual Birthday Paw-ty (get it? get it??). Below are 4 cutie dogs I snapped:
Hot Takes & Cool Recs
Curious about slow living? Confused about slow living? Here are 5 things to know, thanks to
at .With Cindy posted a very thoughtful video on Yellowface by Rebecca F. Kuang (R.F. Kuang), race, class, and the publishing industry that I highly recommend! Her channel is one of my Booktok faves.
“People fear getting older. I fear getting older. It seems uncomfortable and I miss my childhood. But I think the greater tragedy, greater than aging (which we are most certainly told is a tragedy), is getting older without being able to make peace with the life you’ve chosen to live. It’s so easy to spend time wondering about all of the things you could’ve been or dwelling on the frustrations caused by a previous decision (like hating where you live or feeling unfulfilled in a job). And what a waste of time that is, to wonder about all of the things you could’ve been without enjoying who you became.” Okay, I am SLAIN. Thank you
who writes for this piece on tomato girl summer.That Billie Eilish song from the Barbie movie is out of my head and now this is all I can hear.
I’m going to South Korea in the fall! This is a trip I have been dreaming of for a few years now, so I am excited. I’m in the midst of planning and would love any recommendations you have. Comment below or shoot me an email at sayhi@theresachristine.com ✿
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Thanks as always for being here!
- Theresa
Your kind words mean so much. Thank you for sharing my writing! 💕