Buko Jelly, Tiny Inspirations, and Coming Back to Writing
I'm back to writing, yay!!!
Yay, I’m back writing in my Substack!
I feel like it’s been forever. The reason I came back to my beloved blog was because I haven’t been feeling creative in a while. Even though I love it, I’m tired of just writing articles and blog posts for money. I want to write because I can, and because I have a need to be expressive and free and to write.
So much has been going on since I wrote about, what, Taco Bell? LOL. (a classic). A new administration, a bunch of new crazy stuff going on in the news, and more that I can’t even remember to write about but I’m sure that happened. (ahh life).
Okay, for one— I’m so glad Substack is still here, and that it didn’t turn into complete enshittification. There’s something called posts now though??? And it’s so happy and sweet and innocent there, just a bunch of creative creatives writing about creativity and culture and stuff that doesn’t rot your brain. It’s so refreshing and nice.
I did want to write more in the past, but I’ve been busy, and then writing blog posts just didn’t suit me for a while. It felt like I had to write on Substack as a job or a requirement instead of for fun and as a hobby. And whenever creative things feel that hard, I tend to let go of them.
Now, I want to write more in a way that is casual, like a diary (because duh this Substack isn’t called Gen Z Diary for nothing.) I also thought if my name was attached to it, it would look possibly “bad” or “unprofessional” on my end to write about fun stuff like cats or lofi. But honestly, who doesn’t want to read about cats or lofi? Boring people probably.
I still want to write in-depth topics about culture and stuff that impacts the world today, but for now, I want to get in the habit of posting on a somewhat regular basis.
So anyway, onto the actual blog post!! :D
Finding Peace in a Rushed, Crazy World
The older I get, the more I realize that I really don’t know as much as I thought I did. I’m getting to a point where I’m starting to accept that about myself and lending compassion over learning so much about the world around me.
And when I mean stuff I don’t know about, I mean things like (finds a random list on the floor somewhere): money, how to handle said money, what they don’t tell you about car loans, mental health, cooking, renting, being confident, washing dishes, handling a job, freelancing, health insurance, etc.
These are very real adult things that I sometimes (or, honestly, pretty often) I don’t feel equipped for. I know I’m doing a good job, because nobody handed me an adult guide book, but I still feel like there’s so much I don’t know yet that will help me be prepared in the future for whatever random crisis happens in the world.
I feel like so many people my age (mid 20s) think that they should know how to do something that feels so ‘adult,’ like buying a car or learning how to move from one job to the next.
But my high school didn’t come with a life class. The things that I did learn about as a teenager wasn’t actually that applicable to my real life now. I don’t need to use the pythagorean theorem to do my taxes, but it sure would have been helpful if someone could have explained to me at the very least how taxes even worked.
So no wonder so many people don’t feel like they know what they’re doing. At some level we’re all winging it, but with life experience comes learning how to dodge learning curves a lot better. And, as someone who is 25, I’m still learning how to manage a lot of learning curves.
And you know what? That’s fine. Life isn’t a rush, and there’s no end point or starting point. We’re all just weird squishy humans with lizard brains trying to make it in a world that feels like it changes every two years and occasionally catches on fire.
So even though I don’t have all of the answers, at least I can manage life one day at a time and turn off the news. Because honestly, there’s nothing going on for me in the news that makes me happy, unless it’s animals or something adorable.
Creativity is a natural human trait we all have, and it can be doing anything, not something that makes you money. When I feel creative just because I can, I feel happier, peaceful, and more like myself.
Cool fun stuff that made me happier:
Eeep I’m excited to put together this little cool fun section of stuff that made me happier this week. It’s products and random things that brought me joy, and maybe, just mayyyybe, it’ll bring joy for you too. Enjoy dear reader.
Tabby Cat: This is a google extension that includes virtual cats. No more will you wish for a long embrace with your cat while stuck in your cat-less office… when you can pet a virtual cat. Or seal, ‘cause they have other animals too.
Buko Pandan: I went to an international festival a couple of weeks ago and tried coconut buko pandan, a jelly-infused drink based in the Philippines…. and boy oh boy was it delicious. Mine had little shavings of coconut jelly. I didn’t even know coconut jelly was a real thing! Ugh, delicious.
Adulting stickers at Five Below: Because I needed it for when I finally did the dishes.
TeeTurtle: To identify my feelings, I use this lil squid that comes with an angry face and happy face if you flip it in reverse. Plus it's adorable.
Lofi music: always, always makes me feel relaxed and calm. I love all of these simple accounts that make these cozy playlists. Like this one of a nighttime cat.
Thanks for reading! If you made it all the way to the bottom, you get me telling you how amazing you are :) and me telling you to subscribe for more lofi recommendations and occasional dumpster fire posts that are informative but great to read. :D