I’ve accidentally turned in my past month’s worth of articles either unfinished or a few days late. I never mean to, and it’s not that I’m not working on them; I have just always been notoriously bad at conclusions. I never know how to wrap up, and it seems like possibly the most important part of an article. So, naturally, it’s always stressed me out the most.
I feel like I’ve talked myself into some kind of a trap. Every week I find myself totally caught up and over-focused on making my article ~deep~ or *insightful* or *~super brave~*. I feel like if I’m not writing something incredible or powerful or moving, maybe it isn’t worth writing about at all.
I totally miss the point feeling like this. It completely clouds over why I joined Her Campus in the first place. Don’t get me wrong, it’s wonderful when I have something genuine to say that feels powerful, but that’s not always why I write. I write to share with people what I love, not to impress them with how profound I can be. I think that pretty often when it comes to my writing, the standards I hold myself to are too high. Then they psych me out and I avoid trying at all, so that at least I can’t disappoint myself or anyone else.
I’m trying to remember to be a little bit lighter. I’m working on not taking my writing so seriously all the time. This week I worked on doing just that by starting a list of things I liked and adding to it whenever I thought of something good. So here that is, in no particular order-
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open mic nights
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glass
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fuzzy sweaters
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silver jewelry
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the way that ALL of Wiggin Street smells like the coffee shop on the corner some days
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people with cool tattoos
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colorful umbrellas
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lemonade
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farmers’ markets
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crystal chandeliers
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hearing songs you forgot you loved in unexpected places
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christmas displays
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lava lamps
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the moon
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greenhouses!! greenhouses are so cool they’re always warm and full of plants!!
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really terrible puns
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paint swatches
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reese’s cups
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train stations
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streetlamps
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shop windows where you can see through to inside and the reflection at the same time so they layer over each other
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getting through airport security really fast and then having a chance to relax or maybe get some work done before boarding
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cute mom instagram accounts
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when people make a new spotify playlist for every month of the year and it ends up being almost like a music diary
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seeing other girls dressed really cute and being excited for them from a distance just cause they look great
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experiencing some amazing kind of art for the first time, a song or a movie or a painting or a book, etc
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experiencing art you already love for yet another time and noticing something new about it
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accidentally running into people you like while you’re out
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sales at lush
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starting to develop a crush on someone
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sharpened pencils
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prickly pears (say it without smiling to yourself. you can’t.)
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new pens
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strings of lights
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ocean sounds
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pesto
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the way your friends will surprise you sometimes just by being a little extra loving
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hydrangeas
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finishing an article
Image Credit: Annmarie Morrison