Anna P

Runway April 2, 2019

Monochrome Whimsy with Cecilie Bahnsen Fall 2019

If you’ve been keeping up with this website for a while now, then you might have realized that I am a lover of insane amounts of color to the point of almost assaulting the eye. Why? Because it’s fun. But color isn’t always required for a collection to possess a spirit of whimsy and playfulness, things that Cecilie Bahnsen’s Fall 2019 collection has plenty of.

cecilie bahnsen fall 2019 fashion runway monochromatic whimsical style copenhagen week the young eclectic — Three things I love about this look: 1. The daintiness and poofiness of the dress. 2. The wispy, mock neck top layered underneath. 3. The seemingly-out-of-place sneakers. (Photo: Vogue.com)

Unlike most of the other collections I’ve covered on this site, Cecilie Bahnsen Fall 2019 has almost no color at all, settling for a subdued, monochromatic palette of blacks, whites, and the subtlest of yellows. But just because there is a dearth of color doesn’t mean the collection lacks imagination. In fact, it managed to capture mine with its innocent, childlike, oversized silhouettes and also charmed me with all of its girlish details like quilted fabrics, layered knits, and plenty of puffed sleeves to make you feel like a fairy tale. I liked this collection so much, I actually had trouble trying to find looks NOT to include in this article- and it was tough!

Cecilie Bahnsen, a mild-mannered and sweet woman who creates equally mild and sweet designs, wanted to add a bit of darkness to her usually-innocent looks this season and did so in ways most wouldn’t expect. While these floaty designs still retain all of the freshness and femininity Bahnsen delivers with her aesthetic, her babydoll dresses were made edgy with sharp detailing and a harsher combination of textures like crochet and ribbing. The models also marched down the runway in heavy trainers that contrasted well with the floatiness of their dress (which I now have to try in my own outfits- they just looked so freaking cool!)

One of my favorite looks from this collection was a poofy, tiered, white dress with a square neckline and a light-as-air, wispy mock neck top layered underneath. It’s those little details that really brings looks to life, and I take a lot of inspiration from them when I style my own outfits. I can definitely say with confidence that the fashion forecast for this Spring calls for a lot of puff sleeves, voluminous dresses, and innovative layering.

This is the first and only collection I have seen from Cecilie Bahnsen, and if this is her trying to add a bit of roughness to her dainty dresses, then I’m certainly excited to see what else she’s created, since I’m a fan of the girly, oversized look.

Check out some of my favorite looks from the show below:

Photos in featured image from CecilieBahnsen.com, all other photos from Vogue.com.

Fashion March 27, 2019

What Is Camp? An Educational Editorial

If you’re a follower of fashion, then you’ve probably already heard that the theme of this year’s Met Gala (fashion’s biggest event) and subsequent Met costume exhibit is “Camp: Notes On Fashion,” which will explore the concept of “camp” sensibility in fashion and culture through the lens of Susan Sontag’s 1964 essay “Notes On ‘Camp'”. If you’re like me, then you might be scratching your head and wondering “what is camp anyways?” Because, while I have heard the term before, I’ve never had a firm grasp on what it actually means. So, let’s break it down.

The origin of camp sensibility can be traced all the way back to the time of King Louis XVI, who lived in the overly-extravagant Versailles and was constantly surrounded by Parisian nobility dressed in highly-decorated, over-the-top garb that was almost funny in how insanely indulgent it was. Here, in the insanely extravagant, is where the impetus of camp sensibility lies. It’s all about pose and performance, creating a character and accentuating artifice. In the words of Susan Sontag:

The essence of Camp is its love of the unnatural: of artifice and exaggeration.
Susan Sontag, “Notes On ‘Camp'” (1964)

Balenciaga Crocs, which took the fashion world by storm with equal parts fascination and revulsion, are the perfect example of “camp” style. (Photo: Harper’s Bazaar UK)

In other words, fashion that exemplifies camp is outlandish, exaggerated, fantastic, passionate and naive. It is “art that proposes itself seriously, but cannot be taken altogether seriously because it is ‘too much.'” Imagine a pair of Balenciaga platform Crocs, or Lady Gaga in a meat dress. These are both delightful examples of campy fashion that are presented with seriousness, but fail to be taken seriously. In the words of Sontag, camp style is good because it is awful (in a fun way).

Camp taste turns its back on the good-bad axis of ordinary aesthetic judgment. Camp doesn’t reverse things. It doesn’t argue that the good is bad, or the bad is good. What it does is to offer for art (and life) a different — a supplementary — set of standards.
Susan Sontag, “Notes On ‘Camp'” (1964)

To live a life dedicated to camp, is to live a life of theater- which is why Lady Gaga, a fabricated pop persona, being one of the co-chairs of the Met Gala seems entirely appropriate and expected. Other co-chairs include Alessandro Michele, the creative director of a delightfully-campy Gucci, Serena Williams, who often wears over-the-top outfits for her tennis matches, and Harry Styles. If you’re curious to see how all of your favorite stars will interpret this theme, the Met Gala will take place on May 6.

In a delightfully camp Gucci collection by Alessandro Michele, a model cradles a realistic dragon as an accessory to their fantastic, medieval-inspired outfit. (Photo by Pietro D’aprano/Getty Images)

I absolutely adore camp sensibility, because I’m all about creating fantasy with fashion, which goes hand-in-hand with the idea of artifice and exaggeration that is the hallmark of camp. I’ve put together a few fun, over-the-top outfits that I thought were good examples of camp. Check them out below:

Happy Death Day

While wearing this outfit, I imagined myself a spurned widow at the funeral of her stupidly-rich husband that has left her everything- she’s happy, yet must pretend to be sad. The fake, purple roses only serve to add an artificially vivid touch to this mournful ensemble.

“Happy” Shirt: Forever21. Dress: H&M. Belt: Urban Outfitters. Shoes: DSW.

Loving Something Sweet

The goal of this outfit was to create something that was both sweet and also edgy, which is why I layered a sheer, tulle dress over a pair of overalls and finished it all off with a pair of neon green “ugly” sneakers and a gaudy, pink cowboy hat adorned with flowers. My stuffed alpaca, Sherbet, was the perfect, overly-sweet accessory to bring the whole look together.

Tulle Dress and Grey Shirt: Forever21. Overalls: Thrifted from a friend. Sneakers: New Balance. Hat: LadyGaga.com. Flower Crown (embellishing hat): Made by me.

50 Shades of Denim

I am a connoisseur of denim and own just about any garment you can get in this magical material. For this outfit, I decided to create a look entirely of denim (except shoes) that featured a denim shirt layered under an oversized denim dress, denim culottes and a denim jacket. The platform clogs and headscarf were just details to add a bit more fun to this entirely impractical, but equally enjoyable look.

Shirt: Thrifted from Goodwill. Dress: Urban Outfitters. Culottes: Oak + Fort. Jacket: Levis. Platforms: Thrifted from Buffalo Exchange. Scarf: Thrifted from an antique shop.

I hope you learned a bit about camp and also had some fun along the way! I honestly can’t wait to see what crazy outfits everyone puts together at the Met Gala this year. Stay tuned for my article!

What should my next shoot be? Leave a comment if you have any ideas!

Runway March 26, 2019

Atelier Mimii and the Art of the Outfit

Marta Rios loves color, so much that she doesn’t even own any (!) black clothes, or anything that could be considered neutral because she insists that wearing color will not only make you happier, but will also improve the moods of everyone around you. In other words, Marta Rios wants us to live our lives boldly and she asserts this point with her ridiculously colorful and playfully-proportioned clothing line Atelier Mimii.

Featuring oversized, quilted dresses that come in all kinds of vibrant colors paired with all manner of ruffles and unique, art-inspired embellishments, Atelier Mimii is not for the faint of heart. In fact, these dresses are so fantastically over-the-top, that I would go as far as to classify them not as clothing, but as wearable art pieces that will transform you into a modern masterpiece to be admired. But the point of Atelier Mimii is that it is clothing and it’s meant to make our day-to-day lives much more fun and whimsical.

In fact, Marta Rios is so dedicated to making clothes that make her happy, that she never makes anything to show or accentuate the shape of the body, preferring to show off the colors and lush details, including Victorian-inspired full sleeves and collars, quilted & pearl-covered corsets that hearken back to what Spanish courtiers wore in the 16th century, and plenty of tulle. And when all is said and done, the dresses cut and sewn, Rios saves the scraps to make one-of-a-kind, handmade quilted bags to match.

I’ve been obsessed with oversized, maximalist clothing, so the Atelier Mimii aesthetic really appeals to my current style truth. My favorite look might be the yellow set with the long-sleeved shirt and shorts- so cute!

Check out some of my favorite looks from Atelier Mimii below:

Photos from NowFashion.com and Vogue.com

Book Reviews March 16, 2019

“Nobody Is Ever Missing” Is a Study In Self Excavation

Ever since I read “Catcher in the Rye” by JD Salinger in high school, I’ve been enamored with the format of the stream of consciousness narrative. It’s just so cool to be with a character inside of their own head, tip-toeing around their thoughts and falling into their long, looping spirals of emotion as they navigate the world, or their memories. There is something so compelling about telling a story that way, entirely through the characters own biased sense of reality. It has been my favorite form to write in ever since.

“Nobody Is Ever Missing” by Catherine Lacey isn’t like any other stream of consciousness story I have ever read. The story is essentially a retelling of when the main character, Elyria, a married woman with a respectable job, runs away to New Zealand after realizing she feels completely unhappy in life. The way I’m describing this is oversimplifying it, really. The plot of her stay in New Zealand and struggle with reconciling her relationship with her husband is relatively simple in structure. The real story emerges in the narrator’s reflection on these events and the emotions and memories surrounding them. It is a deep dive into her psyche to salvage the wreckage of her life, a meandering walk through the fractured mind of someone grieving deeply.

new zealand nobody is ever missing book review catherine lacey

At the heart of the story lies the central issue that Elyria’s adopted sister, with whom she shared her age, unexpectedly commits suicide by jumping out of her apartment window. This is something that Elyria will never get over, which rots her from the inside out, even while she falls in love with and marries the professor that last saw her sister alive. It is this mutual tragedy that originally connects them, then subsequently destroys them later on.

Anyways, Elyria runs away to New Zealand and begins living a hermit life where she’s alone with her thoughts, and she has a lot of them. One of the most compelling aspects of this book is the way its written, in long, rambling sentences that bring to mind the image of someone trying to say a very long thought in one breath. It’s a rush, pulling you along to read more and more, while simultaneously making you very exhausted. Almost as exhausted as the narrator is as she pulls each memory out from the depths and examines every painful corner in sharp detail. Here’s an example of one particularly striking passage toward the middle of the book:

Someone said once that they’d never heard of a crime they couldn’t imagine committing, and I realized then that if I had a daughter and she had a rabbit and that rabbit was alone with me and I was feeling the way I felt right now and I had a way to kill that rabbit and the time to spend killing that rabbit then killing that rabbit was something I could imagine myself possibly doing or at least considering doing or being on the edge of doing.
Elyria in “Nobody Is Ever Missing” by Catherine Lacey

Because of the tiring nature of each heavy chunk of thought the narrator gives us, I found myself having to digest this book in small bites, rather than bulldozing through it to get to the next plot point. That wasn’t the point of this book. The point was to work through all of the narrator’s incoherent feelings about her sister’s death, her failed marriage to her husband, and her subsequent mental breakdown that led her to flee to New Zealand for months, until she was forced to come back due to an injury and overstaying her travel visa. As I said before, the plot is simple, which is fine. If it was any more complicated, the book would have tried to tackle too much.

And while the lyrical, frantic voice of the novel was one of its best features, it was also one of its worst features because it made some sections of the book move too slowly and become frustrating to read. The narrator often repeats the same thoughts and ideas, which is realistic to how people think about things and process emotions, but doesn’t make for a smooth, enjoyable reading experience. Also, the lackluster ending left me wishing the conclusion had a little more impact. Then again, this book wasn’t about resolution, or satisfaction. It played out almost like a drawn out therapy session transcribed to help the narrator understand her own issues, which in and of itself made the book a worthwhile and interesting read.

While I enjoyed this book, I probably wouldn’t read it again and would give it a 3.5/5 for its thought-provoking prose.

I picked up another book by Catherine Lacey called “The Answers,” which was actually a coincidence, but I’ll leave a review here when I finish that one as well, so keep an eye out!

Runway March 15, 2019

Athena Goes to Prom in Shrimps Fall 2019

It seems like women that are both whimsically pretty and powerfully strong are a pervasive theme in the Fall 2019 season. Shrimps, the faux fur brand, contributed with a collection of frilly frocks inspired by Athena and her gang of pretty nymphs, who all came walking out of a huge neoclassical fresco, as though they were being conjured straight out of the mythological world before our very eyes.

The bright, printed, satin dresses with puff sleeves and fitted bodices channeled the over-the-top styles of the ’80s and conjured up visions of Athena and her leading ladies attending prom in gowns that are appropriately fantastic. And while the color palette of the collection started off as subdued neutrals, the color story developed into one that included vibrant yellows, bright orange touches, and even a checkered pattern that they added to jackets, bags, and tights. One of my personal favorite pieces was a black dress interspersed with sheer, orange, lace panels that, for some reason, made me think of a flamenco dancer.

And, of course, the coats were fab- rendered in a feathery texture and made in epic proportions, they will make anyone a fan of the statement coat. I especially adored the one that featured a playful, mythological print that Shrimps designer Hannah Weiland made herself, transforming the grey and white color scheme into something beautifully dreamy. All of this to say, I wish I lived somewhere cold enough to justify adding one of these jackets to my wardrobe, but, alas, not even Athena is powerful enough to defeat the Texas heat.

Check out some of my favorite looks from the collection below:

Cover photo from WWD.com, all other photos from Vogue.com

Runway March 12, 2019

Cool Aliens and Dreamy Mermaids Only At Bora Aksu Fall 2019

You already know that I’m here for any collection that even mildly scratches my fantasy itch, so when I stumbled across the Bora Aksu Fall 2019 collection via stylist Leith Clark’s instagram, I was instantly smitten. I imagined these light, dainty gowns with translucent, ruffled layers and iridescent sparkle adrift in the ocean like ethereal jellyfish, or the nightgowns of sleepy mermaids.

Things I adore about this collection: the fluid, flowing silhouettes; the pale, extra-terrestrial pinks and blues; the glittery, essence of girlhood whimsy and dreams made reality; the over-the-knee moon boots; the way it makes me imagine that there are some ultra-cool, alien girls rocking their way through the universe in Aksu’s confectionery clothes. Things I hate about this collection: that more people haven’t seen it. In other words, I’m in love.

The best thing about this collection is that, although it is playful and whimsical, with its dreamy, out-of-this world vibes (I’m so here for those silver sunglasses that resemble alien eyes), it’s also superbly wearable if you strip away the fantastical styling. A sequined blazer can be worn as a statement piece with jeans and a tee, while an aqua blue, ruffled cocktail dress would be adorable as a fun, daytime look paired with some shimmery sandals and a tiny, cross-body bag (a girl can dream!). I loved every look in this collection so much, I can’t even choose a favorite.

I can only hope that the world (and American Vogue) will pay closer attention next time Bora Aksu releases another collection to make our bleak, human days a little more alien.

Check out my favorite looks from the collection below:

All images are from BoraAksu.com

Read My Thoughts March 10, 2019

Tomo Koizumi Fall 2019 and the Pressures of the Debut

If you follow fashion, and you haven’t heard of Tomo Koizumi at this point, then you’re a unicorn. The Japanese designer debuted his boisterously joyous, vibrant, ruffled organza gowns on the fashion industry’s biggest faces in his first runway show that took place in the Marc Jacobs store in New York during fashion week.

The dreamy, absolutely bogusly-huge dresses were a refreshing change to the normally consumer-focused, fairly serious nature of New York Fashion Week. I was instantly taken by the sheer youth and femininity of the collection, which oozed all of the charm and fantasies of the Kawaii aesthetic of his native country. Koizumi even cites the internationally beloved anime Sailor Moon as being an inspiration for his dresses, which are supposed to act as a sort of armor, or proof of the idea that a woman can be cute AND strong. It makes me wonder why we view powerful women like men, in bland suits and plain makeup. Why can’t a powerful woman wear a rainbow-hued, ruffled dress? These are questions that are yet to be answered.

tomo koizumi fall winter 2019 nyfw new york marc jacobs style runway ruffles pastel kawaii cute dresses the young eclectic — One of my favorite looks from the collection, this adorable, ruffled gown looks like a traditional Japanese kimono from an alternate reality where everything is whimsical and kawaii. (Photo: Vogue)

But the real topic this show truly brought to mind for me, is the pressure of the debut. While Koizumi had already found some success with his ruffled creations in the kawaii-centric Japan dressing celebrities and pop stars in his signature sugary, architectural designs, he was by no means well-known worldwide- until he caught the attention of famous stylist Katie Grand, who had all of the connections in the fashion world needed to put on such an incredible show. His first show was a tremendous success, launching him to fashion stardom instantly. This vision of the debut just strikes me as unfair, and definitely outside of reality.

I’m not trying to disparage Koizumi or his work- I think it’s all gorgeous and deserves recognition for how unique and playful it is (my favorite piece was one that resembled a ruffle-fied traditional kimono) and I’m glad he was given this stage, so that I could be inspired by his work. I just think that it more cements the idea that the debut, whether it be a fashion show, an acting role, a novel, an academic paper, or any other kind of work, has to be some kind of earth-shaking event that causes the world to see you. And if your debut isn’t like that, then maybe you’re not as good at something as you thought. The fear of the debut flop might even cause some people to not try in the first place.

To put this in a more personal light, I am someone who grew up being told they were “gifted” (ugh) all the time, so I thought that I could be naturally good at anything I set my mind to, and that just simply isn’t true. This ingrained belief causes me to give up on things immediately if I’m not automatically good at them, making it so I never really step outside of my comfort zone and try new things. To put it simply, I am limited by a fear of failure and ridicule, one that continually causes me not to put my work out there. The reality is, most people will not have a spectacular debut, because it is your debut. Firsts are never perfect, and should only serve as a jumping off point to improve your craft and keep trying. If you keep at it, someday the world will take notice. I just wish I could practice what I preach!

Check out some of my favorite looks from the show below:

Cover photo from WWD.com, all other photos from Vogue.com

Movie Reviews March 7, 2019

Alita: Battle Angel- A Gorgeous Journey Through an Ugly Future

Welcome back to another episode of Extremely Late Film Reviews, a show that leaves you questioning “Is this movie even relevant anymore?” and the answer is almost always “Probably not.” This week, we’re going to be talking about “Alita: Battle Angel,” an action flick based on the manga “Battle Angel Alita” that was produced by James Cameron and directed by Robert Rodriguez. The story in both the movie and the manga takes us to a distant future where most humans are half robot, and the rich live in a luxurious, floating city (Zalem), while the rest of society ekes out a meager existence in the blasted out wasteland of Iron City, which exists in the shadow of Zalem, living off the waste of the rich.

alita battle angel movie film rose salazar robert rodriguez james cameron 2019 manga anime — Alita in the manga “Battle Angel Alita,” the source material of the film.

Our story opens when Dr. Ido, who helps cyborgs maintain their robot bodies, finds an armless and legless full-replacement cyborg (meaning only the brain is human) in the garbage heap under Zalem. When he fixes her up, he dubs her “Alita” and our adventure begins. Not only does Alita have no recollection of who she is, or where she came from, she also has immense strength and fighting prowess of unknown origin. Throughout the movie, we learn more about who she is and where she came from. But honestly, all of that meant astonishingly little to the overall plot.

I’ll be the first to say that I am in no way a fan of action films, but I conceded that I would see this movie almost solely because I read the manga a few years back and was interested to see how the story would play out on screen. While they pretty much stuck with the same storyline, which follows Alita as she fights villains as a bounty hunter, falls in love with a human boy, and attempts to bring down Zalem, the plot was in no way the best part of the movie. It was predictable and focused too much energy on elements that weren’t even resolved in this film (leaving room for a series of sequels, I’m assuming). It was the visuals that had me absolutely entranced. I mean, the film was gorgeous. The city was alive and breathing, and Rose Salazar’s computer-generated face and body looked so natural and real, I almost forgot that she wasn’t. Honestly, y’all. I would see it just for the well-choreographed fight sequences and the motorball scenes (their most popular sport.)

“The fight scenes were very well done, though there were not nearly enough of them,” Jaden, who saw the film with me, recalls.

“It was over the top, but not so much so that it warranted an eye roll. Every time Alita figured out something new about her hidden combat expertise looked like something straight out of my favorite anime, which I suppose is appropriate given the source material for the movie.”

One of the worst aspects of the film was definitely the dialogue. Jaden and I had to roll our eyes on several occasions after a particularly bad line, they were just that cheesy.

“Here’s the thing though: I don’t think the lines would have been perceived as being as cheesy if they were in a Japanese production or had they come from the manga,” said Jaden.

“As we have seen many, many times before, the type of over the top, dramatic, trope-filled dialogue seen in Japanese media just does not fit the live action genre on the big screen most of the time. This glaring problem really sticks out in Battle Angel. “

But, where the film blundered in the character development arena and dialogue arenas, it certainly made up for in immersiveness and pure fun. In fact, Cameron and Rodriguez have created such an immersive world, they even put together the Alita Experience- Passport to Iron City, an interactive, in-person game that takes participants through a miniature version of Iron City to play games and earn credits. After learning that one of these experiences was located in Austin, Jaden and I decided to go on a whim after seeing the film and enjoying it, and we had a blast! It really did a lot to make you feel like you were a part of their world, and offered a ton of challenging puzzles and feats of teamwork to keep your heart pounding for the entire 45 minutes.

The Cybernetics Lab activity from the Alita Experience event that immersed you in the rich world of Iron City. The event was held in New York, Los Angeles and Austin.

“It should be noted that my opinion of the movie was bolstered significantly with my attendance of this event, so take some of my opinions with a grain of salt,” Jaden adds.

Overall, the film was generally fun, easy to follow, and visually stunning- definitely worth checking out if you like action films or anime adaptions. And if you happen to live in New York, Los Angeles, or Austin and the Passport to Iron City event is still happening, go! The experience is almost better than the film itself. Here’s to hoping that James Cameron doesn’t take 10 years to make the next film in this series.

Runway March 6, 2019

Alexander McQueen Fall 2019 Is a Darkly-Romantic Love Poem

Love is in the air for Fall 2019, so much so that Valentino even created a book of love poems to give to the guests of their show, which aligned with the light, airy, dramatic, lovey-dovey atmosphere of their latest collection. Sarah Burton’s Fall 2019 collection for Alexander McQueen still brought us love, but in a much different way, by incorporating more intense elements, like hard metals, stark blacks and whites, and even a furious, passionate red that pulsed through the collection, creating a darkly-romantic vibe.

alexander mcqueen fall 2019 runway fashion style love romantic the young eclectic — The iconic dress embellished with heddles, or pieces from looms, which mimic the sound of a fabric factory floor when they move and clink together. (Image: Vogue.com)

And while the fluffy silhouettes of some of the more flouncy dresses, as well as the repetition of rose imagery throughout prints and couture-esque, sculpted gowns where volumes of fabric gather to create the visage of a rose in bloom (one of my favorite pieces being the impeccably-tailored suit with silk sleeves that culminate in a gorgeous floral whirl at the shoulders) create the notion of a romantic love, this whole collection was really Sarah Burton’s love letter to the textile industry of the northern UK. While the audience sat atop bolts of fabric, they watched extremely English, exquisitely-tailored suits traipse down the runway, as well as other dresses inspired by everything from suffragettes and their prim, white attire, to the Victorian frills of the Bronte sisters. Everything in the collection served to lift up the culture of her home.

In true McQueen fashion, there was one dress that really served as an art piece more than a garment- a dazzling silver dress embellished with heddles, which are pieces from looms used to weave fabrics. As the dress moves and the heddles glimmer and clink together, the sound is meant to mimic the sound of the factory floor where the fabrics of England are manufactured. And if that isn’t the coolest fashion-related thing you’ve heard all day, then I don’t know how to help you.

To say the very least and most, Lee Alexander McQueen would be proud.

Check out my favorite looks from the collection below:

All photos from Vogue.com

Letters From The Editor March 3, 2019

Writer’s Block & Being Honest About Our Struggles

Before writing this I sat, letting the cursor blink forever before finally forming any words, because I’m not even sure how to start this article. The irony isn’t lost on me, trust me!

Writer’s block is a common phenomenon that has probably plagued anyone that has ever tried to write anything in their lives. It’s when the words stop flowing, and it seems like you’ve completely run out of anything to say. It’s when the thought of that blinking cursor on that blank screen just makes you want to roll over and not even face that insurmountable wall of not-words-yet. And it’s what I’ve been experiencing for probably a good month now.

If you’ve been keeping up with this website regularly, then you might have noticed that the number of articles I’ve been posting has significantly decreased in number. This is something I’m well aware of, and it makes me upset to think about how I’m having such a hard time keeping up with this hobby I’ve created for myself. At some point, I suppose, it stopped feeling like a hobby and felt more like an obligation. I HAVE to post something today! I better quickly draft up something I’m not even proud of and post, post, post. In some ways, I began to feel like the quantity of my posting was all that mattered, when that’s never why I started this project in the first place.

But why do the fun things we love start to feel like chores? Why does it get harder to start things, make plans, follow through? Why does it start to feel like life is just a play of going through the motions? I suppose it does when you’re not only experiencing writer’s block, but life block as well.

And this isn’t some confessional written to garner sympathy and praise for my bravery at admitting that my emotional health has not been A+ lately. We all experience these periods in life where we wish things felt better. And by no means is my life bad. No, there is nothing wrong with my life, there is just something moderately wrong with the way I’ve been perceiving it.

I suppose what I’m trying to say is that, it’s been hard for me to write articles for this site and get genuinely excited about the things that tend to excite me because lately it’s been hard for me to get excited about anything. And maybe admitting this to myself is the first step in trying to remedy the problem, and make it so fun things stop feeling like chores and become fun again. You have to keep hope that these phases are temporary, because they are! (I really promise that!)

Thanks for keeping up with The Young Eclectic. I promise there will be more to see soon!