Record-breaking news: Zoe has not written a blog post in 11 months and 2 days, the longest stretch of blog silence since its conception in 2014.
No, but seriously, I want to bring blogging back. Not just any blogging, but Blogger-style blogging. The old-school DIY joy of shouting into the void on the interwebs: to fans, friends, bots and stalkers alike.
Blogger is the only social platform (if you can call it that) that hasn't been updated in years. No fancy new systems or features. No added business elements to keep up with the times. Rigid but functional. Blogger feels like a thrift store, probably smells like one too. It's an old flip phone with a shitty camera but sick ringtone options and enough storage to download Tetris.
I miss it. I miss all the people I used to connect with on a regular basis - Katie, Lexie, Victory (even tho we did just meet for the first time recently - hi!!), Dalal, Maddie, Josselyn, Melody (even though we're literally working on something v exciting together - hi!!) How are you all?!
2022 just hasn't been the year to sit down and write about my life; what I was listening to, reading, watching, going to, creating. I guess I did a lot of that on Insta. But to what end? Comparison and insecurity? Doom scrolling and unnecessarily high screen time? I've recently seen a few people attempt to make alternative Insta accounts where they share their thoughts on pop culture and art. It's cute and all, but I do wonder whether Insta is the best app for that kinda stuff. I feel like it's too saturated with numbers and other vanity metrics, unlike Blogger, which was the OG for that unfiltered, creative discourse (yes I did just use that word.) Why was it so easy to abandon?
Anywaysssss.
On my way to work, I listened to this song on repeat for the entire journey. (I first heard it in one of my fave Youtuber's videos, Hitomi Mochizuki. It features at the end, watch it!) Picture a 20-minute bus ride on a drizzly morning. The bus isn't too packed, despite it being 9 AM.
Then I listened to this song on repeat on the way back, at around 6:30 PM. It was dark and rainy - the windows on the bus were steamy, and people were coughing.
I've journaled a lot this year, and tbh I'm looking forward to doing my annual 365 of 365 round-up, where I pick out sentences from my diary that best describe each month.
It's been a year of romanticising my life: my work, my skills, my craft, my hobbies - literally saying FUCK IT! Enjoyment is cool and creating shit is worth celebrating, even if people don't get to see it. In July, I celebrated five years of running my zine, sweet-thang, which I first banged on about on this very blog. I had this realisation that literally no one is gonna big up your shit unless you do. I didn't need to throw a party to celebrate sweet-thang, and I wasn't initially going to - it seemed daunting and expensive and I didn't think that enough people would care, that it would be a flop. Needless to say, it was an incredibly beautiful evening and I felt special and proud. It felt good to sit and romanticise the fuck out of it all. To give me (my harshest critic) a pat on the bloody back.
Since then, I have been trying to romanticise most things, because it makes me happy. Stretching in the mornings? Swoon-worthy. My morning tea? God sent. Repeating the same outfit four times a week because it hits every time? Angelic. Making it a tradition to buy a churro from the Brazilian stall every time I visit Shoreditch so that I can practice Portuguese, even though I *literally* only say 'Obrigada!" and leave? A blockbuster.
I make life sound like it's been a movie. It really has - just not a London-based coming-of-age romance. At times, it's been like the beginning of a horror movie. It's been dramatic, sad, spiritual. It hasn't been picture-perfect, and that's okay. I'll dive deeper in my end-of-year post. I'm so excited to write it, because boy does my diary have A LOT to say. Stay tunedddddddddd.
I just wanted to hop on here to disrupt the flow and remind you to romanticise your life as much as possible! Random, but hopefully a lil profound. Hope you enjoyed the moodboard I filtered in. Most of these are from Pinterest.
