While October consisted of the leaves changing, dying, and falling off the trees, this month has also consisted of me shedding things. A lot happened in October in a global sense which led me to see the world, the people around me, and myself differently.
The British guy who voices Headspace meditations. Something about listening to a guided meditation with a British accent makes it a better experience
Annotating books
Country/Folk music, e.g., Zach Bryan and Noah Kahan.
Telling myself to work out in the morning and then not do it
NPR’s Up First podcast
Dieux’s reusable eye masks
My vintage oversized leather jacket. It doesn’t leave my body.
Making Pinterest boards of fashion inspiration that I will never actually buy
Constantly pulling my hair back in a clip because it annoys me when it’s down
My October reads have been quite all over the place. I started the month with the short, autobiographical fiction novel, Simple Passion by Annie Ernaux. The main character recounts her affair with a married man along with the passion, jealousy, and borderline obsession that came with it. I enjoyed Annie Ernaux’s writing and found the emotions in the story to be raw and relatable.
The next book I read was Minor Detail by Adania Shibli. With the interest of reading books about the occupation in Palestine and reading from Palestinian authors, I came across this book as highly recommended. The Palestinian novelist was set to receive an award for the book at the Frankfurt Book Fair. The award was subsequently canceled after the conflict in the Middle East simply due to the fact that the author was Palestinian. In an effort to show support to the author and to learn about what life under the occupation is like, I purchased the book. While the novel is fictional, it highlights the lives, violence, and suffering of Palestinians. It was both beautifully written and gut-wrenching.
I have ended the month with The Secret History by Donna Tartt. It is a psychological thriller with “dark academia” tones. Because of this, I was told it is the perfect novel to read in the fall. It’s a longer book than I normally read, 559 pages, so I will not finish it before the end of the month. But, I greatly enjoy Donna Tartt’s storytelling. It is a book I find myself unable to put down once I start reading.
I shared in my previous newsletter that I was the sole witness of my brother’s proposal to his now fiancée. I was simply there to capture the moment. My brother and his fiancée are simple people, they didn’t need anything more than me and my old camera. I am not a photographer, but they didn’t need me to be. They only cared to have something to remember the moment. My brother chose a park they frequently met at when they first started dating and chose to propose on a bridge that is covered with locks engraved with couples’ names and initials. They too have their own lock on that bridge. I will forever appreciate being trusted by him to be there. And yes, I did cry.
My Notes app is an interesting place that consists of lists, bits of writing that will never see the light of day, and random statements that include no context to which I forget why I wrote it down in the first place. I figured it would be fun to share the things that begin in my brain and end in my Notes app and actually give them the chance to see the light of day.
I do remember writing this one. As most months have, October has come with its struggles. I have come to understand that the struggle of being in your 20s is an innate part of life. And I’d like to believe there’s a reason for it. I’d like to believe it is necessary to experience in order to appreciate all of the beautiful moments to come.
That’s my October in review, friends! I hope you had a month with some beautiful moments and growth.