lookbook

courtesy

So say you are driving in rush hour traffic, as I have recently been doing...all. the. time. And let's say you are trying to get into, say, the lane left of you. And let's say that the person in front of you is trying to get into that left lane as well. I find that it is a common courtesy to, if you get into that lane before the other person, wait to let them enter the lane as well. I am recently got the chance to exercise this courtesy and was happily greeted by a wave out the window of gratitude.

I am, honestly, so tired of the inhumane driving of personas locas. Crazy people. It has happened many times before when I sit with my blinker on, for aproximately a minute, and oh! see an opening in the traffic finally. I get excited to move in but OHHH the car behind jumps right into the opening before it has time to get to me. And then decide to put the petal to the metal like that one car length is going to save them an hour driving time. This is what my silly but also reasonable crusade is against. And also it's just a nice little bonding moment. Like saying, "Hey we were in the same boat, trying oh-so-hard to somehow enter into this impassable flow of traffic, so I'm going to help you out."

style

aware

Can I just tell you all how amazing it is to read books from the 1800s?

I've recently been apassioned with reading Austen, Bronte, and most recently a work by Stendhal called The Charter House of Parma.

I have learned about sensibility, folly, frivolity, charm, grace, disposition, the gaity of the French, and the ability of the beautiful sights around the Italians to melt away any bad thoughts. These among other things.

These authors develop people and look at these characters in a way which we do not pay attention to in this day and age. Maybe it is simply the mass qualities of the people we see about in this world or if we have just become a bland society, I do not know. I do know that these books are slowly and surely making me more aware of others around me and myself. I see this to be a good thing and I appreciate it very much.

burning

Just this summer, after many years of spending all my time hanging out or lifeguarding in the hot hot sun, I have fell in love with...sunscreen. Although this is peculiar, this year I feel like there is nothing better than putting on that 70 SPF to protect my skin and help it retain some of its pale luminosity.

I never used to use sunscreen. My skin is still somewhat colored from last year when my skin turns into yellowish golden darkness via that burning star which we call our sun. Through years of spending all my time outdoors and letting the sun have it's way with the fragile makeup of my outer layer, I kind of feel like I need to start doing something.

I especially have become enamored with putting sunscreen on the tops of my hands. Silly, you say? But No, I say in return. I recently discovered a light but large sunspot on the top of my right hand. This realization then led my to my passion to sunscreen topped hands. Perfectly rational.

submissiveself

Word for the day:

Humility (adjectival form: humble) is the quality of being modest, reverential, even politely submissiveself, and never being arrogant, contemptuous, rude or even self-abasing. Humility, in various interpretations, is widely seen as a virtue in many religious and philosophical traditions, being connected with notions of transcendent unity with the universe or the divine, and of egolessness; by contrast, some schools of thought are sharply critical of humility. The term "humility" comes from the Latin word humilitas, a noun related to the adjective humilis, which may be translated as "humble", but also as "low", "from the earth", or "humid."

This is a slightly scary word. It goes against so many things we have innately in ourselves. I see that this is, simply, because we are only ourselves, it is OUR self. We are the only one who knows who we are from our own perspective and being selfish, in a way, is a survival mechanism. To get what we need, mentally and physically, to survive. Yet I believe true selfishness is this survival mechanism blown to intense proportions. It is poisonous.

I see so many people in our society become consumed with THEIRself, THEIR own wants, and THEIR own needs. It is Narcissus reincarnate. This is hard for me but I'm trying to work on being more humble. Honestly, time for a wakeup call: there are many people in the history of the world that were better than you and me at everything we have ever done. This might be depressing to some but when we can get over our pride it opens so many doors within ourselves. I've realized recently that when I think of all the people who are better than me, it brings me back to earth, down-to-earth. Humility is from the word: humus---the earth. Only then can I start working on on the true me.

And I'm not just talking about the teenyboppers with the gucci bags in our society. I'm talking about the intellectuals, the mothers, the fathers, the businessmen. I know I love to learn, and because of all the things that I've learned and how important to me they are, there can be a pride that sneaks into my life. I do see this a lot in the academic and intellectual community.

It is only when we are truly humble that we can listen and hear one another.