every plie is a new plie

Togni, 20, whatever pronoun. Eastern Europe. i dance, i act, i study, and try to manage my life

[hellenhighwater]

I see a lot of people who tell young people–especially young people who are heading into college–that they should “do what they love.” And they’re right. You should do what you love.

But there’s a world of difference between doing what you love for you, and doing what you love for a paycheck. 

I went to undergrad for graphic design and 3-D design–art and more art, I usually say–and I loved it. You know what I didn’t love? Trying to collect my fees from clients. Trying to meet unrealistic, over-simplified or over-specific briefs from people who didn’t know what they were talking about. Coming home, having worked creatively all day, with no creative juice left for the things I wanted to do.

You know what I would tell you instead? Do something that you can be interested in, with people you like.

You don’t have to love it. Loving your work can be a lot, and it often means you have to live in your job 24/7. Some people can do that. Not everyone can, or should.  But if you can find work that’s interesting enough that it doesn’t feel tedious, and people you can enjoy spending your 9-5 with, and you can make money, that’s great! It means you can do the things you love for you.

I’m in law school now. It’s interesting work, and difficult, and I like doing it. I like how complicated it gets, and I like the stories it tells. But I don’t come home and read law journals for fun. I come home, and I sculpt, and I draw, and I paint, and I read. I do these things for me.

And I love it. 

[shimmeringecho]

Gods I wish I’d had this ten years ago when everyone was pushing for me to do art for a living. Probably wouldn’t have burned out as hard as I did

[sabertoothwalrus]

Once when I was high school a teacher from another school came into our class and talked about stuff like this. He said instead of trying to get a job you love, find a lifestyle you love.

He said he had no aspirations to be a teacher. His passion is surfing. But the reason he loves teaching is because he can go surfing every weekend, because there’s no school. And he’s free during the summer and holidays to spend time with his family.

[art-res]

Good food for thought. This is why I don’t study art in college even though I LOVE it. I also don’t want someone grading me for my direct expression, but it’s more bc I want to have a job that gives me the option to do art as a hobby with financial security. Obviously this isn’t to say being a pro artist is bad or anything, but think long and hard about ALL of your options.

[study-revolution]

gentle reminder: you are very capable and I’m excited for your future

slightly less gentle reminder: you do have to work for it

[takkezooi-deactivated20200726]

dark academia but people actually include non-western literature and culture challenge 2020

[danceractorplumber]

special hello to my professor who came in the first class of the semester, slammed her laptop down and said "you know enough about Europe, we're not mentioning that this year. You gonna learn about African art. Middle eastern art. Polynesian native art. Listen up white men are lava."

[newexcalibur]

You've heard of dark academia, and you've heard of goblincore

Now get ready for, goblin academia.

- Wearing the same outfit for three days as you hyperfixate on a really good book

- Collecting old dusty things and displaying them around the house

- Wearing big dark clothes that may or may not just be a blanket

- Writing long, intricate poetry about a worm you passed on your way to class

- Staying up until 3 am studying

- Making a nest of blankets and sweaters and writing essays while bundled up

- Never running low on pencils or pens, ever

- Taking photos of lizards on vintage cameras, proudly hanging your pictures on the wall

- Drinking coffee way too late at night

- Perfect grammar and spelling or nearly illegible, no in between

- Or, amazing vocabulary but horrible grammar

- Thrift stores.

- Spilling ink or paint on the desk and just leaving it there because it'll look cool when it stains

- Intentionally making your brows look bushier or darker

- Wearing jewellery you "found"

- Listening to church hymns in latin and scaring the shit out of anyone who happens to hear

- Scaring the shit out of anyone

- Sweaters

- Pressing flowers in books and forgetting you left them there

Anything else? I am very into this

[neuroticmedblr-deactivated20190]

how to avoid education burnout

have 3 achievable goals a day: having a laundry list of things to do everyday is super unrealistic, and you just end up feeling bad about yourself because you didn’t accomplish your goals for the day.

leave your sundays open: i love sundays because they’re my day to chill out and catch up on school work that i wasn’t able to finish during the week.

recognize when you’re at your emotional limits: forcing yourself to get work done when you are unable to comprehend your study material does not benefit anyone.

learn how to say no: people will ask you for your time and it will stretch you to the limit, whether it be at your job, in your extracurriculars, or in your personal life. know when to step back and say no.

take care of yourself physically: take breaks, go for walks, shower regularly, get enough sleep, eat healthy, see your friends

celebrate your accomplishments: go out to eat with friends after a big exam, indulge in a night off after a busy week with some netflix and wine

make a study plan beforehand: it can be daunting to see how much work you need to put in to a class or task beforehand, but this allows you to spread your work evenly so you don’t become overwhelmed.

learn how to ask for help: it is very rare that people make it through school, whether it be high school or university or any graduate program, without needing the advice of others or just a kind soul to vent to. find that person.

never forget your hobbies: you will need things that keep you sane. if you love to play music, write, play volleyball, or cook, make you sure you don’t lose these things. they will become your escape when times get tough.

log off from time to time: it is exhausting to be constantly connected to social media and your email. just physically disconnecting from these for a night to take care of yourself can really help you clear your mind.

[13chancess]

push yourself to get up before the rest of the world - start with 7am, then 6am, then 5:30am. go to the nearest hill with a big coat and a scarf and watch the sun rise.

push yourself to fall asleep earlier - start with 11pm, then 10pm, then 9pm. wake up in the morning feeling re-energized and comfortable.

get into the habit of cooking yourself a beautiful breakfast. fry tomatoes and mushrooms in real butter and garlic, fry an egg, slice up a fresh avocado and squirt way too much lemon on it. sit and eat it and do nothing else.

stretch. start by reaching for the sky as hard as you can, then trying to touch your toes. roll your head. stretch your fingers. stretch everything.

buy a 1L water bottle. start with pushing yourself to drink the whole thing in a day, then try drinking it twice.

buy a beautiful diary and a beautiful black pen. write down everything you do, including dinner dates, appointments, assignments, coffees, what you need to do that day. no detail is too small.

strip your bed of your sheets and empty your underwear draw into the washing machine. put a massive scoop of scented fabric softener in there and wash. make your bed in full.

organise your room. fold all your clothes (and bag what you don’t want), clean your mirror, your laptop, vacuum the floor. light a beautiful candle.

have a luxurious shower with your favourite music playing. wash your hair, scrub your body, brush your teeth. lather your whole body in moisturiser, get familiar with the part between your toes, your inner thighs, the back of your neck.

push yourself to go for a walk. take your headphones, go to the beach and walk. smile at strangers walking the other way and be surprised how many smile back. bring your dog and observe the dog’s behaviour. realise you can learn from your dog.

message old friends with personal jokes. reminisce. suggest a catch up soon, even if you don’t follow through. push yourself to follow through.

think long and hard about what interests you. crime? sex? boarding school? long-forgotten romance etiquette? find a book about it and read it. there is a book about literally everything.

become the person you would ideally fall in love with. let cars merge into your lane when driving. pay double for parking tickets and leave a second one in the machine. stick your tongue out at babies. compliment people on their cute clothes. challenge yourself to not ridicule anyone for a whole day. then two. then a week. walk with a straight posture. look people in the eye. ask people about their story. talk to acquaintances so they become friends.

lie in the sunshine. daydream about the life you would lead if failure wasn’t a thing. open your eyes. take small steps to make it happen for you.

[juliettestudying-deactivated202]

A gentle reminder

[respectyourtech]

Actors: include 👏🏽 your 👏🏽 techs 👏🏽

Techs: include 👏🏽 your 👏🏽 actors 👏🏽

I’m really sick of this divide between a technical team and actors. I know it happens all over, but it’s really fucking stupid. Actors couldn’t put on a show without the light and sound and costume and set people, and the techs wouldn’t have anyone to light, mic, build sets, or make costumes for if we didn’t have actors. We all work together to make art happen. There’s no reason for a schism between performers and technicians.

I have been an actor and I have been a tech, and I know that both can be very clique-y. I also know it takes about 5 seconds to say “We’re going to get a drink. Want to come?” or “Kevin brought a board game. Wanna play?” It’s something that could be easily fixed by appreciating other people and taking the time to consider them, and it’s something that should happen. It’s something that needs to happen.

[topshotpicks]

[gothhabiba]

why can’t academics write for shit

[gothhabiba]

so much academic writing is really truly remarkably unclear even when the semantic content of a sentence could be expressed in a perfectly mundane way & imo it’s because all of these fools are trying to stylistically one-up each other and You Don’t Have To Do All Of That. you don’t have to use thoroughly tortured syntax or go to elaborate lengths to avoid specifying the referents of the words you’re using, my god! once more for those of you who will inevitably impose onto this text post something that I am not saying: I’m not talking about the use of academic vocabulary. I’m talking about obnoxious stylistics that make academics think it’s uncool to use, fucking, clearly specified, verbs, in their goddamn sentences

[gothhabiba]

subject-verb-object:

academics: :/

possibly an object but maybe it’s the subject and there’s technically a verb somewhere in there but you don’t know whose action it represents or who or what they’re acting on (or… with? or… using?), also the subject (or maybe it’s the object) is unspecified or just ‘it’ or ‘they’ and you don’t know what that refers to either, there are probably a couple of errors of verb-preposition collocation also:

academics: 😍😍😍😍😍

[scienceshenanigans]

Good afternoon, the academic culture of “if you’re not overworking, you don’t deserve success” is unhealthy.

[collegemode]

Okay, so you’ve been called smart all your life. As a kid, you were one of the smartest in your class. Maybe you could read at a much higher level than your peers, or you could fly through multiplication drills like they were nothing. Then, you get to high school and suddenly you’re surrounded by lots of people who were ‘gifted kids’. None of what made you ‘special’ seems all that important now. Your work is actually challenging, and it’s actually requiring effort.

If you’re experiencing this, just know that so many students have gone through the same thing. Maybe it happens in high school, maybe college. But a lot of us who were considered gifted as kids suddenly run into this and it challenges our entire identity. It can be paralyzing, but it’s 100% possible to overcome it and succeed! I’ve compiled a few tips for ex-gifted kids dealing with impostor syndrome and self-doubt. I’m not a therapist, psychologist, or any sort of education expert. I’m just speaking to my own experiences, and I welcome any input from others who have insight into this as well!

1. Understand that working hard does not mean you aren’t intelligent. If something doesn’t come naturally to you, that’s not a reason to give up. Believing that people can do things “just because they were born with a talent for it” is only going to hurt you. It’s not true! People may have natural aptitudes for things, but hard work is involved even for the smartest or most talented people. You are capable of learning anything, and you don’t have to be “good at it” right away to do so.

2. Comparison will kill you. You are your only competition. Focusing on how you rank with other students, and comparing yourself to your classmates is going to exhaust you. By focusing on others, you can’t put your full energy into focusing on your work and yourself. You belong. Even if you struggle with your work, you belong. Focus on your own self-improvement and doing your best.

3. Don’t focus on the goal, focus on your current actions. If you’re always thinking about the future, and about whether you’ll get into that school or that program or win that award or get that scholarship, you’re not using that time to get work done. Don’t worry about college applications, just do your homework. Focus on what you are doing now to reach your goals so you can apply to schools with confidence later.

4. Your grades may not reflect intelligence, but they do reflect work ethic. Don’t let others convince you that grades mean nothing. They sure as hell mean a lot to colleges, and thinking that you should “reject the current education system” is not going to harm anyone but yourself. If you don’t feel like you’re learning anything in your high school classes, that’s all the more reason to want to get into a university that will challenge you. If you put effort into your work, it will not let you down. Your hard work will be reflected on your transcript. Don’t lose focus.

5. Talk to someone. Let people know if you’re struggling. It can be hard to feel like you aren’t allowed to identify as “smart” or to feel pressure to constantly compete and improve. I went to a highly competitive high school that pushed kids to cope in dangerous ways. This is not healthy and not okay. If you’re feeling overwhelmed you need to find healthy coping mechanisms. Speak with someone you trust and don’t let yourself spiral. Don’t try to self medicate. Your well being is always more important than your grades. Period.

6. Enjoy yourself. School may seem like hell, and you may feel like it will never end and you’ll always be stressed and worried. But high school is only four years, and you can do things during that time that you probably won’t ever again. Take advantage of things that seem fun, even if people think they’re nerdy or weird. Try and remind yourself that you’re lucky to have your education and you have the power to do great things with it. Don’t lose sight of your own ability and your bright future!

[trainthief]

being in love with the process and not the results is one of the healthiest things in the world

[trainthief]

in this same vein: being proud of yourself for the work and not the product brings so much more happiness 

[mughler-deactivated20190524]

i just realized,,,,,,,…. i can literally be the best version of myself right at this moment the only one stopping me is,,,.,,,, me ??? wild

[momentsinreading]

“My cousin Helen, who is in her 90s now, was in the Warsaw ghetto during World War II. She and a bunch of the girls in the ghetto had to do sewing each day. And if you were found with a book, it was an automatic death penalty. She had gotten hold of a copy of ‘Gone With the Wind’, and she would take three or four hours out of her sleeping time each night to read. And then, during the hour or so when they were sewing the next day, she would tell them all the story. These girls were risking certain death for a story. And when she told me that story herself, it actually made what I do feel more important. Because giving people stories is not a luxury. It’s actually one of the things that you live and die for.” –Neil Gaiman

[ttrustissues]

I feel like I’m constantly worrying about the next part of my life without realizing that I’m right in the middle of what I used to look forward to

[notbecauseofvictories]

Do you have any Tips for Academic Success?

Have You Considered A Deal With The Devil 

[verylostpenguin]

Personally I love books that put the footnotes at the bottom of the page instead of at the end of the book so that I don’t have to keep flipping back and forth like an absolute barbarian

[danceractorplumber]

footnotes on the end are like books on the highest shelves - nobody wants to bother to reach for them