Gratitude Journal 6.24 II
Summer camp! For adults!
6/16: I went to TJ Maxx today and although my bank account isn’t grateful, I am. I found a gem hidden in between columns and columns of dull stones, and the brightness of the blue reminds me of vibrant sea glass, smoothed over and over by time’s tumult.
6/17: I adorned my body with the blue sea glass I collected from TJ Maxx and felt beautiful not because I was, but because I was wearing something that was. When beauty is not the beholden’s burden, it is as smooth as glass smothered by the ocean’s keep.
6/18: I listened to my youngest brother explain his John Wick-ian idea for a film, and was spellbound watching his creativity sprout. I know how much tending and nursing my own tiny seed of creativity required (and still requires), and it is quite the gift to witness another’s.
6/19: the generosity of a neighbor and my family who stepped in to collect me from work when I felt sick.
6/20: the slow, tinkering change of my subconscious moving towards something new. I seldom can feel the motion happen, but this time, I could feel the gears turning rapidly as I approach a new chapter.
6/21: staring out a train window. There is something so nostalgic, so cinematic about being alone in a train car and using the world passing you by outside your window as an escape. Maggie Rogers is an essential soundtrack to perfect this endeavor.
6/22: as I’ve exclaimed before, the generosity of Suleika Jaouad and her team. I’m also grateful for my courage, blind in the face of a five hour drive and riding the wave of uninhibited excitement. I went to an art gallery. Alone. Dressed in my new favorite dress. Glad I’d chosen this little adventure.
6/23: the solace and kindness of my grandmother, who sat with me before I embarked on another adventure, this time driving 150 miles to attend writer’s camp!
6/24: I felt so free today! My brain and body were both ready to tackle/conquer/embrace the day with a six thirty wake up, stimulating workshops, quiet moments in the library, a titillating bike ride, and the familiar feeling of writing with abandon.
6/25: stuck feeling cabin fever (I absorb the environmental pleasures and pressures into my body), I went into town, strolled around an aesthetic bookstore, and suddenly, everything was right with the world.
6/26: finding a swing on my bike ride. I spent five minutes basking in the thrill of rising higher and higher in the air.
6/27: my dear friend, Karina, who gifted me this notebook from the Philippines. There is not a better gift for a writer who is always running out of blank paper.
6/28: summer doesn’t get better than licking Ben and Jerry’s Chocolate Chip Cookie Dough from a waffle cone, the sticky ice cream dripping down my thumb. The brain freeze also helped me to forget that one scoop cost 9 dollars…
6/29: renting an e-bike to explore campus and downtown Saratoga Springs, which does NOT disappoint!
6/30: to end this month, I would like to express my gratitude for anyone who has supported my writing. To my boyfriend who slyly nods when I finish my thirty minute rant about AI, to my close friends who ask me what a day is like at writer camp, to every stranger who promises to buy my book when it hits shelves. Love you all!
Until next time,
Kiera