You guys know I’m in a bit of a funk. Lots of changes and seemingly never enough time to process them all, unless I let something else seriously slide. I’m learning that it’s completely possible to live without a boyfriend, but completely impossible to live without a city—at least, if I want to be engaged and inspired at all.

So I’m displacing my affections—channeling them away from boys and toward sculpting a life that I really want and really love. And that includes falling in love with a new city.

Because, why the hell not? If I don’t take the time now to make things happen that I actually want to be a part of—to engage in my first real, honest foray into lifestyle design, creating what I actually want from a slightly undesirable situation—I’m never going to. So here you go.

  • I will surround myself with people I really admire. My roommates were the enablers of my trip to Cincinnati—without them, I’d probably still be overpaying for apartments and riding the subway to work in a job that I really enjoy but for which I’m rather overqualified. They are the best friends I could ever imagine. Also in the mix are sweet French-speaking urban explorers, snarky web-developing karaoke all-stars, lead singers for bands who moonlight as laptop DJs and make the whole city jump one night a week, a former straight-edge band member/carnie with a penchant for planning last-minute film parties and trips to Cleveland, and especially awesome video artists with big city dreams, an appreciation for cheap wine and good music, and a drive to Get Things Done similar to my own. These are the foundation of everything I have here, and I’m the luckiest girl in the world to know them all.
  • I will take risks. I’m still behind the curve as a freelancer. But a couple weeks ago, I sent a pitch to someone I really admire, just to see if I could help her out. And she said yes. And then I sent another pitch. And another. Some music writing, some fashion writing, and some ad/marketing stuff…I’m not making all my income as a writer yet, but I’m well on my way if I keep this up.
  • I will create an environment conducive to joy. There’s nothing that makes me question why I own the things I own and why I do the things I do like packing all my stuff into a truck and driving it across the country…only to unload it and decide to get rid of most of it. In thinking about the life I’d like to live, I know I’d like to minimize the following: clutter [particularly of the paper variety], time spent cleaning, unhealthy foods, and clothing I feel ugly in. So I’m pitching the whole lot of it. After all, the longer I spend dealing with all of the things I dislike, the longer I’ll have to put off my happiness, right? [This, by the way, will spawn a whole series of posts. Look for them in the next couple of weeks!]
  • I will find new stimuli and new sources of excitement. My good friend Jacob has been so awesome to send me a ton of music and films that could easily keep me busy and happy for weeks, plus links where I can always find more. Cait is constantly tweeting about new bands and challenging my notions of friendship and relationships and writing, not to mention always coming up with adventures [seriously, last weekend, upon her suggestion, I ate a kettle kake, definitely spelled with a "k"—a mound of fried, doughy, sugary goodness at a brunch place that I'd passed by a million times without ever actually seeing, and I've been dreaming of going back for more ever since]. There’s always something exciting going on at CS13, Cincinnati’s new performance/gallery/studio space downtown. And Chris is my inroad to all things relating to new media, video, and what it takes to be awesome. With so much out there, it really doesn’t make sense for me to wallow in sorrow and unproductivity.
  • I will build time for myself into every day. So far, I’m ever so grateful that I have my dog, the ever-faithful friend Hachiko. Owning him means that no matter what, I have at least three walks alone built into my day. We’ve managed to turn these into long, winding, ambling things, stretching down the length of campus and through Burnet Woods. I’ve developed a symbiotic relationship with the Pandora player on my Blackberry, which blocks out all but what I want to hear or think, and I use the time to process feelings and develop ideas and give myself massive pep talks [yes, out loud] of the variety that make passersby turn and stare. “Fuck everything. You can do this. Stop doubting.” It’s worth doing, I tell you.
  • I will start new projects and breathe new life into old ones. Remember my Etsy store? And then remember how I was working too much to really give it the effort it needed? Well, I have a handful of new photographers who are more than happy to shoot pictures of me wearing pretty handmade and vintage things. And I have tons more time now, as well as new motivation to Get Things Done. It’s all a matter of remembering why I’m here—to give myself an environment where it’s much easier to create things and learn, so that I can get the hell back to New York where I belong.

Tell me, kiddos: what are you guys doing to make yourselves gleeful and productive and better these days?

Related posts:

  1. Amanda Lee’s Birthday Wish List, Part 2: The Immaterial (Read: The Important Stuff)
  2. Throwback Thursday: Why Fashion is Important
  3. Back-to-School Time for Big Kids, Non-Students, and Autumn Lovers
  4. A Reiteration: Why Fashion Is Important