I’m curious about people’s levels of familiarity; I intend no judgment or elitism and it’s absolutely fine not to be a completionist, btw. I didn’t think I would’ve intended to have read them all at age 25; it just sort of happened that after I passed the halfway point in the middle of 2023, I came out of a reading slump and was motivated to finish. Fwiw I consider myself a hobbyist (I am not involved in academia or professional theater) but I realize that that label is usually attributed to people with less experience.
I also have always loved seeing other bloggers’ Shakespeare polls where they put certain plays or characters up against each other, but I’m often left wondering if it’s really a ‘fair’ fight all the time if you’re putting up something like Hamlet or Twelfth Night against one of the more obscure works, like the Winter’s Tale. It’s not a grave affront to vote in those polls if you don’t know every play, but I am curious about it.
Please reblog for exposure if you vote; I would appreciate it a lot. Also feel free to elaborate on your own Shakespeare journey in tags, comments, reblogs, because I love to hear about other people’s personal relationships to literature.
the death of 8tracks made you all so bad at making playlists i fear. good ship or character playlist is max 16 songs and devastatingly perfectly crushingly curated. it should make sense musically, if not across the playlist, then at least from song to song. GRADIENTS of genre. think about this before you make a 200 song ship playlist that includes both maroon 5 and mitski. Think on it
When you’ve dealt with feeling left out during elementary school and high school it can linger in adulthood. I’ve noticed over the years that when I’m not invited to functions I don’t want to go to but they involve a lot of mutual acquaintances or coworkers I still feel this sting of loneliness. The questions arise so easily. “Do they not like me? Am I not good enough? The others are more fun, right? They don’t want me around, right?”
This doesn’t even really happen with friends. They all have the same type of social battery so we usually see eye to eye about when and how to hang out. The people who matter most and I care about the most… we’re good. Why does it still hurt when it happens with people that matter less?
It recently happened with family which was very surprising. My uncle got married and Lauren and I were only invited for the reception which started at 8:30 PM. It’s an hour and a half from where we live and we would have no one to babysit Teddy since all the family is at the wedding. Most of the immediate family was invited for the entire day. I lived with my uncle for 3 months when I was 16/17 years old. This isn’t a family member I don’t have a relationship with - it’s someone who cared for me when I was at a very low point in life. I felt confused. Did I even want to go to this wedding? Yeah, I wanted to be there. Not the whole day and definitely not at the party because that’s not my thing. I got invited for the one part of the day I don’t care for. It’s no one’s responsibility to know what I do or don’t like I guess but it still stings when you feel like there’s little consideration put into it.
And now a coworker had a birthday and invited a good chunk of the people I work with. Sting. I did not want to go. I was in bed by 9 PM, Teddy sleeping soundly in his bed next to me. I am not interested in this party at all. And yet… the photos on instagram got to me. I don’t want to feel left out or sad or irritated. I have the life I want. I’m so incredibly lucky with the friends and family I have and how we interact with each other. I’m good. Can’t I just see these photos and think “that’s nice, hope they had a good time”? I’m a 33 year old - I don’t want to feel like 11 year old me whose best friend suddenly stopped talking to her. I don’t want to feel like the 16 year old who always felt different because she didn’t have an interest in the clothes or things most other people had. I just want to feel like me, now. Extremely lucky and happy.
I know the feeling will pass and the happiness will return. I know that. I just wish the initial sting didn’t exist.
I did an illustration for Trans Day of Remembrance today at work.
Our little community contains so much anger and grief, but it’s because we love each other so fiercely. We remember our dead because their memory keeps us stubborn.
never forget the universal rule of the order of things: People Will Not Read It
signs at stores? émail? menu ?? instruction ? post online ? caption with andswer to question ? group hand outs ??? street sign ??? no. The Written Word Is The Enemy
ALT
