the ramblings// treacherous

The above quote is from the novel 'Paper Towns' by John Green. I had always brushed over this quote, perhaps because I didn't fully understand the meaning. Or perhaps because it lacked significance to my life at that moment. Yesterday, the quote was said by the protagonist in the movie version of the novel. And then it hit me.

What are we all? What are we all, really? Just people. Right? People- defined by our experiences and decisions; yet,  that will never detract from the fact that we are all just people. Green is right. It is nothing short of dangerous to fuel all your hopes in to a  person. A person that is elevated so high in your world that even you can't see that their feet have never really left the bottom. By doing so, one is betraying a person's humanity; denying them of being anything but this person when all they crave is to just be a person. And its dangerous because it is impossible. Disappointment is inevitable, respectable, admirable. We shouldn't expect anything less or anything more of anybody. We shouldn't suppress emotions because they defy the very mattering of the person everyone expects us to be. Believing is merely a splinter away from expecting. And that is a very treacherous thing.

What I am trying to communicate is that you should never believe that you're not worthy enough to fill someone's expectations. Similarly, you should never expect anyone to be anymore than what they are. I will try and remember this as I continue through life. I think, I know, that I will be much happier.

Thank you for bearing with me on this ramble. I would love to hear about your own interpretations of this quote...

-J

simplicity

Jessie Wears

Dress - Millman Street

Bag - Scaramanga

Wow, I am blogging a lot lately. Two posts in a row is an unlikely occurrence for me. There's something so lovely about stripping back my usual forest(y) type photos and settling for a brick wall. This whole outfit screams simplicity: what better way to compliment that than with a simple backdrop? 

This little rucksack is just so perfect for well... anything! Such a great size for going in to town or jumping on a tube to Camden Market. I can't wait to get more use out of it. 

Results day is nearing, stay strong everyone ahhhhh!

-J

ps. what do you guys think of my new design?

lifeline (short story) + mini q&a

She sipped her coffee like it was a lifeline; feeding her the secrets of humanity, fuelling her imagination. She held her pen like it could take her anywhere. The writing dripping off the nib like a liquid with a sole purpose to usurp every crevice of the page. Of her life. She had positioned her glasses like a view finder. A shield. Something that protected the world from her own world that she had fabricated on the page. 

Yet she wasn't looking through rose tinted glasses.

The coffee still sits. Full: ironic as her final sip was anything but. The pen is not poised in the air but defeated, lying adjacent to the book that concealed every memory. Every transient memory. The glasses are still transparent. They have nothing to shield anymore. 

And I'm wincing at my own reflection through the lens.

She sipped her coffee like it was her lifeline. I see now that it was. 

I haven't written anything like this piece in so long. I've missed it so much. This story was pretty sad. I hadn't intended it to be, when I first saw this picture on tumblr. But I guess now I can see the ambiance screams loss. Nostalgia. A memory.

I also thought I'd answer a few q+a style questions that have been asked on my instagram. Some of them are quite thought provoking:

1// If you could be anyone would you still choose to be you?
Yes. There would have been time where my answer would have been different. Now I realise the importance of fulfilling the role that YOU have been given. If you don't like something, change it. As Oscar Wilde said, "Be yourself, everyone else is taken."

2// What's your favourite thing to do when you're bored?
I read (and also go on tumblr, netflix ...basically waste my life on the internet)

3// What's your hobby?
Writing, definitely.

4//Who would you like to be in the future?
This question is interesting as it says 'who'. Whether that was intentional or not, I don't know. Anyway I'm going to go with 'who'. I would like to be an interesting person. Someone people want to talk to. I want to be a generous and loving with the ability to share my talents. The future is quite literally decided by yourself. That is an odd concept but a comforting one?

5// What's your favourite book?
Arghh this question is so hard. I basically just read fanfiction at the moment (nerd)  but I would have to say "Cross My Heart" by Cameron Reid. I have read this story countless times and am still struck by the enormity of the war on those in Poland (history nerd).

6// One particular moment you couldn't forget in your entire life?
I don't think I have one just yet. Life is made up of so many moments that it is difficult to highlight just one....

7// What's your favourite city?
Biased as I am, London. The history is just amazing. That being said, I haven't been to many other cities so my opinion may very well change after exploring Rome, Venice etc...

I hope you all enjoyed the short story (perhaps enjoy is the wrong word?) and found my answers vaguely interesting?

Keep finding inspiration in unexpected places,
-J