Summer Glow-Up List
Paint Nails, Read Plato
What if a GLOW-UP were not about self-improvement, but about connecting to one’s inner light and divinity? That’s how I see it. Evoke the sun, illuminate the spirit within.
It’s not about the checklist of steps to achieve the glow-up, but about taking notice of what does make a difference, and pausing to contemplate: why?
I wrote a list of personal commitments for the summer, but I want to emphasise the top two, for their contrast and equal importance: Painting Nails and Reading Plato. I thought about separating this list, which is mainly beauty practices, but also includes some scholarly, writerly practices, but it feels important to keep them together. I am a whole person and priestess. These practices represent all of me, and if someone were to stumble upon this post out of context, I wish it to represent all of me as well.
Painting Nails
I go through seasons of caring and not caring about painting my nails, and I’m entering a season of caring. My ritual is to watch an episode of Gossip Girl each week while my nails dry. This infuses my manicure with Waldorf-worthy glamour.
Painting my nails always reminds me of college, when my roommate and I would study hard at our desks by day, take the occasional Taylor Swift dance break, and on some evenings, paint nails and watch the CW on our laptops. Gossip Girl for me, 90210 for her. Respite from work, that was also a ritual to honour self-expression and presentation.
Gossip Girl honours art and personal style, as well as cultivating one’s taste and intelligence. Literary references abound, such as an episode where the characters are putting on The Age of Innocence as a school play, while the events of the novel are mirrored in their social lives. Drama of everyday life interplays with luxury and literature in a way that I wish to infuse in my own world. XOXO.
Read Plato
What if I reframe a reading challenge as a daily dedication to bettering my mind? One of my favourite writers, Ted Gioia, announced his 12-Month Immersive Course in the Humanities. It’s 250 pages of reading per week. This sounded like a lot until he made the compelling case that it’s comparable to how much one might spend on social media or watching tv. <— I can’t stop thinking about that! As a collective, we are reading more than ever, albeit less deliberately than ever.
Plato or Instagram? I choose Plato!
I remember my days as an overworked student, loving my literary readings, but longing for more time to peruse them for fun. Each week for my English Literature degree at Oxford, I read about 500 pages and wrote around 2-4k words. I also read books like The Princess Diaries series for fun, to balance things out. I looked forward to the time I could indulge in literature and criticism on my own time, with no assignments or deadlines. Ted Gioia has called me back to this mission.
I READ FOR MIND-EXPANSION NOT ENTERTAINMENT, AND SEEK OUT CHALLENGING BOOKS - Ted Gioia
I read for mind-expansion and entertainment, and distinguishing reading into these categories helped me make peace with my reading goals.
I set a generously attainable reading goal for 2024: two books per moon cycle. This would nudge me to prioritise reading for fun, while also giving me freedom to dip into a text and not ‘complete’ it, or feel that I have time for longer books, or long-form articles.
When it comes to limiting screen time, I am far more motivated by what I WILL be doing than what I ought to avoid. Reading Plato every day has indeed expanded my mind, and I now have even more to write about. Which leads me to the final step of the Glow-Up:
Write Art Responses
My astrologer advised me to write as much as I read. Elementally I am heavy Earth, and low Air. This means processing information/ideas/BOOKS can be a challenge. But writing is a way to work through that challenge.
I am reading more. To balance this out, I will also be writing more.
Last week I mused about how I want to write more Art Responses (this type of writing has also been a reader request). This is exactly what I’ll be doing each week, starting this Friday. Who am I to philosophise? According to Plato, if I am questioning the extent of my own wisdom, I am already on the right track. My intent for the new series is to respond to art in my own way, rather than stick to industry conventions. I must keep reminding myself, and I remind you in turn: if you’re going to write on your own platform in your own voice, make sure everything about it is your way. What if you didn’t have to follow other formats you’ve seen? Or, go back to the texts from hundreds and thousands of years ago and see how much format conventions have changed over time. We are a tiny blip on the timeline. Plato, btw, was very conversational and goofy, even as he discusses death and the after-life of souls.
More on Plato later though. I’ll leave my paid subscribers with the rest of MY SUMMER GLOW UP LIST!