Platonic Love and Silly Little Hobbies
I’m not sure if it’s because there’s nothing else going on in February, but this month always has me reflecting on love and relationships…. even if my love life is currently nonexistent and Valentine’s Day is a cheesy corporate money grab of a holiday.
The Power of Platonic Love
I love my friends. Like, I really love my friends. It feels like there’s such an emphasis on romantic love and finding a partner that I don’t think we appreciate platonic love as much as we should.
My friends are the ones that have gotten me through the hardest times.
My friends are the ones that make me laugh so hard that I cry.
My friends are the ones who are there when I need advice or a shoulder to cry on.
My friends are the ones who lift me up when I’m down.
My friends are the ones that’ll go on silly little adventures with me.
My friends are the ones who are reliable and show up.
I first started to grasp the concept of platonic love when I was driving the giant hot dog. Each vehicle (6 of them!) is piloted by two people that are paired together by the big hot dog boss and powers that be. Think an arranged marriage, except instead of getting married you’re traveling, working, eating, exploring, problem-solving, and doing basically everything with this person you just met at orientation.
I really lucked out with my copilots, and if you’re reading this, you know who you are and I love you so much. I think I had recognized platonic love before, but this experience was the first that helped me fully understand what it means to love someone in that way.
What is love? I don’t fucking know. But I feel a deep appreciation, warmth, and fondness towards my friends, which I think means I love them.
That’s it. I love you all.
The Fly List
Speaking of my hot dog copilots and love, one of them introduced me to the concept of the “fly list”. It’s simply the list of people that you’d drop anything and book a flight for, no matter the cost or circumstances. My parents and siblings are on my fly list, as well as a few close friends. Every time I explain this to someone, they seem to be like “I never thought of it that way, but yeah, I guess I have a fly list too”.
You know what else I love? My silly little hobbies.
I’ve been into journaling for a while now, but this year I decided to get a bit more creative with it. I’ve always been interested in bullet journaling, but the perfectionist in me was a bit intimidated by all the perfectly organized bullet journals on the internet.
A friend told me about junk journaling, a method that felt much more approachable.
This article, aptly titled: “In a chronically online world, people are finding respite in ‘junk journaling’”, explains junk journaling well:
While scrapbooking might involve purchasing sticker kits and ornately decorated paper to document a specific occasion, junk journaling emphasizes the use of found and recycled materials: a sticker from a piece of fruit, a pamphlet picked up at a museum, a piece of product packaging that’s too pretty to discard.
Purists might adhere to the ethos of only using “junk,” while others supplement recycled scraps with printed photos and other decorative flourishes. For some people, a junk journal is a visual diary of sorts, with notes and thoughts jotted in the margins. But it could just as well be a completely random assortment of materials arranged on paper.
Here’s some photos of my journal, where I combined elements from both bullet and junk journaling.
How I’ve Been Spending Offline Time
📚 Reading some English Class classics like 1984 and Of Mice and Men (full book reports coming later)
🏃🏻♀️ Running. Gets me out of my mind for a bit.
🍞 Making everything except sourdough with my sourdough starter. So far I’ve tried cinnamon rolls and a pizza crust, both were great. I’m trying to buy less bread products and make them on my own because I’m a frugal queen and nothing tastes better than homemade.
🧘🏻♀️ Practicing yoga. This seems to fluctuate based on where I am at the current moment. I’ve done some yoga at home but find it to be soooo much better in a class. I’ve been exploring new studios on ClassPass which has been kinda fun.
No pressure but if you want to try out ClassPass, use this referral link and get your first month free plus 20 extra credits to take even more classes.
What’s going on?
I thought it would be fun if I started a little advice column. I also feel like I should give a disclaimer that I am not actually qualified to advise on anything. But I’m funny and don’t take things too seriously, and neither should you. Ask me your silly questions, maybe it’ll help someone else feel less alone!
💛 CJK