Every Man Is A Creature Of The Age In Which He Lives And Few Are Able To Raise Themselves Above The Ideas

““Read a thousand books, and your words will flow like a river.””

— Lisa See

I may not be a pastor to replenish and cleanse your sins, but should you have any unresolved resolutions and need to vent, then I am here to bless you.

A new begining shall occur, and we must drop the weights we bring from yesterday so that tomorrow can be anew.

The Painted Hall, Old Royal Naval College, Greenwich, London SE10, England,

©Will Pryce / Country Life

Adapted from a workshop I did at my high school Writing Center. One of my more helpful powerpoints; let me know if you need any clarifications. This is all my original work; please don’t remove the source.

My art history teacher is like "there were ZERO women artists during the renaissance well there was Sofonisba but that's it" and I'm STEAMING bc there WERE more female artists during the Renaissance and I KNOW this bc I spent hours researching women artists in the Renaissance so I could figure out what to name my girl ninja turtle oc when I was 11

hi! i was hoping you could help me out. i’m really interested in the dark academia ‘lifestyle’ (if that’s what you call it?) but not necessarily the fashion. what kinds of things do dark academics do? basically i guess i’m asking how can i be a dark academic? i hope this makes sense. thanks

Hihi! Yes I can definitely give some tips. Dark academia has a lot of associations so you can pick and choose what you vibe with, but here is what dark academia means to me personally:

1) Love of learning: what really stands out to me is the constant searching for new ideas and the love of knowledge. It could mean studying at school really hard, or researching miscellaneous topics in depth because you just love to expand what you know; always being curious. Persoanlly, this also means being open minded to new information and able to unlearn things too. This is related to -

2) Love of reading: as academia itself is tied to reading, many people have a passion for books, literature, and poetry. There isn’t a specific style of book you have to read, but if you like reading try diversifying your genres and seeing if you enjoy the classics, some non-fiction, young adult, whatever you enjoy. Check out your local libraries, listen to audiobooks, keep a book in your bag - whatever works for you! Also you don’t have to read the classic DA books (The Secret History, etc.) unless you actually want to!!

3) Appreciation of art, music, beauty, architecture: appreciating the arts can mean a few things. You can actively go to museums, galleries, read up on artists you enjoy, visit places with unique architecture, listen to classical music and the like. But I feel it can also mean just being aware of the beauty in your environment, and noticing small moments in life that others might miss. Maybe you pass a building that has a particularly beautiful stone archway, or you stop to listen to a violinist outside the subway station, or you tuck a postcard of a favourite painting into your notebooks or doodle meaningful lyrics on a napkin. Not everyone has a huge museum near them!

Let me quickly say what dark academia DOESN’T mean to me:

Being elitist or classist: so much of the aesthetic is rooted in classism, being privileged (e.g. going to private schools and fancy universities, looking down at people who aren’t seemingly as “smart” or “worldly” as you), which I think is harmful to both others and yourself. I believe the true spirit of DA is to be kind and inclusive! There is also the aesthetic of copious amounts of alcohol and drugs and caffeine but personally I try to keep it a healthier lifestyle haha.

There is no one way to enjoy DA, so have fun with it, find your own style, and respect others!

“Love looks not with the eyes, but with the mind, And therefore is winged Cupid painted blind.”

— William Shakespeare, from “A Midsummer Night’s Dream“, published p. 1596

Death and the Maiden by Ana Sanchez

i need a girlfriend to talk about literature and pretty paintings!! accepting applications now!!