sleeplesspotioneer

Latest Posts by sleeplesspotioneer

Normalize science academia

Okay, we get that dark and light academia are mostly associated with social and language studies. But what about the people who study physics and chemistry and math and who have adopted the light/dark academia aesthetic? Give me the physics scribbling notes on the 123nd notebook of the month and gazing at discs turning, springs springing and pendulums moving incessantly. Give me the aspiring chemists being careful and frantic at the same time while they measure all kinds of substances and turn the pages of books, with dirty glasses slightly broken to the side. Give me the mathematicians who are writing quickly like there is no tomorrow on the chalkboard and when there is no more space they continue on walls and notebooks. Give me all those scientists who, once at home throw their robes in the washing machine and sit down with coffee and a book and turn their radio to the classic station. Maybe the book is a classic or a piece of poetry, maybe it is related to their subjects, but they make notes on the spaces of the page. They may not be able to analyze it like an English major but they are devoted to their purposes and absolutely love their occupation.

Sky Variations & Nebulae of Water. Part III. Art by StrayChild on ArtStation.

Sabrina (1954) dir. Billy Wilder

things to include in a letter to your overseas pen-pal

that one sticker you were saving

pressed flowers from a walk around your neighborhood

book quotes that made you laugh

paint swatches of colors that remind you of them

the local time of sunrise and sunset 

poems and movie quotes

meaningful song lyrics

polaroids of your desk space, or the view out of your window

cutouts of sheet music you used to play

phrases in your native language with translations

magazine cutouts

pages of old books folded into a small envelope

a secret about your hometown

newspaper clippings from the day of writing

coins from your country 

maps or drawings of your city

recounts of strangers you saw

teabag of your favorite tea

colorful stamps

Illuminated pages from a manuscript of Hafez, Zand Period style, 1790.

i can’t believe there are people who live in such historically rich places like italy or scotland or greece or paris with old architecture and ruins and museums… the audacity. 

Books are the foundations of the soul. The building blocks of our very own character.

some things i’ve learned while studying in quarantine

drink more water instead of more coffee.

weekly goals are bullshit. set yourself 3-day goals. you’ll be less laid-back.

don’t just mindlessly stare at words. before you start studying, know your approach to it. have a plan.

summarizing the concept in your own words is the key part of taking notes. don’t just copy things down, convert them into your own way of talking, your own vocabulary, no matter how dumb and unprofessional it sounds.

don’t let the “studyblr aesthetic” fool you. studying doesn’t have to be pretty. summaries and notes can be messy as long as they’re comprehensible. you can always rewrite and reorganize them later. (honestly, you better do. and you better keep them.)

don’t throw away the papers you’ve solved your problems in. staple them to the fucking textbook. you need to see them constantly. cause you’ll need reminders of how far you’ve came, when you’re feeling discouraged.

don’t be an armchair analyst for your issues. if you have an idea then act on it.

remember: the exact point where it becomes difficult, is where your growth begins. take a deep breath, and try to focus on the paragraph in front of you.

get off your high horse and understand that if you’re a zero, you won’t go to 100 in a couple of days. first, you’ll need to reach 30, then from 30 to 60, and then from 60 to 90. nobody is 100 everyday. that happens very rarely.

you need to have fun everyday. you need to have peaceful time every single day. even on exam night. especially on exam night, actually. so make sure you’ve studied enough so you can have some time to yourself.

once you’re on a roll and in need of some challenge to stay on track, start writing down your studying hours. tell yourself you’re not allowed to do less than 80% of what you did yesterday. whatever the hell it was, even just one hour. so if yesterday you really studied for like, say 8 hours, today your goal is to study for at least 6 and a half hours. if you can’t keep up with that, make it 70%, or 60%. 

be forgiving of yourself. be kind to yourself. even if you bounced back and lost your streak. start again. as slowly as you did before. take your time. it’s okay, you were there once you can get there again.

Dark Academia: STEM Edition

(because everyone talks about the literature lovers but not the science lovers)

Staring through a microscope far longer than you should just because you love being able to see what few others have seen

The idea of pushing the boundaries of human knowledge, of making an impact

Studying ocean currents and still feeling amazed when you see them churning the sea’s surface

Messy writing

Going through online libraries and only reading the abstracts of research papers

Thousand page anatomy textbooks

Latin words you don’t quite know the meaning of

That feeling when memorizating facts finally turns into understanding concepts

Knowledge of biological functions even though you’re not quite sure when you learned it

Dark Academia Outfit Inspiration

messy handwriting that’s a combination between cursive and print. books with folded down corners. clear tea cups with peppermint tea. coffee rings on book pages. rain stained windows. freshly started garden filled with poppys. the smell of coffee cake in the oven. an absurd amount of missed calls. late nights sprawled out in crisis on your bedroom floor. the tapping of a pen repeatedly on a desk. mismatched socks.

south asian dark academia

Reza Rahimi | رضا رحیمی لسکو (Iranian, b. 1979) – Painting, 2014

Na manam, na manam yara! Marg anjaam da hastay na de.

Khlasidal sharab pa jaam ke, ikhtitaam da mastay ne de.

Nah! I dont believe, i dont agree with it, death is not the end of existence.

Finishing up a cup of wine, is not the end of joy.

- 𝑮𝒉𝒂𝒏𝒊 𝑲𝒉𝒂𝒏

Image source: we heart it.

Poetry: malghalari by pashtoscoop

There was such noise around you, what I wanted to say got lost somewhere in the middle

-Amjad Islam

Hello!! I’ve been trying to find Pakistani/Pashtun owned dark academia accounts because there are really not much of them and most aren’t given much attention :( im honestly so glad I found yours, I adore it so much 🥺🥰 (I’m Pashtun myself hehe)

Hii! I am pleased you like it and I agree with you. I thought not many people will understand it but I started it anyway because i think the dark academia aesthetic can go really well with our culture. I am so glad you reached out. 🥰🤗

Everyone discusses my art and pretends to understand, as if it were necessary to understand, when it is simply necessary to love.

- Claude Monet

Dark Academia Gift Ideas!

I was looking for some dark academia gift idea lists, but couldn’t find any, so i’ve compiled my own list of affordable gifts for a anyone who loves the DA aesthetic! Feel free to reblog to add to the list! :)

• notebooks with cute designs (Paperblanks make beautiful ones, but are on the more expensive side)

• a fountain pen

• DIY or shop-bought quill

• accessories such as scarves, socks or jewellery (cute scarves and jewellery can be found in second hand shops or on etsy)

• vintage/antique knick-knacks like tins, spectacles, drinking glasses, ornaments etc

• books! I recommend looking in charity/second hand shops for cheap books

• candles or incense or accessories like candle holders etc

• a tea set, or part of a tea set (teapot, cup and saucer)

The Prophet ﷺ is reported to have said, ‘Verily you shall conquer Constantinople. What a wonderful leader will her leader be, and what a wonderful army will that army be!’ [Musnad Ahmad, Al Hakim, al Jami’ al Saghir] https://www.instagram.com/p/CCi6_fjlq6i/?igshid=1j6ub958hpgzg

1959 : Dancers performing in street of Kabul following the arrival of the 34th U.S. President Eisenhower from Karachi.

Let’s admit it, we were all dark academic hoes the moment we

- started fantasising abt going on museum dates with a crush

- wanted to live in cities with mysterious vibes

- watched the rain outside the car and started reminiscing

- would buy bundles of books and literally ignore people for a few days

- wanted to learn classic instruments for the aesthetic

- had favourite clothes that made you sweat like hell in the summer

Rebec.

A precursor of the violin that originated in Islamic nations in Asia. It found its way to Spain and France where it remained popular until the violin displaced it. It had only three strings and was rectangular or trapezoidal. This instrument was also known by the Arabic name, rabab.

Afghanistan in 1950s

dark cottagecore 🍄🥀

Yes please!

Petition to have Balls again because I really want to dress up in a large pretty gown and socially partner dance. Like why did they stop being a thing?! Clubs are cool but have they nothing on a Ball.

South asian Dark Academia

• Reading poems and stories of Rumi, Hafez, Iqbal, Ghani khan and Manto.

• Wanting to learn how to speak Arabic, Persian, Hindi, and Urdu.

• Being bilingual or multilingual by birth.

• STEM students with an interest in Art and rich knowledge in History.

• You know exactly what to do with 6 yards of fabric; look fabulous in a Saree.

• Wearing your hair in braids to keep it out of your face.

• Always looking forward to eating your mother's homemade Biryani. Nothing tastes spicy enough.

• The shelves of your kitchen are filled with colourfull jars of Masalas (spices).

• Haldi is literaly the cure for everything.

• Chai is your addiction. It calms you down and you get a headache when you miss your daily dose of chai.

• The smell of Mehendi / Henna when women are applying it in ardous designs on their hands and feet at weddings and festivals.

“د مسافرو یاري مه کړه تا به د زړه په رنځ اخته کړي دوی به ځینه Do not fall in love with wanderers You will drown your heart in sorrow And they will leave.”

— Pashto landay

Desi dark academia is just a group of multilingual STEM students with an extensive knowledge of history, who recite Tagore, purely out of memory