the joy of learning something new.
+ my review of Sorry, Baby; throwback girl emo, + more lists, links, recs <3
Dear friends,
This past week, I learned two new things. I had been craving this lately. When I saw (the excellent) Michael Rance post about the joy of learning something new (in response to the also-excellent Brandon), I was filled with this rush of desire to be a beginner.
One would think that being in academia would allow for constantly learning new things, but this becomes less true over the course of a scholarly life. Once I learned the trick of academic thinking (critical, in a very specific way), I just applied it to everything. In many ways, academics are kind of one-trick ponies. And anyway, it’s so cerebral, your body never really gets that satisfying sensation of a new skill. Since grad school, I can point to only a few really new things I’ve learned: how to teach yoga and fitness classes; how to podcast and audio edit; how to identify different kinds of fungi; some more advanced gardening tricks; and how to read tarot. But it’s been five years since I really learned how to do something I hadn’t known how to do before. And I missed it.
But here’s what happened this week: I learned archery! Well, I learned how to shoot a bow. (I’m not even actually sure that’s the language, like is that correct archery grammar? Beats me, I’m a beginner.) A trip to the archery range at the local state park reservation had been a belated birthday present for my uncle. I hadn’t even been sure I was going to participate, but I’m so glad I did. It was a truly brand new experience — to feel the practice of concentration, coordination, and, really, an overwhelming sense of body peace. I loved it. (And my mom shot some arrows too!)
Then I did something silly that happens to come with a learning curve. I started making TikTok videos! I’m not going to link to it yet because I’ve only posted one thing and it’s kind of rough, but wow wowow it was fun to learn how to make little things pop up on the screen! I love audio editing so it’s not majorly surprising that video editing is fun for me too. I don’t want to get all-consumed with the Tok, so we’ll see if this sticks, but it was really a delight to create something new. It felt a little bit like zine/collage work, but digital. So fun!
What’s the last new thing you learned to do? Seriously, I’d love to know, leave a comment. <3
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Below: a roundup of reading and podcast recs from the week, my mini-review of Sorry, Baby (a new favorite film), a lady-fronted emo throwback, and some other fun, joyful things from the week.
Of course, the backdrop to all of this is continued horror. If you still haven’t donated to the people of Palestine, please consider sharing with these trusted groups and individuals who have connections with Gazans.
love & solidarity,
raechel
Reading + Podcasts.
