“Love Looks Not With The Eyes, But With The Mind, And Therefore Is Winged Cupid Painted Blind.”

I suppose at one time in my life I might have had any number of stories, but now there is no other. This is the only story I will ever be able to tell.

Hermann Hesse, Siddhartha (1922)

types of study breaks for every situation

if you realize you’ve been studying for hours: grab a snack to refuel your body and watch a sitcom to refuel your brain. then back to the books.

if you’re feeling stressed out: take some deep breaths, text your friends, maybe stare at a wall for a few minutes. gather yourself.

if you can’t seem to focus: get moving and get outside. take out the garbage, check your mail box, maybe walk your dog. just get moving and get fresh air. it’ll help bring you back.

if there’s something else going on in your life and you can’t get it off your mind: write down what’s going through your head, sort of like a diary entry. it’ll help you work things out.

if you’re just mentally and physically exhausted: set a timer for 25-30 minutes and take a nap. any longer and you’ll hit REM and you’ll wake up feeling just as tired. once you wake up, get some caffeine in you.

if the material is boring as hell: find another way to study. see if there’s a crash course video online about it or draw out what you’re trying to learn in diagrams and pictures to make it fun.

if people around you won’t shut up: listen to some music. soundtrack and classical music is always good because they won’t absorb you as much as music with lyrics. white noise (like ocean waves, rain sounds, etc.) also works.

if you only half understand a concept: call/message a friend who’s not in the class and try to teach the material to them. this will help you mentally work through the material and will help you remember it as well.

@halfbloodsnet​ quest # 0 : godly parents [greek goddess of wisdom, handicraft, and warfare: athena]

The sheer beauty of being truly invested in a book is what I live for. Your eyes fervishly scan the words desperate to know what happens next. You feel the characters and it’s like they’re an extension of you. Every word, every letter is deeply ingrained as it becomes a part of you

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

©Will Pryce / Country Life

Why limit yourself between choosing a pretty feminine aesthetic or a dark one? If Persephone can be the Goddess of Spring and the Queen of the Underworld at the same time so can you.

Dark Academia Procrastination 

‣ watching the clouds pass by your window 

‣ completely changing your spotify playlists 

‣ reading up on long-dead philosophers and some new ones 

‣ boiling the kettle three separate times because you keep forgetting that you put it on already 

‣ painting your nails 

‣ listening to the trees and the birds within them 

‣ flipping through unread books hoping one will catch your attention 

‣ reading poetry and tasting it on the back of your tongue 

‣ dabbling in witchcraft 

‣ thinking about Oscar Wilde 

‣ experiencing intense nostalgia but letting it consume you instead of pushing it away like you usually do 

‣ getting too involved in the classical music you’re listening to and feeling the crescendo in your soul  

‣ fantasizing

London nights: quiet, dark buildings hold in their breath, streets shine with rain, strings of lights over an alley, the feeling of there being no one else in the world

subjects as dark academia aesthetics

english: knit turtlenecks, corduroy pants. going to stationery stores and buying ink. writing notes and penning stories in leather-bound notebooks. critiquing your friend’s essay as you walk hurriedly through a grove of oak trees in the rain on your way to class.

math: perpetually foggy glasses. biting your pencil eraser to focus when you’re stuck on a particularly difficult problem. taking notes and putting them into a worn binder, bursting with variegated papers. late night study sessions fueled by multiple cups of black tea.

chemistry: heavy old textbooks covered in post-it notes. empty beakers sitting in the windowsill, reflecting random patterns of light onto the classroom walls. a cozy striped sweater peeking out from underneath a pristine white lab coat. coffee from the local cafe, filled just to the brim with creamer - very precisely, a skill learned from hours spent measuring chemicals.

history: dark woolen coats, long socks hidden under plaid pants. old maps from all across the glove hung around the room. analyzing (and admiring!) prolific writing and pieces of art that have survived the test of time. long walks on cobblestone streets, stopping to read on the steps of a museum.

latin: sturdy leather backpacks with straps. stopping to explain the meaning of words and their roots, followed by looks of intrigue. writing latin sayings into tea-stained planners. sitting in a cafe, eating a macaron in a window booth and watching people walk by.

art: hair pulled back into a low bun, random strands poking out. hands always stained with paint, charcoal - the medium changes daily. sketching under a sycamore tree, its leaves slowly browning. standing in front of a painting in a museum, becoming lost in it, slowly pulled back in time into its story.