March brings month 3 of my foray into “experiment“, my word for 2024. Continuing with the theme of choice and acting on them (empowering confidence and fueling passion), I have 2 verbs today.
February’s focus on “express” led to:
- Expressing my sunshiny self through wearing yellow every day
- Posting about it on my personal social media
- Writing long-form letters to friends
Expression here was often internal manifestations, such as a drive to use the resources I have to make things brighter or warmer. Yellow is also an alert though, so sometimes my expression was SLOWER this month!
But expression also shaped my external creative community of care, too. Mar is running a “year in color” campaign, Allie and I express ourselves with a weekly check-in, and Ivey did her magic, transforming my blonde (nearly yellow) hair to vivid, violet at the tips and luscious, lavender at the roots.
Likewise, I hope my shifts to this website foster expression and engagement too. That’s one reason why I am proactively sharing when I’ll post (the 10th, 20th, and 30th of every month in 2024) to form a creative safe space. And why some content is shorter! Deciding when and how to express takes courage.
Doing this self and social work means acknowledging life isn’t always sunshine, pausing:
I believe the goal of life is to be with yourself. The purpose of life is to be there for your people. And find belonging in all this work.
Therefore, March’s goal is to add more play. My life is increasingly isolated, thanks to grad school and work. Adding an element of fun can hopefully foster a sense of community, including belonging to myself. In March, my “experiment” asks, how can I add more play to the everyday?
Some ideas to encourage play:
- Gamify adult things (that often take too much time?) to get ’em done.
- Use the strategy of pairing. Since I’m in the last couple weeks of the quarter, I aim to keep finding fun spots for homework, like a bar for N/A drinks and a nearby coffee shop for an endless supply o’ Joe. #SoberJourney
- Dance – with myself, with others. Stef’s party at Black Box was a hit, and this can be a sober activity!
- Make room for unknowns and show up for myself anyway. Dates, new volunteer roles, and my new PURPLE HAIR have encouraged this.
- Play music – Use the keyboard! Try a loop pedal for electronic! Support others’ beats.
Most of my environments are conducive to social/emotional/professional growth. I am so grateful for them, as they point to ways of living, working, and being. But now I need to consider MYSELF. While fun is not the purpose of life, feeling full by it is. Authentic being > toxic over-trying.
It’s time to play, make space for new discoveries, and enhance vitality within this big ol’ life! How are you nurturing exploration, creation, and even play into your routine?
To combine a couple of those goals into one: play music while doing adult chores! Pump up the dance beats while cleaning or listen to a fun podcast.
Explore your city like you’re on vacation and incorporate a sense of wonder into your daily life. I love your idea of finding new places to do homework. When I was living abroad, I always found a new coffee shop or park (or spot along a river) to do some journaling. It always made me feel so inspired. I hope you can combine the outdoors + writing to find a sense of fun.
I respectfully disagree with your statement that fun is not the point of life. While there are other goals to living a fulfilling life, you DO need fun, or life = work.
One possible acrostic for the definition of life:
L=love (in all its forms)
I=intellectual pursuits/involvement in the community
F= fun and fantasy
E= expression
Love these ideas of making adult to-dos easier. Music is such a soul-filler! I also don’t mind timing things to gamify them, like 1 TED Talk = 1 round of doing the dishes. Great reminders, Allie! (Any pod recs? I’ve been on a hip hop podcast kick myself!)
I’m writing this from under a tree. After an afternoon of homework, the sun is such a gift, here and abroad. Trying to make space to sit and enjoy, feel the changes.
Dig your acrostic too, I’ll try one:
Love (agreed, in all its forms)
Intuition
Fulfillment
Energy