View From my Bedroom Window -- 2015.03.21

This is a photo of the view from my bedroom window. I feel like that is pretty evident from the title, actually. The point of it is really just to remind myself to take more photos, be more creative, and to look around for inspiration.

I recently read a book called "The life-changing magic of tidying up", and it really is life-changing. I'm a tidy person. I clean houses to make money for school, and I keep my own house clean. I'm the type of person who likes to alphabetize my books, and make my bed properly every morning. I bought the book because it sold 2 million copies, and while I don't normally choose books because of their position on the bestsellers list, I thought it was such an unexpected subject to be so popular that I was intrigued. I had assumed that tidying would not be a subject that would become a bestseller, and that it was something I already knew enough about. I was wrong. I learned a lot from this book, not just about how to tidy, but about how to enjoy my things, and feel good about my life. The book is basically an instruction in how to get rid of things, and not feel bad about it. There are always things people keep because they feel guilty or anxious about letting go of them, either because they think they might be useful one day, they were given as a gift, or they were expensive. Whatever the reason, most people have way too much stuff and it prevents us from enjoying any of it. It also tells you how to organize your things, but the key is throwing out or donating everything that doesn't "spark joy" and then going from there. I'm not doing it justice, but it really is fantastic. I got rid of 16 garbage bags worth of things and clothing that I did not need and I feel so much better.

So, back to the photo. Part of purging and tidying up was looking through a lot of things I had packed in boxes and forgotten about. I re-discovered a lot of old art work, writing, and photographs from the past and came to the realization that I used to love doing creative things. Taking photos and writing especially, but I also enjoyed drawing, painting, sewing, and just trying out different artistic and creative mediums. Somewhere along the way I think I got self-conscious, or scared, or embarrassed, or something else, and I kind of stopped making things. What I should be embarrassed about is letting my insecurities prevent me from doing things that I love, and sharing them with people, even if they aren't perfect, and could be better.

"When you feel inspired, or have an idea, stop whatever you are doing and follow the inspiration. It's very difficult to rekindle the spark once it goes out and impossible to conjure up on command." -- Margaret Qiao, The Photographer's Playbook