you’re the breeze in my austin nights
Honestly, so many experiences can be summarized in just a few strokes: graduated, started work, moved to Austin, played a lot of Valorant. When phrased like that, it feels like time has completely escaped me, spilling through my fingertips. But I think a lot has happened and changed, even if it doesn’t necessarily feel like it! Could Christina a year ago have predicted that she’d be here?
a retelling
A reflection on the nature of retellings of memory and Greek mythology, mixed with brief reviews of Hades (2016) and Ariadne.
INT. CHINATOWN
A review/reflection of how Shang-Chi, Interior Chinatown, and Houston Chinatown reflect the Asian-American identity - tied together with usual rambling Christina Ji flair
friday the 13th
musings on memory, emotion, and ambiguity - less a blog update, more a reflection on Omori and Almond. really nothing to do with Friday the 13th besides serendipitous posting date
devotions, by mary oliver*
The end of junior year, summer, reading in the sun, and musings on feeling both like time is moving too slow and too fast.
Bookish Burnout
If you’re not familiar with burnout, here’s a quick definition a la Google’s first result: “Burnout is a state of emotional, physical, and mental exhaustion caused by excessive and prolonged stress. It occurs when you feel overwhelmed, emotionally drained, and unable to meet constant demands.”
Marketing & Bookstagram: The Self Concept
Now, let’s get one thing straight: bookstagram is a labor of love. To have the dedication to post regularly towards this passion speaks of commitment to literature, and the bookish community is centered on authentic experiences with one another. We cultivate our pages to showcase how much we love reading — what else could be more pure? So when I talk about marketing in relation to bookstagram, I do not mean to undermine this appreciation as something easily quantifiable…
What I Learned from One Week on Bookstagram
Within that murky fog that delineates author from audience, I think a similar one exists between readers, as though by sharing our reading experiences, we engage in a dance of sorts. Page by page, hand in hand, we turn. What sort of intimacy is deeper than that of your own relationship with a book? As such, we feel closer to one another by seeing these understandings echoed.
What I Learned from “Between the World and Me” by Ta-Nehisi Coates
There is power in media, storytelling, and giving voice to the tangled feelings inside us. I am not an expert, and I cannot speak to the trauma and experiences of the Black community. But I can amplify Black media and speak on the lessons I’ve learned by reading and watching more diverse stories. We start off with Between the World and Me.