no one asked: impulse buys, influencer culture and a seen library pop-up
06: what i'm reading, buying, and saying no to...
Reading…
I’m in a fiction slump right now and not loving the past few books I’ve picked up as of late. I did finish a non-fiction book recently that I do recommend, though. It’s called I’m Afraid of Men by Vivek Shraya and it’s a tiny book that I breezed through in just a couple hours. While short and quick, it’s impactful and vulnerable. An important read in gaining new perspectives of a trans woman and her overall queer experience. I learned a lot - especially how society’s fear of others being “too masculine” or “too feminine” hurts us too, in how we limit and restrict even ourselves because of these gendered expectations and the different ways misogyny is so prevalent not just from men, but women, too.
Because I’ve been uninspired by my recent fiction reads, I’ve ordered a few that I hope will pique my interest more:
Listening to…
Stop glamorizing entrepreneurship on the Due Diligence podcast by Dulma Altan. I love this particular quote around the ten minute mark:
I think glamorizing entrepreneurship ends up romanticizing a path and almost creating this weird pressure to pursue it. I’ve seen friends feel like they needed to become entrepreneurs, to become self-employed, to start a company because that’s what so many people around them were doing but actually their temperament, goals, values may be a better fit for paths that are lower risk.
You can do whatever feels right for you based on your specific objectives, goals, what you care about, and if what you care about above all is stability, or if it happens to align with this incredible 9 to 5 job that gives you what you need financially, and also is calm and stable enough that it frees you up to focus on your hobbies and passions and your family and friends, that is beautiful and it’s important for us not to diminish that.
Saying no to…
Impulse buying. I recently went a little overboard on The Real Real, which I’ll forgive myself for because a few pieces I purchased were on my “likes” for a while now. Moving forward, though, I’m going to put items I want to buy in a spreadsheet, which I’ve categorized in two tabs. One tab is for my wants, which includes what it is, the link, date I wanted it, and how much it is (aka how much I’ll be saving if I don’t buy it. The second tab is what I purchased, which includes what it is, the link, date purchased, and how much I spent. It’ll be a good way for me to see just how much I’m actually spending on some of these items and also how much I’m saving when I don’t.
Buying…
Speaking of buying… I saw my friend wearing the perfect long sleeve white tee and I loved how it was soft and thin and hit at the waist instead of going past it - which is usually an issue for me since I’m petite. The only white long sleeves I have are old and ratty and very long so I ordered the one she was wearing - this one by Theory - since I figured I’d get a lot of wear from it.
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