the one with the beginning / the one with Ernest Hemingway

"Aller Anfang ist schwer!"

"Aller Anfang ist schwer." The entire class repeats. It's another morning of German class; another day of commuting.

All beginnings are hard. That's what we were saying, by the way.


yet, while beginnings are hard, in some ways they're easier than the alternative. Sometimes it's easier to throw in the towel and just turn a new page instead of pushing through with the old one.

in case you were wondering, I was *this* close to giving up this little blog. Just like my old self would normally do. But then I decided I need to push through with this one. Come hell or high water. 

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On another note, I don't know if any of y'all follow me on Instagram, but lately I've been really inspired by Ernest Hemingway. I'm totally that person that looks up a famous person's quotes on Pinterest, but even then I just love his writing. The way he writes his books; he doesn't over explain things. It's like he expects you to have already existed in the world he created. 

He's pretty much the only author I've read, that I've actually felt that I really understand. 

Some of my favorites:

Obvs, "Write hard and clear about what hurts." I think someone said "It's gonna hurt because it matters." (oh yeah, John Green). If it hurts you to write about it, that means it's important. 

"The first draft of anything is shit." Simple and concise. I recently got laid off my first job as a real barista. It was so exciting to actually be able to say, "hey, yeah i'm a barista." but it just didn't work out. But you know, the first draft of anything, even new jobs, isn't as good as it's gonna get. So hey. 

This one has been sticking with me for a while: "Try to learn to breathe deeply, really to taste food when you eat, and when you sleep, really to sleep. Try as much as possible to be wholly alive with all your might, and when you laugh, laugh like hell. And when you get angry, get good and angry. Try to be alive. You will be dead soon enough"

I believe that one speaks for itself. So i'll just leave that there. 

[ listening - These Waters / Ben Howard ]