I woke up this morning and listened to Nina Simone’s rendition “I Wish I Knew How It Would Feel To Be Free” on repeat to dull out the sound of the news. Between being inundated with the “remnants” of Hurricane Ida (spoiler: it did not feel very remnant-y when our streets flooded with two feet of water), watching Texas regress women’s rights by 50 years, and the knowledge that Afghanistan is on the brink of a food crisis in the middle of a human rights crisis, it’s difficult to find meaning in why I’m sitting here putting together outfit collages on athleisure-inspired looks for fall.
I had a long conversation with an old friend yesterday about what privilege means, the guilt that is associated with it, and how, as I sit here, as an American woman living in a blue state, I am beyond privileged. I had the choice to pursue higher education, to wear clothing that revealed the parts of myself that I wanted revealed, to choose my partner, and ultimately, the knowledge that I can choose when I bear children. We talked about how the word privilege often carries a negative connotation – the archetypical child “born with a silver spoon in its mouth.”
But privilege doesn’t have to be a dirty word, and quite frankly, you don’t need to be an asshole if you’re privileged. At the end of the day, privilege is a synonym for choice, and we can choose to wake up and be awful citizens of society, or we can choose to wake up, say a prayer of gratitude, and continue to find joy in the little things like cozy sweatshirts, PSLs, and the sound of your dog running in her dreams. We can wake up and try our freaking best to make this world a little less broken in the smallest of ways. It’s days likes these that I hold onto the little things and thank the Universe for how blessed I am.
So, on a “little things” note, shooting some fall athleisure outfit inspo your way because #PSLseason, bishes.
I hope you’re finding your “little things” tonight, wherever you are. Till next time.
xx,
Anna
“The Earth is the only world known so far to harbor life…It has been said that astronomy is a humbling and character-building experience. There is perhaps no better demonstration of the follow of human conceits than this distance image of our tiny world. To me, it underscores our responsibility to deal more kindly with one another, and to preserve and cherish the pale blue dot, the only home we’ve ever known.” – Carl Sagan
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