𝔴𝔦𝔱𝔥 𝔟𝔬𝔬𝔨𝔰 𝔶𝔬𝔲 𝔠𝔞𝔫 𝔩𝔦𝔳𝔢 𝔞 𝔪𝔦𝔩𝔩𝔦𝔬𝔫

Going to grad school, I see

Grandmas were so right about puzzles and knitting and crocheting and solitaire and reading slow and slippers and baking and watching deer in the backyard send post

s.r aesthetic!!

"you will burn and you will burn out; you will be healed and come back again." - Fyodor Dostoevsky

people will still love you despite it all

“The problem begins with that word ‘world’. It means two such opposite things. The real one we cannot see. The invented one we can’t escape.”

— Richard Powers, The Overstory

You are a magnificent individual.

On the point about physical beauty - I've always pictured it like a spectator - a shadow, of sorts - that you, a woman, simply cannot escape. Every move you make, everything you do, accomplish, it cannot be seen without the spectator seeing it too.

I play chess myself, soon to become a scientist - some of the fields you've mentioned - and I was starting to question if I was the mildly maniacal killjoy being too pedantic about why a man - and his qualities - are allowed to be human, the 'natural' state - while a woman, no matter how accomplished, intelligent, proficient she may be - must always be accompanied by beauty. As if everything else she does comes secondary to the inherent requirement of being physically appealing.

Thank you - thank you so much. For your kind words and lovely wishes.

For the first time, I don't just feel seen - I feel heard. And thoroughly understood. Have a splendid time. You are amazing.

Your post on 'stop focusing on physical appearances of women' may just have saved something from withering away within me. I thank you, earnestly.

I'm so glad it got received by at least one person. I know it could - and has been - misinterpreted as a "ruining the fun" comment, but I did notice growing up that what made me insecure the most, were the small focuses we put on artists and famous women: was she a singer, chess player, actress, writer, tennis player, we always cared about her eyeliner and bow shoes or perfect hair.

And I wish for women not to internalize this: it teaches us that we can't really escape physical beauty - not through arts, or sports, or our minds. I am still so jealous of male tennis player, for example, who can, seemingly, just exist in their natural and neutral state.

I hope you have a fantastic day! And I also hope you can develop your talents or passions without the pressure of "being beautiful" all the time c:

𝔱𝔥𝔢 𝔣𝔦𝔫𝔞𝔩 𝔰𝔱𝔯𝔢𝔱𝔠𝔥