The Suede Notebook Diaries
While I sat at one of my favorite local coffee shops, Fuel in Great Barrington, I soaked in the sun and struck up a conversation with a kind 60-year-old woman who had the cutest dog, covered in fluffy, sheep-like fur. I sipped my large black tea with lemon, contemplating: How am I going to fill these quiet, peaceful — but sometimes lonely — 13 days I still have left in the Berkshires?
I’ve got a cool gig helping lead an internship focused on creating an adaptive clothing line for people with certain disabilities — where getting dressed in traditional clothes can be harder without modifications. But outside of that, I’ve got a lot of free time: the occasional walk with Roxy, books to cruise through, and Knicks playoff basketball (Go Knicks!) when it’s on.
After I finished my tea, I had this bold idea to stop by the local art supply store. I spent the next half hour searching for a brown leather and suede notebook that would inspire me to be more present with my writing every day. I browsed the intricate pens—not fountain pens, but definitely twice the price of a regular pen. Clearly, I wanted the pro writing kit. I wasn’t messing around.
The woman at the store helped me find the perfect fit. A gorgeous brown suede and leather notebook stood before me — it was the one the moment I saw it. With my fancy new notebook and professional writer’s pen, it was go time.
The power of writing really helps ease my anxiety. Sure, I blog once a week, but that’s usually about my fears, happy moments, the future, what’s next. My journal, though? That’s where I write each day about whatever’s on my mind at that exact moment. It’s such a relief to get all your thoughts on paper — it’s seriously therapeutic.
I’ve now gone eight straight days writing a page a day, letting my thoughts scatter across the paper like a brain dump. Some attempt at structure and spelling? Sure. But mostly, I’m not insecure about it — it’s writing for me, not to be published or even read out loud.
During this creative streak, I also challenged myself to quit Instagram, Facebook, and LinkedIn — the three platforms I’m fully addicted to. It’s been going well in the sense that I’ve shaved hours off my screen time on certain days. But I won’t lie — I’ve caught myself cheating, deleting and redownloading one of the apps a single or even multiple times on a rough day. This past week I’ve cut back to one delete-and-redownload cycle, which is pretty good considering my track record. Honestly, it was necessary for a while: I was hiring a caretaker and even job hunting through LinkedIn. But now that those things are (temporarily) falling into place — I hired a caretaker and my internship starts in under a month — I’m trying to step back.
I even shut down my computer, iPhone, and iPad and put them in a pile for two whole hours while I read, so I wouldn’t get distracted and sneak a peek at my phone every other page of my book like a crazy person. That little challenge always makes me feel really good… but also a little freaked out that I have to go to those lengths.
With the Knicks winning playoff games, a gorgeous new brown suede notebook, a fancy pen, and a few local coffee shops with outdoor seating as the weather warms up — and a few semi-entertaining books from The Bookloft. I’m handling life. Each day feels like an hourglass that’s just started, ticking down until my early June internship begins.
