So is reading cool now?

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It is truly not hard to see the power social media has in the book industry; you simply need to walk into a bookstore, and you are likely to see a recommendation table called “booktok recs”. Nowadays, social media is being used for its very effective marketing campaigns: one single video of 10 seconds could help a book perform so much better or help an author start their career.

But beyond the capitalist mark, social media has the power to create a community. Suddenly, reading was not only a hobby you would do by yourself in your room, but it also became something you could be excited about, share with friends, and join discussions about your favorite books. It is obvious that readers already shared their opinions online, yet suddenly the scale felt so much different and pushed people to see reading as an aesthetic.

The aesthetisation of reading also lies in the activity transformed into a high-society hobby. Indeed, in recent years we have seen an increase in the number of celebrity book clubs, like for example Service95 (Dua Lipa’s book club), but she is not the only one talking about books either. Even luxury brands have collaborated with publishing houses to create branded luxury products inspired by books, like Dior and their book tote collection.

This ties closely to Bourdieu’s understanding of cultural capital. According to him, our cultural practices are not entirely linked to our own taste but rather used as a display of social distinction. So when Dua Lipa starts a book club, it signals to the audience that reading is linked with intelligence, cultural awareness, taste,… In a way, art and intelligence were always believed to be inherently linked to luxury.

This argument can be further explained by the display of wealth through the consumption of books. In a society where life is costing more and more every day, collecting books feels like a privilege not everyone can partake in. I have myself fallen into the overconsumption of books, because for a while it felt better to buy them than to read them, to display them in your bookshelves, rather than read them.

However, I don’t think this “coolification” of reading is bad; on the contrary, actually. In a world where we all try to go analogue a bit more every day, I believe that reading is one of the best hobbies we could pick up. Not because it makes us look smarter, or because it is pretty on the shelves, but because there is something quite magical about getting lost in the pages of a book for multiple hours.

The question is, what do you watch? Do you stick to childhood favorites or watch more adult cartoons? So here is a list of my personal favorite cartoons to watch in the morning or anytime your inner child wants something comforting, fun, and easy to watch. Make sure to share yours in the comment section.

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1. Winx Club

This one is my favorite all-time. I rewatch it very often, especially the first four seasons. I do have a little (huge) problem with season eight because of how the Winx turned out graphically. Will I watch it now that Rainbow decided to redo the winx club from the beginning? Probably.
Anyway, if you have never heard of the Winx Club before, the cartoon starts with Bloom, a teenager living on Earth, yet she doesn’t know that she has magical powers, nor even that fairies exist. Until she meets one in danger, she helps her and discovers her own magic. So she is sent to Alfea, a school for fairies where she will meet other fairies and discover who she really is.

I could write an essay on all the issues happening in this cartoon, so don’t expect it to be the best you've ever watched, but it is one I have cherished as a kid that always makes me feel better after watching it.

2. The Witch

I might be an exception, but I grew up with both The Witch and Winx Club. Even though I am a Winx girl through and through, I still love The Witch, and I rewatched season 1 recently and realised how funny it was.
The story follows five friends who discover they have power and have to fight against devil forces to liberate the rebels and a kingdom.

Like in Winx Club, there are some problems with certain characters or things said; like Calleb (you’ll recognise him right away) definitely has a lot of sexist thoughts that aren’t deconstructed in the cartoon, so be mindful of that… Even fans of the original comic complained about the difference in the way he was represented and took space among the girls in the cartoon.

3. Scooby-Doo

If you feel like watching a mystery, chill and very funny cartoon? This one is for you; I genuinely can’t say more about this one except it’s fun, light-hearted, and I loved watching it in the autumn mornings!

4. Gravity Falls

In the same line of thought, I had to include Gravity Falls, which as a kid wasn’t my favorite one but as an adult, this show is GREAT! It tells the story of siblings who get to spend summer with their great uncle in a weird place where they will discover is so much more different than what they thought.
I cannot wait to rewatch it this autumn, and get into the spooky vibe.

FYI: the whole summerween trend is actually from an episode of Gravity Falls (maybe you knew about it, but I thought I would share since I just learned it recently).

5. Over The Garden Wall

I watched this as an adult based on the recommendation of a professor; he simply told us we had to watch it, and he was right. The vibes are quite similar to Gravity Falls, but it’s more eerie.
You follow siblings who get lost in a forest and try to get back home. It’s peak autumnal, and if you have a brother/sister, this will hit particularly well.

6. The Looney Tunes

It did take me a while to realize how funny these were, but eventually I did, and these episodes were a staple in my teenage years. If you need a good laugh, with something very chill, this is it!

7. Phineas and Ferb

Another teenage favorite of mine that I cannot wait to rewatch. This was one of my favorites growing up, and it’s all about two very inventive and smart siblings who create insane things every afternoon; in parallel, their pet is a secret agent who fights a “malefic” doctor every day.

I haven’t watched the recently released episodes, but I can’t wait to do so.

8. La Quête d’Ewilan

Another show I started watching as an adult, about kids who live between two realities, the one in a book, a very fantastical one, and real life. I haven’t watched much of it, but I was blown away by the first episodes.
I do believe this one only exists in French, though.

9. Miraculous

This show ruled over my teenage years: a teenage girl who gets powers and needs to save Paris every day alongside her high school crush. They don’t know each other’s identities, but they both love an aspect of the other.
Both Adrien and Marinette will be the death of me one day…

10. The Owl House

I discovered this a few weeks ago, and it is amazing! The cartoon follows a teenage girl who accidentally stumbles through a portal to a magical world where she becomes the apprentice of a witch (her dream) and her tiny (funny and adorable) creature.

Thank you for the recommendation because I can’t get over how cute, fun, and magical this cartoon is.

That being said, I have heard of so many cartoons recently, so please feel free to comment your favorite ones!

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I was obviously hooked.

However there was one thing that sprung to my mind as I was watching the movie, how different teenagers were represented in movies now.

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If you look at The Fault in Our Stars, the teenagers feel years apart from the ones in Sunny Dancer, yet they are the same age and from the same cultural background.

I was a teenager in the 2010’s and looking at how they act today makes me roll my eyes sometimes. I think we all go through it, it’s like at some point you realize that whole Hamletian act is not that deep. Yet it’s part of life, and it feels like it is when you live through it (and it’s okay). I know if I looked at my teenager self I would not like her but the truth is, I remember this time as one of the hardest part of my life: the people pleasing, the trying to figure out who you are, the new experiences, the need for freedom,… It all feels like a lot when you are seventeen, and it’s even worse when you keep it all inside.

That’s the big difference with the young adults in Sunny Dancer, they don’t hide it, they express it all. They are cringe sometimes, a bit naive, but they are themselves. Ivy is not afraid to stand up for her beliefs even if by doing so she might get in trouble. Hazel and Gus in The Fault in Our Stars, are a lot more “well-behaved”, I don’t see any of them doing a quarter of what Ivy dared do to express her anger at the world. Hazel is a lot more quiet about her feelings while Ivy shouts them as loud as she can.

Both premises are pretty similar yet both movies feel very different at their core. In The Fault in Our Stars Hazel’s cancer is still there and we as an audience are constantly reminded of it by her breathing aid or her life organised around the cancer. For Ivy, it’s different because she is in recovery so she lived through a normal teenager’s life at camp. The cancer is much more in the background; they don’t talk about it much, but it lurks beneath the surface, ready to jump out at any moment.

While being very different the movie still manages to show us that both main characters are keen to make connections, forget about their sickness and live a life like we all want: full of love, and happiness. Both stories show us that in the end we all need someone to get us and love us for who we truly are.

So if you’ve ever asked me what I liked to do in my free time and I answered a very simple thing, I am sorry for having lied to you…

The real answer is: I get excited about a lot of things, so every time something tickles my interest, I feel the need to investigate, sometimes to the point of obsession. This has led me to a pretty interesting collection of things lying around untouched in my room.

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the guilt

When I was 16, I begged my parents for a guitar; 8 years later, I still cannot play all the basic chords. Why? Because I picked up about ten new hobbies during that time, and I ended up letting my guitar collect dust. Same for the five writing projects I started but never finished, or the numerous books sitting in my bookshelves unread.

It felt like a failure to abandon so many hobbies, like something was wrong with me. Why couldn’t I stick to one thing at a time, get very good at it, and then move on to something else? I was always stuck in that beginner mindset. As a perfectionist, I hated it: I wanted to get good fast, but I never truly did because I would always let go of my current obsession and move on to something new.

On top of that, it’s very easy to feel the urge to compare yourself, and I did, for a long time. I compared myself with people who had stuck to one hobby and were now professional at their craft, or had gotten a guitar a few months ago and were so much more ahead of me. It bothered me so much that at some point I felt paralysed; I didn’t want to do anything.

It’s only in January, after starting The Artist Way, that something clicked inside me; I picked up watercolor at the same time, and it all made sense. I didn’t have to be good at things to enjoy them; I could enjoy it simply and love it without putting pressure on myself and yes, I wasn’t an expert at things but that’s what creativity felt like for me: being curious and discovering things.

Suddenly I realised that it was not something I should feel bad about, nor did I have to force myself to stick with one thing to try and get better at it. Who had decided that we needed to be an expert in something we try or do? Why do we all feel the urge to be good at something? While it might be good to learn skills in a deeper way, I just noticed that learning different and multiple skills is a skill in itself, and I believe it should be praised a lot more than it is right now.

Now we have assessed that it is not a problem to have many hobbies, but how do you choose what to do to avoid decision paralysis when choosing one hobby feels like losing all the others?

choosing a hobby

Each month, I choose one (only one!!!!) thing that I want to get better at. Again, I have my all-time hobbies like reading, writing, and watching movies always there, but I also allow myself to discover other things. Remember, don’t pressure yourself, but I always enjoy a bit of a personal challenge, whether that is trying to master a watercolour technique or to do 30 days of constant drawing.

I feel like I write that a lot here, but listen to yourself and how it feels once the pressure of being a beginner is not there, and the fear of being bad disappears. What do you feel in the moment? What are you feeling? Are you tired or overwhelmed? What did the day feel like today? What do you need most? On days I am very tired, I know I just want to do something chill like watch a movie or read a good book in my bed. But on days I am feeling truly overwhelmed, I can do creative hobbies like painting or writing to let it all out.

finding the time

Once you know what to do, how do you do it when your free time is limited? Because in between film school, social life, my job at the magazine, and my two publications on Substack, it’s hard to fit it all in, but I try my best, and I have developed techniques to make it easier for me.

To simplify my life as a book lover, I have one rule: always carry a book with me ALWAYS. Even if I think I won’t have time to read it, it’s usually when I decide to not take one that my train has two hours of delay or that my friend cancels on me last minute. This obviously doesn’t work with all the hobbies (I wouldn’t recommend carrying your piano everywhere; that’ll be a bit complicated, I believe.) But it’s great if you like reading, writing (bring a notebook along), drawing, sudoku,… It changed my life, and my reading time.

Now, after you have maximized your time in transportation and other waiting time you have throughout your day, the thing that has helped me is figuring out a work-life balance rhythm.

And yes, I am saying that as someone who is trying to make it in a very complicated industry, and a serial hobbyist. But I know that after 6 pm, my brain cannot do intensive work anymore; I also know that I am the most productive before 10 am. So I have adapted to my rhythm, and it allows me to respect my balance yet be very productive as well. So after dinner, I know I have time for my hobbies and allow my brain to focus on something different than work. It does ask for one thing though: discipline. Because if I don’t work in the morning, then obviously I will have more things to do later during the day.

Right now, writing this article, I can see the guitar I haven’t touched in months, the drawing notebooks on the corner of my desk, the books unread, and so many more untouched hobbies sitting around, waiting to be picked. Yet I don’t see them as abandoned anymore; I just believe they are a collection of interests, nothing less, nothing more, and somehow it feels amazing to have the possibility to do it all, to discover more of something every day.

This week’s discoveries :

to watch → School of Rock (2003) directed by Richard Linklater and this little video matching the topic of today’s essay.

to listen → Click Clack Symphony. (feat. Hans Zimmer) by RAYE

to read → The Night We Met by Abby Jimenez

to ask → Do I want to take the risk and grow, or do I want to stay in my comfort zone forever?

It always felt so much easier than living in real life, and the same seemed to happen when I started reading/watching romance. It was so easy to live through the yearning, the passion, the gitters, especially as someone who didn’t dare offer her heart to someone else when the fiction disappeared.

So why do we hide ourselves in fiction and prefer reading, watching, and hearing about love rather than live it?

Because love in real life, contrary to fiction, is real, hence scary.

Ever since we were little, we were told that love will come to us magically, at the right time through whatever imaginary door will be presented to us, and that as soon as we meet the right one, then we will know, and we will live happily ever after. But what fiction doesn’t show us: it never is that easy in real life.

Because holding your heart in your palm and daring to present it to someone who might crush it is scary, terrifying even.

October 2025, I met a guy in film school, and he turned out to be one big lesson when I thought he would be one big love. For the first time in my life, I realised I saw myself dating someone. Fast forward ten months, and I know it was all a story I told myself, but nothing was truly there. I had believed he was too shy to truly communicate his interest, and I had made a thousand stories in my head, but reality was, he just wasn’t interested.

I had simply created a whole world of fiction around us, interpreting his gestures and whatever he would say outside of the actual meaning of it. I thought every word had an underlying meaning, and every action meant something passionate. Let me first start by emphasing, this is a very human thing to do; we as humans have a tendency to make sense of the sequence of events we are presented with narratively. After all, stories have always had a central place in society.

And that’s actually why storytelling was also used as propaganda back in the day (and is still used as such in certain countries).

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So why do we relate to fiction?

Mostly because it is inspired by real life, whether that is the world created, the rules, the values, or most often the characters who we relate to. Which is actually a goal for a lot of scriptwriters or authors, the main reason being: if you relate, you feel something, and if you feel something, you care, so you stay.

As I mentioned in a previous article, fiction helps us reflect on our actions by watching and living through someone else’s life, dreams, and most of the time problems.

Let’s go back to love, and that crush of mine; well, I realised at some point that fictional love was my hideaway. I will forever be the biggest supporter of reading fiction no matter the reasons, because i believe it makes us more human than anything, yet when fiction becomes a way to hide from your life, to dream about things you wish you had but to never take the step to actually get it, that’s when I believe you should let go, just for a little, and move toward your real life.

Because I guess what we forget is that those stories are easier because, one, they aren’t our lives; reading them has no real consequences for us. We might shed a tear or two, but we won’t end up heartbroken over a character not loving another one, because it is not us. Those are stories, and as soon as we close the book, pause the movie, we are back in our own reality, excluded from the fictional world.

Yet here is one big difference with love in real life: it is different for everyone. The older I get, the more I realise that we all have different needs, so how I want to be loved will probably be different from how you want to be loved, and that’s okay. Yet we watch and take examples of narratives that don’t fit into anyone’s lives and that are often navigating around the same basics. We are often shown perfect love, only the highs, but in real life, no one is perfect: we all have issues, and yes, having to be vulnerable and communicate is harder than what they show in fiction.

While fantasy can inspire us and make us dream, sometimes we need to wake up and exist in reality.

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A gallery of love stories I recommend:

books 📖

The Night We Met by Abby Jimenez.

Atmosphere by Taylor Jenkins Reid.

The Seven Husbands of Evelyn Hugo by Taylor Jenkins Reid.

movies 🎬

La La Land (2016) directed by Damien Chazelle.

Rye Lane (2023) directed by Raine Allen-Miller.

Fire of Love (2022) directed by Sara Dosa.

Feel free to tell me who your favorite fictional couple is and recommend more books/ movies or anything else that reminds you of love <3

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I guess the first reason is nostalgia; there is something so magical about waking up and jumping straight to the TV to watch your favorite cartoons exactly like you would have done during the weekend. Even better for me is to watch actual television because the ads and the pacing- it all makes it like I am back to that time where my biggest problem was whether they would diffuse my favorite animations.

But cartoons aren’t only about nostalgia; they're also art in themselves. So much work goes into it, and as I've grown older, I’ve realized that way more.

So what are the benefits?

One. It’s your escape door from adulthood. You are going to tell me: “But Emilie, I can escape this through books, movies, or TV shows as well!” You are absolutely right, but there is just something about cartoons and animation that makes my heart swell up.

Now watching it in the morning, specifically with coffee, is amazing, because it takes away the stress of your life and you start your day in a relaxed mood.

Two. You learn so much.

Exactly like kids, you are watching different creatures or people living through situations. As an adult, the thing you are taking away from the cartoons is often different from what kids would, but as rich.

Three. Empathy.

Cartoons, I believe, have a very good impact on how open you are to seeing the world afterwards. By visiting imaginary worlds through animation, it helps you understand how different people are, and in this world, I do believe a little bit more empathy would not hurt anyone.

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The first Spider-Man movie was released in 2002, starring Tobey Maguire and directed by Sam Raimi. The movie was a huge success, breaking multiple box office records at the time. Ten years later, after Spider-Man 4 was canceled due to different dissatisfaction of the director, Tobey Maguire was replaced by Andrew Garfield. The franchise was ready for a new beginning, but The Amazing Spider-Man 2 underperformed according to Sony’s expectations; they shut it down again.

So this time they changed tactics and decided to make a deal with Marvel to incorporate Spider-Man into the MCU, a decision that changed the path of the most famous superhero in the world today. Spider-Man entered the Marvel Cinematic Universe with this time Tom Holland playing Peter Parker. And it worked.

Now that we have given context, let me explain why I believe each Spider-Man connects with a different generation.

Let’s start with Tobey Maguire; this is where it all started, this is the one for the millennials. For me, he represents that early 2000’s optimism. Most Gen Z were very young or not even born yet (fun fact: it was released in my birth year). Anyway, this Peter Parker was my least favorite one; don’t get me wrong, he was very funny and sincere in the first two movies, yet I did start to feel like he was less relatable than the next two. Maybe a problem of generation, or simply how he started to behave like a narcissist in the third one? I don’t know.

Now for Andrew Garfield, I would say he is there for the Older Gen Z, and he is for me the better Spider-Man (note how I didn’t say my favorite, because, yes, he isn’t). I think Garfield is the embodiment of who I would expect Peter Parker and Spider-Man to be. He is hilarious, driven, and confident but also very stubborn. The movies felt darker but definitely more relatable, and it’s not just about phones appearing on screen; it’s rather about the way he talked, the way he acted.

But it’s true, it wasn’t as contemporary as Tom Holland’s Spider-Man, the Gen Z one (yes, Robert Pattinson would be jealous). Spider-Man: Homecoming was the first Spider-Man movie I got to watch at the cinema; I was fifteen, and I was so happy. The next one was released when I was 17, my last summer before university started. When I was 19, I watched No Way Home. I was already at university, but like Peter, I was reflecting on whether I had taken the right path; it was COVID back then, and it had all just been a bit crazy. Today, I am 23, and like in Brand New Day, I am growing up from young adult to adult, and the path is harder than I had expected.

See where I am going?

I grew up with this Peter Parker: when I was going through High School, so did he; when he stepped into being a young adult, so did I,… and I believe the studios did a good job at reflecting the issues we were going through: anxiety, isolation, social pressure, and becoming an adult in a world where we never know what could happen next.

I believe Brand New Day reflects on themes such as the loneliness epidemic, growing up from a teenager into an adult, becoming your true self, things our generation is actually going through right now, at the same time as Peter Parker is. But the great thing is that everyone can relate to Peter Parker; that’s what makes him one of the favorite superheroes in the world. Contrary to Iron Man, who is a billionaire, Thor, who is a god, or Captain America, who is a super soldier, Spider-Man is a random kid who got bitten by a spider and has powers that give him too much responsibility he doesn’t know how to manage.

Sort of a metaphor for what going through life feels like, isn’t it?

Now, would I recommend Brand New Day?

Absolutely yes, I think it is so far one of Tom Holland’s most complex movies. We discover a more mature side of this new Spider-Man introduced to us by Destin Daniel Cretton (who realised Shang-Chi as well).

The movie is darker and features a Spider-Man who buries his loneliness through his work as a superhero. Some villains feel like a box to tick on a list, like the Scorpion, but it also features some of the prettiest scenes of action I’ve seen in a superhero movie, like the one with The Hand.

If you’ve watched Daredevil, you will be happy to hear that the duo Frank Castle/ Spiderman works really well and is actually one that I want ot see more of.

Special mention for Sadie Sink, who was amazing in her role and added a lot more nuance to the character she was playing.

This is what The Poppy War by R.F. Kuang did for me, it changed my world.

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The Poppy War is a fantasy trilogy following Rin, a war orphan who escaped forced marriage by passing the hardest test to get into Sinegard: the most prestigious military school. Her classmates, the elite, target her right away deeming her unfit for the school because of her skin color, her social status and her gender. Except that Rin discovers something lying dormant within her, it’s like a revelation, and one she will use to survive. Until war knocks at the school’s door and the entire world goes up in flame.

Forget about your typical chosen one, Rin will not be the nice one. She is the powerful one. The one who won’t stop until she has what she wants, no matter what she has to do to get it.

Pure rage boil within her, one she will use against anyone who’ll try to get in her way, and it is refreshing as a woman to see Rin’s rage. Don’t get me wrong, I am not justifying it, I am just saying that it is nice to finally have someone represent the rage that women too (breaking news) can feel. Rin is angry, but also ambitious. Except that she doesn’t drop her ambition to save a man or to be with one halfway throughout the trilogy like so many other I have read… She wants her revenge on the world, and she will try get it no matter what.

In a sense, R.F. Kuang breaks a lot of codes I am used to seeing in books of the same genre. For once, none of the characters are truly good, somehow they are all doing what they believe is the right thing to do in this situation. It gives the books a different feeling: as you’re reading, you’re doing more than just absorbing the information; you’re questioning the world around you.

However, R.F. Kuang never romanticises violence or power. War is not a series of quests or an adventure that the characters have to go through to be happy, it’s their life. The violence is raw and trust me some chapters took me a long time to read because they were so crude.

The power is also represented as something to be mindful of: who has it, why, and how they came to have it. A bit like this week’s movie review, our protagonist has the big responsibility that comes with great powers😌

If you have a dream, never let go of it. Just hold onto it and keep working toward it. — David Lynch (I love him so much)

When I was thirteen, I had my whole life planned out.

I knew the country I would move to at eighteen, the type of person I would marry, the house I would buy at 20 (a girl can dream), and the job I would have fresh out of college at 22 (a journalist at a very prestigious newspaper).

Today I am 23, and I am still living in my home country with my mom. I am single, and I am still studying.

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So why am I so happy today that nothing worked according to plan?

Well firstly, it wasn’t always like that.

When I finished my master’s degree in 2024, I was completely lost, and I could feel in my bones this wasn’t the path for me, yet I had no idea how to find it. Because it should have worked, right? I had followed every rules in the book of “how to be successful according to society.” So why did it feel so wrong?

I am very lucky to live in a country where studying does not cost a lung, so I decided to go on a semester abroad. One of the class I had randomly picked was focusing on films’ locations, and something sprouted in my head. Somehow this professor with one single class managed to push me back onto the right path.

Except, I didn’t know it then. Back then I felt like I was walking alone in a heavy fog, lost during a hike with no summit.

I thought I could find a job there, but nothing worked out for me, so I packed my bags and moved back home.

I felt like a failure. I had been so sure of myself that I thought my life was over (a bit dramatic, I know, but we all have our moments).

That’s when I found myself checking possible master's degrees I could do; I thought it would allow me to think for a year or two and learn a new skill. Little did I know, scrolling through the possibilities, I found a master's about cinema, and when I read the description, my heart swelled up. I am a very intuitive and emotional person, but reactions like these, they don’t happen a lot. It didn’t take a lot for me to submit my application for September that same year.

For the people who don’t know me, I can’t stay still. I talked about it in a previous article about curiosity, but I just can’t do nothing, so I tried a lot of things. Eventually I grew bored of it all, and even if I knew what I was doing in September, it seemed so far away so I decided I would get an internship in cinema…
Rejection after rejection, it took me six months to find an internship. By then I had clearly lost hope and yet I secured my dream internship at a cinema magazine.

It’s funny how, looking back on the events that changed your life, you realise that they were in fact random days, random moments, random happenings. I ask myself why I checked the internship website after months of not doing it on that specific night during a very long babysitting I barely didn’t even go to, why then? Well, we will never know.

The truth is, when I applied, I had no expectations; I was familiar with the magazine because I saw it around in cinemas but I just assumed I would be rejected, because, for one, I didn’t have enough film knowledge, and for two, well, why would they choose me?

Well, I guess the things made for you have a way of finding you no matter the path you take, because I got an email a month later, as I had just assumed the internship had gone to someone else. Then one thing led to another: the interview, the confirmation email, and two weeks later, I was in the office learning how to update the website.
The entire internship felt like a dream; don’t get me wrong, it was a lot of work, but I did not care. I would go to press projections, write reviews, watch more movies and write more reviews, manage their social media accounts, film short videos for Instagram, update the website, meet amazing people who shared the same interests,…

I was living my dream life.

But all dreams come to an end, right? My internship came to a stop three months later, because I had to go to class. I was devastated; even if university started the day after, I did not want to lose this job; I had so many other things to learn, to explore, to show them. But little did I know, I would get the best of both worlds (insert Hannah Montana theme song), a small job at the magazine while studying.

At the time I am writing this article, I am still working for the magazine, and I have just finished my first year of film studies. I had a very intense year, yet one of the best of my life: I am learning about films every day, I met some incredible people, and I lived incredible experiences.

I feel deep down that I am on the right path. This pushed me to follow this dream, the one I am pushing forward now: the writing, the filming, the creative professional I want to be one day. I am daring to step forward, and this is my plea for you to do it too. Because two years ago I would have rolled my eyes if you told me all that would happen because of one class I took on an exchange I wasn’t even supposed to do.

But writing this, right now, I am where I want to be. I guess my teenager self had the vision (for the writing part at least).

What I am trying to explain is that it’s never too late to allow yourself to dream, and then to take that step. Because even if you get sidetracked, if you follow your true desire, if you stop listening to what others tell you, if you listen to your heart: you will find your way.

A few questions to ask yourself if you are lost:

If you could push aside society's needs, financial needs, all of that, where would you find yourself today? What about in five years, what would you be doing?

What did you want to be as a kid, not to please a parent, a teacher or a friend, but what was your dream?

And my favorite: When you see yourself in 50 years, what are you doing? What is your life like? What did you do with your life: what were your biggest joys, your biggest achievements, the moment you thought ‘I made it’?

Allow yourself to dream as big as you want, because as Alejandro Jodorowsky said: “Birds born in a cage think flying is an illness.”

This week’s discoveries :

to watch → All Your Faces (2023) directed by Jeanne Herry

to listen → The Odyssey soundtrack by Ludwig Göransson

to read → The Poppy War trilogy by R.F. Kuang

to ask → Is there something I am restricting myself from doing because I feel not good enough?

I actually loved The Odyssey.

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For three hours, I was transported to the Trojan War; I lived the journey with Odysseus, and I watched completely immersed as the story went on.

The truth is, I roughly knew what was happening, thanks to my Latin teacher who loved to tell us about the Trojan War.

Now, yes, I have heard that the adaptation is not totally accurate, but as someone who has learned Latin, I would argue that the myths are never told in one single way.

So now, for the sake of the argument, let’s say that yes, the movie is very different from the book; well, I have never been the person to believe that a film should copy the literature it is adapted from. For starters, literature and movies are two different medium and in such it is then impossible to create a perfect replica of the work.

I do believe, however, in directors like Christopher Nolan understanding the essence of the original text and bringing it to screen alongside its core values.

A lot of my professors and classmates in film school do not like Christopher Nolan; they believe his films are overrated and he is not that good of a director. While I do not agree with them, I do not believe either that he is the best director of all time, but that’s a discussion for another article.

What I think is that Christopher Nolan is really good at making movies the public enjoys, and that does not make him a bad director.

Sometimes it feels like some critics have a problem with movies doing really well at the box office, but just because a movie is popular does not mean it is bad.

I think my main problems with this and trying to tear down every movie that the public enjoys watching lie with the way the films are judged. For a moment, they seem to forget that movies are art, and that the purpose of art is to make people feel something; as Rick Rubin explains in The Creative Act, art’s purpose is to awaken something in the audience.

So no matter how hard some people try to convince me, I will never believe a movie can be judged without feelings.

I could be naive and too inexperienced, because maybe after watching thousands of films, your heart closes off and nothing moves you anymore, but then why do you still watch films?

Two months later, I was 12 and reviewing books for the bookstore.

I remember the first time I saw my name and review in the store, next to a book I had particularly liked: that wonder, that sparkle inside of me. I should have known I would come back to this.

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So, in reminiscence of that little girl, here are some thoughts on three books I read recently.

Notes to Self by Emilie Pine

When I examine my antipathy to emotion at work, I realise that I think feelings — having them, showing them, talking about them — are not just a sign of feminity, but a sign of weakness. I have internalised the idea that to be taken seriously as an intellectual, I have to deny all those feelings, all that femininity, all that weakness.

Notes to Self is a collection of personal essays that won the Irish Book of the Year in 2018. The author shares her life in a very brave and inspiring way, bringing up stories of her alcoholic father, talking about her childhood, the way she felt ashamed of her body because of society,…

The author’s voice alone was a punch in the gut; she bravely talks about things we often hide because we believe as a society they should not be brought up. Matters that we all live, or will live one day, things as intimate as how we perceive our bodies.

Emilie Pine doesn’t simply explain her hardship; she pulls the reader along for a rough and imperfect journey — A real life.

I found myself underlining different parts of the book, or even being so stricken by it that I read some parts to my mom out loud. Notes to Self hits hard, but it makes you feel less alone because, for once, we are faced with what life is like in all its splendour and harshness.

Reading Notes to Self, as a young woman, I finally felt heard and understood.

I believe it takes a lot of courage to be as transparent as Pine was in her essays. So Emilie Pine, thank you for taking one for the team and making us feel less alone.

The Seventh Veil of Salome by Silvia Moreno-Garcia

That’s Hollywood magic: peeling, crumbling movie sets that the fire marshal declared a hazard and were set ablaze in Technicolor.

The Seventh Veil is a historical fiction that will transport you straight to the Golden Age of Hollywood and reveal the behind-the-scenes of a movie while it’s being filmed. The book follows multiple people involved in the creation of the movie, but focuses on the main actress, a young Mexican unknown to the public. Through the points of view of multiple people, we are driven around the reality of Hollywood: the racism, the sexism, the acute rivalry,…

Silvia Moreno-Garcia displayed an amazing portrait of how the industry worked during the Golden Hollywood; while at times confusing, she made a very great integration of real-life actors/actresses in the book. As a cinema lover, it was both very ecstatic and sometimes strange to recognize some of the names cited in the book.

Even if The Seventh Veil dragged on and felt a bit confusing at first to understand the different characters presented to you all at once. The book addresses how women were put in competition against each other, reveals the horrible treatment actresses had to go through to play a role (that would most likely sexualise them) in a big motion picture, and raises questions of intersectional feminism.

The Creative Act by Rick Rubin

Your path is unique, for only you to follow. There is no single route to great art.

Let’s finish with another non-fiction.

Through little chapters, each titled with one issue, tip, or part of the artist’s life, Rick Rubin helps us understand what being an artist is, how it feels (the good and the bad), and how to cultivate our creativity.

I have had this book for seven months now; I bought it supposedly to read during the New Year, yet I don’t know why it is only now that I picked it up. Call it intuition. This book is exactly what I needed right now; it just feels as if I read it at the right moment.

It’s very reassuring to read a book written by a successful artist who tells you that it is all going to be ok, for one and two, that you are on the right path. Somehow, certain writers have the gift of making you understand something you’ve heard a thousand times yet could never understand.

I spent months forcing myself to take as many opportunities as I could for my future career in the very vast and difficult world of cinema, because it felt (and it still feels) like I am never doing enough or that if I miss an opportunity, then I might miss THE opportunity.

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The worst thing is: no matter how tired I get, I do not know how to let go. And I do not think I will ever want to.

I have always been praised for my hard work and resilience. Getting questions like: how do you manage to do it all at the same time? And the truth is, I don’t know; I guess it’s just how my brain is wired. I have always worked and functioned better under heavy pressure. So when the pressure lessens, when the exams are done, or when everyone takes a break from work, I try to come up with something to replace that missing pressure: I throw myself into a new project or redo my room…

The truth is, after years of living like that, I’ve learned to allow myself to rest through little daily actions (see below).

So if the pressure doesn’t come from too much work, where does it come from?

Probably trying to control all the outcomes.

I don’t know where I am going, and that terrifies me; that’s the truth. Because if this doesn’t work, this thing I want so bad, then where would I end up? How could I ever be happy without that career, that dream, that goal?

I spent countless days worrying, trying to control how to get exactly what I want from a situation, yet sometimes, all you need to do is follow the path blindly. Through past experiences, I’ve learned to trust myself, to get up from the bench and walk through the fog instead of letting it pass by. You can’t wait around, hiding, because how are the opportunities supposed to find you when you’re not there?

How to know it’s time for a break?

When you feel the need to reconnect with yourself.

After years of pushing myself over the edge, I’ve finally understood that

1. I don’t need to crash out every few months hence why

2. Breaks are needed!

And what has been working for me recently is: ART (shocking).

Not art that you do for other people, but art you do for yourself. I’ve recently picked up watercolour, and I try to do it every day. A little drawing at the end of the day, while watching a show or a movie. At first, I just wanted to get better at it, so I did what seemed natural to me: practice every day. Then I started noticing that all the buildup of the day somehow disappeared after that single practice.

Painting, like different creative activities, gets me in that mood I like to call “The Zone”. It’s a feeling of deep disconnection with the material world, but where I feel 100% connected to myself and (one might call it) the universe. It only happens when I’m actively creating something. For a moment, time ceases; I’m no longer conscious of the world surrounding me, and my brain just breathes.

It doesn’t always happen, but I clearly believe that the only way for artists to drown out the noise, to resist the pressure, to survive it, is to create and to just do it as much as possible. No matter how good or bad you think you are, if you feel you are an artist, creation will help you. Because sometimes the best way to work through the noise is to let it live, to not try to erase it, because we all (or most of us) hear it.

In The Creative Act, Rick Rubin mentions that self-doubt is useful for the artist. Because no matter how good or bad we think our art is, it’s actually flawed anyway since it’s a reflection of our thoughts, our souls.

I’ve been really lucky to talk with many other artists, whether they work in music, cinema or writing, and one thing they all agreed on was the doubts, but no matter what, they keep going.
Because that’s the truth, we can’t live without creating, or if we could, we wouldn’t be here, and we would have chosen a different path already.

So no matter the doubts, if you feel this call for creation, then give it a try. Don’t let it rot inside you; let it out in the world because if it resonated with you, it will resonate with someone else no matter how long it takes to do so.

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So, what to do to not burn out on the way?

Let’s start with all the basics; make sure you have the triangle of needs fulfilled: sleep, eat and get fresh air (potentially exercise). Now I know you’ve heard that a million times, but there is a reason for that: it helps, a LOT.

However, let’s get something right: you can worry. With the romanticisation of society, we try to delete any negative thoughts, feelings or anything remotely pessimistic, but it’s normal; it’s human. You can worry, and I would even argue that it’s actually healthy; it means you care about what you’re doing and your life. Let’s be honest, in the times we are living in, it would be weird if you never worried.

Now, sometimes the worrying is just too much, and as an overthinker, my brain gets pretty clouded, so my advice is to write, to dump all your thoughts on a page. Don’t bother rereading them (I never do right away); just write. I finished The Artist's Way by Julia Cameron (it changed my life) more than a month ago, and I still write my 3 pages daily, and I can clearly tell when I don’t. You don’t notice it at first, but really, in the long run, you feel the difference. Don’t resist the idea; try it for at least a month, and if it doesn’t work for you, then you can try something else.

Last but not least: talk about it with other artists. Truth is, if you’re reading this, you already have access to a large platform of creators, and I bet some of them (I am) are living through similar situations. So reach out, do not be scared to put yourself out there.

I want to finish this article by reminding everyone that we are lucky to be dreaming, because dreams in themselves are a privilege not everyone gets to engage in.

This week’s discoveries :

to watch → tick, tick… BOOM! (2021) directed by Lin-Manuel Miranda (on Netflix)

to listen → Nous on sait by Pierre Garnier

to read → The Seventh Veil of Salome, written by Silvia Moreno-Garcia

to ask → What creative act makes me feel like myself?

Some sentences stay with you no matter what. Things you hear once and somehow are still with you years later.

This one was uttered on a random morning in Dutch class by one of my professors; little did he know, he changed my life.

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I have always been a very curious child; it’s all I can remember from my childhood self. Asking questions, looking around to try new things, yet it was also often something I was shamed for. The adults in my life did not have the time to answer all my questions. So in my teenage years, I stopped asking them; maybe I wasn’t as curious about the world as I used to be, or maybe I grew tired of not getting answers. At this point, I had yet to realise the beauty was in the act of asking, not in the answers necessarily.

I shared my necessity for answers with society, because knowing the answers has always been more valuable than the questions. Sometimes it feels like we live in a time where we need to know it all, every single answer to every single question.

But we don’t; we never have and we never will, so why do we pretend? And most importantly, why do we shame those who dare ask?

It took me years to defy those thoughts I had of myself: “You are not smart enough.” “People will laugh at you if you ask that.” “How can you not know that? They all seem to understand what’s going on.” “Why are you asking so many things? Just don’t.”

I’ve recently been reading The Creative Act by Rick Rubin, and right from the beginning, he talks about the source of creativity, which, contrary to popular belief, does not come only from within but also from what the world has to offer. Throughout the book, Rubin uses verbs that are linked to the concept of curiosity: to notice, to ask, to wonder. Looking deeper into the creatives I admire, I realised that they don’t simply make videos, books, art; they pay attention to the details, the context, to a great lot of things actually.

Hence why I deeply believe creativity is inherently linked to curiosity.

But here is the catch: curiosity is not something that has to come from within; it’s a practice. It’s asking one more question to your friend telling you about their weekend; it's picking up another genre you’ve never read; it's trying a new way home after work or even simply looking around you for a second longer than usual.

Living a curious life is embedded in the little habits you have, in the tiny things we often deem irrelevant. It lies in questioning and noticing the world around you.

Today, curiosity is one of my favorite traits about myself because it is proof I care about the world and the people, and I am proud of caring so much that I notice little things others don’t seem to care about.

Maybe the most alive version of us is the one who never stops wondering because it tells the world, “Hey, I am here, I exist, and I care.”

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This week's discoveries :

to watch → Fire of Love (2022) directed by Sara Dosa (available on Disney +)

to listen → Maybe this time by Joshua Bassett & Sofia Wylie

Listen

to read → The Creative Act by Rick Rubin

question → How can you implement a little more wonder in your day-to-day?

Let’s start with the most obvious one :

I who have never known men by Jacqueline Harpman

I had to read this book, firstly because all my friends spoke highly of it, and also because I got a version as a birthday gift a year ago. And it did not disappoint. I think for this book, it is better to start without knowing what it is about, because explaining even the slightest part of it would spoil the book’s greater meaning. So I truly recommend you jump in without much knowledge and really think about what it tries to say.

ps: si vous pouvez le lire en français, faites-le !

Another classic that I got my hands on this month:

The Hobbit by J. R. R. Tolkien

As a fantasy lover, I had to give this a try, and I was not disappointed. Especially listening to the audiobook narrated by Andy Serkis, which was insanely good. Truly, the dedication was unseen, and I really enjoyed the narration in the audiobook. The book itself is such a beautiful adventure, and I see how it is the foundation of a lot of new fantasy books.

Finally, my favorite book of this month is :

A girl’s story by Annie Ernaux

I originally came across this because a French director decided to adapt it into a movie, and I got curious about the book. I decided to give it a try, and I was blown away by the writing style. Truly, it’s been a while since I wanted to sit down and read the entire bibliography of an author, but Annie Ernaux is amazing.

A girl’s story is basically what the title says: a girl’s story. Not any story, but her first night with a man. She talks about her teenage self, her needs, who she is, without shame; she talks to us about fundamental questions.

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Now onto my top 3 movies of this month :

The first one that truly blew my mind is Pan’s Labyrinth (2006) by Guillermo del Toro. Only the second film of this director that I watched, and I was amazed by his aesthetic and the way fantasy gives us elements about the traumatic reality that Ofelia lives in the movie.

Ofelia, a 10-year-old kid, is forced to move to the countryside closer to her stepfather, a fervent member of the Falangist. However, when she gets there with her pregnant mother, she discovers a weird labyrinth with magical creatures. Supposedly, she is their princess, but to prove herself, she has to complete three tasks.

Through incredible storytelling, amazing performances, and visually stunning imagery, the film transports us through Ofelia’s life and illustrates a critique of the Franco regime.

From blurring the lines between reality and fantasy, we are shown the brutality of the war intertwined with the magic of the labyrinth. Each feeds into the other.

Another movie that truly reminded me why I love cinema so much: Blow Up (1966) by Michelangelo Antonioni.

It brings up so many interesting themes, and I really want to write an essay where I dig deeper into this movie, but for now, I will just say that this is a masterpiece in visual imagery.

The movie follows Thomas, an arrogant (and truly an asshole) fashion photographer in London. Here, photography and the photo itself are taken as a trigger to the action and the revelations in the movie, but also as a trigger of suspense. Again, most of the time going in blindly is better (I believe), but be prepared to be confused at first.

I had to talk about the movie that broke my heart this month: We Believe You (2025) by Arnaud Dufeys and Charlotte Devillers. Very popular in Belgium, it won several prizes, and I want to argue that it’s well deserved!

First, I need to say trigger warning because the movie brings up a very hard reality of child abuse. Basically, Alice, a mother of two kids, is trying to keep her custody and fight to protect them against their father.

I sobbed for a long time after the credits rolled, and truth is, I don’t ever think I could rewatch this movie, yet I do believe everyone should watch it once.

Last but not least, I had to mention an animation :

I had completely forgotten about this movie until one random Sunday, and I don’t think I’ll ever forget it now. This is peak animation for me, the plot line, the graphism and the music? Insane, probably one of my favorite animation movie ever.

Jim is trying to find who he is and his place in the world, and it all unfolds after a tragic meeting. His life is going to take a very different turn after he boards a ship with a professor and a cyborg.

What did you read/watch in March? Do you have any recommendations or anything to say about my top 3?

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watercolor painting

I’ve always loved watercolor, I remember we would have this old couple who would come to school and teach us how to paint landscape. I would wait around for them to come back every time, it was my favorite thing to do.

It is only recently when I saw one of my old painting that I bought a watercolor set, that was back in December. It took me a little while to try it and ever since doing it again, I feel a sort of peace every single time. Except that my skills are not great, obviously since I only started recently. However, I want to learn more technic or at least try to do more than a painting every two weeks.

david lynch’s cinema

You know how sometimes things loom over you for a while until you’re ready and that’s when they present themselves to you ? Well that’s exactly what happened to me with David Lynch, I’ve watched Mullholand Drive back in november last year and its only after seeing his 2018 memoir everywhere recently (Room to Dream) that I decided to pick it up. Ever since, I’ve been obsessed with him and his work. My goal this month is to finish watching his filmography and finish reading Room to dream. There is just something with him that fascinates me, he is such an incredible artist and if I have one wish for myself is that one day I dare be as creatively free as him.

guitar basic chords

I’ve always wanted to learn to play guitar : it started eight years ago and today I’m not much better. To be fair, I’ve never been consistent, but I decided now to learn again or at least to try play some basic chords by the end of the month. I know for sure I won’t be a professional after thirty days of playing but I also know that it’s better to play fifteen minutes a day rather than three hours once every month.

If you’ve read all the way here, well I hope this motivated you to pick up something new or something you’ve been wanting to do for a while <3

Comment down below what you want to try this month !

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