I have this dream where I make enough online friends across the world so Iāll have more of an excuse to travel one day. Imagine ! going to Peru would be fun, but knowing someone there ? Even more incredible. I also constantly wonder how to form a small following that feels cozy and niche, like weāre all huddled together in a cottage and Iām throwing a dinner party slash show and tell for anything we like. Our art, our little trinkets, favourite song whatever. I cant believe my last show and tell opportunity was at second grade - totally wasted honestly. I have cooler stuff now :(
I'd say my reasoning is similar - I've been looking for a place to share my thoughts and feelings semi-publicly and be influenced by the thoughts and feelings of others. I keep my writing, my ideas to myself mostly but want to improve; bounce them off the minds of others.
Niche is a good way to put it - creating positive internet communities almost just to know it is possible.
Been finding myself spend more and more time online in niche Discord communities, like the PI.FYI book club and some music related groups. smaller communities means people are more likely to handle disagreements like adults (or leave), no algorithms so toxic waste doesnāt get promoted for eNgAgEmEnT or whatever, and normal folks talking about genuinely cool stuff they like. itās nice! the other plus side is some of the bigger āviralā events make it into those spaces occasionally so Iām not totally culturally insulated, but Iām also not frantically trying to figure out more about Todayās Main Character like I used to on Twitter/X. just some nice spaces I get choose when and how to engage with.
I am going to speak on this both within the PI.FYI ecosystem and outside, in my real life. I consider myself to be gregarious in a way where I am often holding wonderful conversations with wonderful people who do not share my interests. By being immensely charming and well-spoken (or perhaps by having very very patient friends and acquaintances), I find myself able to talk about things I like without boring another person. I donāt think a lot of my taste is something that goes viral with people on this site, or is interesting to people who I get along with. Iām a gemini and I do feel the pull to try and alter myself to who Iām talking to, but I think the ability to just be earnest about yourself will get you way farther and help you develop much more meaningful relationships than just Mirroring Your Way Through Life. If you lead through life with a genuine desire to connect and care and make people leave the room feeling better, I donāt think it matters if youāre a geek or freak, I think it just matters that you were honest. Iāve had one or two viral posts on PI.FYI, but the recs Iāve been most excited to write are for a comic book or video game. Those recs donāt get any likes at all. And honestly I think thatās perfectly fine, because beyond being just a platform to connect with earnest people, this is an archive of interests and personality. In 700 years when the digital museum archivists are sifting through all the internet servers that havenāt eroded, putting together The Final Digital Archive Of You or Somebody or Whatever, I put something out there that was a little bit honest. Though, I donāt think I have the impulse to leave behind a perfect digital representation of myself. I think the most important things in life are things you canāt leave behind, because they are moments that are meant to be forgotten when you and everyone you know are gone. But one day someoneās going to be in a boring university library sifting through my recs on Grant Morrisonās bibliography, and theyāll be Wondering Why I Felt That Way. And by and large theyāll know.
idk iām tryna keep this one for me. iām in a period where almost everything is up the air: my job, my finances, my city, the fucking state of the world; more than usual, iām feeling out of my body. i read an article (watched a tiktok) that said that ~creative people~ without an outlet are almost always the most insufferable people you know; and honey, iāve been insufferable for a while now. it sounds wankery, but maybe posting here (where no one else is) reminds me of the things that ground me: (1) curation of the things i like, and (2) and the development and continuation of personal aesthetic for aestheticās sake. anyway, i hope posting things i like on this silly website/blog/(anti) social media platform does the trick - itās almost foolish to ask any form of external thing to fix me, but hey, letās see if this new outlet can at least soothe some symptoms <3
can the incredibly talented tap in here if you think you can do absolutely anything ? When was the last time you were hit with a āfail gradeā to your face ? In my case, my boat was floating along peacefully. when faced with consistent failures, I stuff them down down down. Almost between my toes. Anyways, I begun doing yoga again, and I see my feet close to my face often now. Blood flow goes from my legs to my head. I am thinking of the solid gold ring that just slipped off when my fingers lost all feeling while I had dipped it into Pangong tso. It is now on the way to a river in China. I am thinking of my favourite ikea glass goblet, which I broke carelessly and which I then quickly stashed in a corner Iāll never have to see again. I am thinking of my English teacher I without a cent of shame sucked up to telling me Iām good in the subject but my spelling is⦠horrifyingly bad. Thank god I write on my phone now and I have autocorrect, Mrs Aida. Mayby my best talent of all is coping. Today I failed my bike practical. which seemed unreal, because in which universe do I fail something I completely picked out of the blue? When I do fail, thatās when I flee the scene of crime. Iām not even there. I am elsewhere, i am my gold ring now on a journey to a shore where my failure has not even been dreamt of. But thatās all in my mind. i am unfortunately, very much solid and corporeal. Though half my mind lags remaining in yonder land, my other half, stubborn mind went on to book my bike practical again. If anyone can pass a test for something they spontaneously picked up, itās the tremendously, shockingly, average at everything kids who wake up everyday powered by raw, undiluted audacity. Now that is anything but average.