edition 6.
It’s been a pretty packed (but thoroughly exciting) 2 weeks with parents visiting, my former roomie getting engaged, and my sister going off to grad school.
We spent most of last week going around New York, settling my sister into her apartment, meeting friends and family in the city, and touring Columbia University. I haven’t been on a college campus since I graduated with a master’s degree about 2 years ago, and this got me thinking about the experience of being in school.
There’s a lot I don’t miss - multiple assignments vying for my time, cramming for tests over the weekend, an unfurnished apartment, and a somewhat irregular routine. But there’s one thing I do miss - college libraries and by extension - the educational environment.
I was originally going to have this tiny essay be about all the things I wish I knew and did differently while I was in grad school. But that would be a sad list (although perhaps useful to my sister so I will still make it for her). Instead I wanted to create a list of all the things I loved about being in university that I would like to incorporate back into my life. I also want to host a co-working session one day and this might be useful thinking for the kind of vibe I want to cultivate.
spaces conducive to uninterrupted hours of work and learning
studying in cafes
syllabi
note-taking, summarizing, essaying and the question-answer format for learning
group chats with learners interested in the same or adjacent areas
If you’ve figured out how to retain the aura of a college library and the discipline it demands in a post-uni 9-5 routine, I would love to know. A reminder that you can reply to this email :)
reading:
Truth be told, I haven’t prioritized reading over the past two weeks with everything going on, but here’s my reading list for the end of August and beginning of September:
Finishing up Token Economy by Shermin Voshmgir
Re-reading Psychology of Money by Morgan Housel
The Medium is the Massage by Marshall McLuhan (recommended to me by Ramu)
Books make me excited and impatient which is why I’m constantly reading too many at the same time. Sometimes it works, and sometimes it’s overwhelming. Drowning in a sea of books is only fun until I realize I’m drowning.
learning & making:
Combining these sections because I’m really doing both at the same time for this project.
I’ve continued to learn how to use Figma as I design my website, one wireframe at a time. Resources: youtube and figma’s library.
I’ve also been learning about web design what I like to see when I look at a web page. Here’s how I’m doing this:
look for other beautiful personal websites (bonus points if it’s a web designer’s). This hunt led me to Sari Azout’s own sublime collection: now this is an about page. Absolute gold mine.
if it’s a web designers website, find and browse their portfolio for more inspiration
figure out how to incorporate the elements I like into my own design (both visual and ideas for content) and see if it fits the overall vibe I’m going for
This process has led me to discover designers who also write. I’m having a wonderful time reading through their journeys, design processes, and if I’m lucky, how they built their own sites. I really like Judah’s design philosophy of delightful minimalism; it articulates what I want for my own website1.
That’s all for this edition. Thank you for reading!
I love when creators are generous with their process, ideas and craft on the internet, there is so much I’ve learned just from Judah’s digital presence.