Promise Me

This post is a bit toned down on the sass. Sorry in advanced.

As finals' week is upon us, we have to remember that sometimes life is going to suck. You're going to feel like you're drowning. The waves of homework and exams and projects will overwhelm you. But don't just struggle through them; don't simply tread water. Remember how much you love what you do. For me, it's writing. I'm a senior writing major about to graduate, and I have three major papers due in the next few days, each ranging from 10 to 30 pages.

And I hate it. I don't want to write, which is stupid, because I love writing. I need to remember my love for writing when I want to set my keyboard on fire. Is it okay to be overwhelmed? Of course. But I shouldn't lose my passion for writing because of a few big assignments. And I shouldn't lose my love of life just because of finals, stress, and drama.

If you don't love what you do, I strongly advise you to find something that you do. Otherwise you won't have a reason to keep your head above the waves. And sometimes, it's hard to not give in and just sink.

That was depressing. Check out this deleted scene from Lilo and Stitch.  

We Didn't Build Empires

Ignoring the comma splice, let's see what this graffiti teaches us (besides a blatant disregard for grammar). 

"We didn't build empires on the fear that they will fall, we built them on the fact that we will conquer and strive."

I don't know what "empires" you've been building, but I simply don't have the time, motivation, or construction materials to do so. And empires fall, even great ones. Look at Rome.

But this graffiti says that we built them with the belief that they will conquer and strive. This seems pretty aggressive. Why conquer and strive when you can contour and jive? Let's be happy and make friends (I'm looking at you, Caesar).

Empires were meant to rise and fall. Someone will always swoop in to take over someone else's stupidity. It's the circle of life. 

Source of Inspiration: Design

Although my blog is special in its own way, it has a standard design. Blogger doesn't offer many design options, and the templates are all basically the same. The middle area is for the content. The left and right panels can be used for widgets and archives. 

The biggest complaint that I have with my design is the lack of a horizontal menu. Although this blog doesn't require one for the content, it would be nice to have a site map including home, about, contact, and whatever else I want.

This is what I think would be a better design template for this blog.

 

It has the horizontal site map, along with the main content and side panel. Each blog entry, with its corresponding picture, could be in the main section. That way, you could see multiple graffiti pictures at once, rather than having to scroll through all of them. It would let the user choose what they wanted to view. 

In the right panel, I might use the categories instead of the archive. The graffiti that I find could easily be broken down into categories: inspirational, song lyrics, poetry, conversations, R-rated, etc. This would also be more user friendly, allowing the user to pick and choose what they want to see. I could always add the archive under that, or put it in the horizontal site map at the top. While Blogger is good and simple, it could easily be better.

Brave and Messy

This graffiti informs me that I am not a mess, but that I am brave for trying. The exclamation mark and the heart really sells it. I don't know messiness and bravery are mutually exclusive, but I'll try to understand.

Maybe I'm not a mess. Maybe finals are in a week and I'm totally prepared. Maybe I don't have a 30 page paper due tomorrow night. Maybe my ex didn't randomly visit my aunt. Maybe I do something other than take pictures of useless words in the bathroom.

And indeed, maybe I am brave for trying. Trying to figure out the minimum hours of sleep that I can live on for these last two weeks before graduation. Trying to calculate how much caffeine is an overdose. Trying to write papers and study for exams that I don't care about. Trying to care that I am a mess.

Don't lie to me, motivational graffiti. I'm not brave. I'm not even trying.

Source of Inspiration: Tiles

Choosing the background for this blog was probably the most time-consuming choice I made for this design. Originally, I chose one that look like teenage drawings on lined paper, because they're most often thought of as the vandals that commit this artistic crime. But it looked trashy, cluttered, and childish.

And then I thought about bathroom tiles. Most often, they're square, but sometimes they're shaped more intricately. I attempted to find a background that had black and white tiles, like the stereotypical bathroom floor, but didn't find anything that looked good. Eventually, I found the current background of gray squares and rectangular shapes, and stuck with it.

http://homegoid.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/10/awesome-grey-dark-brown-wood-luxury-design-bathroom-ideas-grey-flooring-cheramic-cabinet-wood-storage-interior-at-house-with-bathroom-tile-ideas-plus-floor-tile-design-ideas.jpg

Source of Inspiration: White Paint

Most bathroom graffiti is done in black Sharpie, although occasionally you'll find a variety of colorful ink, usually purple, red, or blue. This graffiti, however, is in what appears to be white paint (seriously who brings white paint to a bathroom just to write some poetry?).

The white font is different than the usual dark-colored graffiti, which is why I decided to use light colors for my font colors in this blog. I made the title white so that it stands out against the dark gray background, just like this graffiti. I also use light blue colors for the other fonts, because it also stands out and it adds color.

This poetry is also beautiful. You can check out more of Rupi Kaur's stuff here.

Source of Inspiration: Put Down Your Phone

 

I don't know why someone would write this in a bathroom stall. There's a time and a place for disconnecting from technology and joining the world, but that time is not when your pants are around your ankles. 

But I decided to heed this advice in this stall. I kept my phone in my pocket. I looked around. And I did...something.

And you know what I found? I found that most bathroom stalls are grey and dull. So I used those neutral colors in my blog. The background is grey, just like the bathroom stalls. There are a few other colors in my template: blue and white and black, which are usually the colors of the graffiti. I wanted the blog to resemble the place where you shit, without it looking shitty. Thank you public bathrooms for continuing to be a source of inspiration to me.