Ringing in 2023

Checking in, a rant on the Paris Metro, and some things I've been loving lately

Happy, happy, happy new year! I hope you all had an excellent holiday.

Recently, I got back from studying abroad in Paris. While I had many ups and downs, I’m grateful that I went and that I even had the opportunity. Nonetheless, I’m glad to be home and settling back into my little routines. I’m getting back into running, cooking more creatively, and (obviously) newsletter-ing.

I’ve grown somewhat uninspired with my former content and medium, so naturally, I’m switching it up (again). This content will be a lot more fun for me to write about and a little less dense and dreary. I hope you enjoy.

A Letter to the Paris Metro:

I spent 109 days as a resident of Paris. I spent my semester abroad, taking classes at NYU’s campus in Paris and another local university.

There were many aspects of the culture that were a shock — some in a positive way, but some in a more negative way. For one, I very quickly grew to despise the Paris Metro (and cried on it five times.)

Paris’ Metro system was birthed in 1900, with the completion of several stations across the city. Some of these still exist today — notably Châtelet, Réamur-Sébastopol, Wagram, Abbesses, and Porte Dauphine. The metro now has 16 lines extending across and around Paris.

Today, the metro system had a daily ridership of 4.16 million people (as of 2015). Paris itself only has a population of 2.161 million people as of 2019. Namely, this only accounts for the population living within Paris’ city limits, and many commute from the suburbs. Yet, this ratio is pretty striking. In comparison, NYC’s subway has a daily ridership of about 2.4 million, with its population being 8.4 million as of 2021.

While this is undoubtedly significant, if you’ve ever lived or spent time in Paris, this shouldn’t surprise you too much. The metro gets freaking PACKED.

And forget just the crowded nature of it all — I saw some weird shit on the Paris Metro. I saw one man trying to touch people with a bloody hand. Someone else I know saw someone with a severed leg on the tracks. But those are stories for another day.

So, I would leave class after a long day, excited to just get home and veg for a bit. I’d walk the 9 minutes from my campus to the St. Michel station, right across the street from the Seine. I’d take the stairs down, tap my Navigo pass, and wait a few minutes for the train to arrive. It would never be a crazy amount of time — trains in Paris come pretty regularly, in their defense.

This train would approach, and I’d deflate a bit in defeat. The train would be packed — and I mean packed — with people. I’d cram my way on to the train (if I even could, some days it would take me two or three trains) and uncomfortably take the 30-40 minute ride home.

30-40 minutes isn’t nothing — that’s a considerable amount of time to spend on the train every day (and this was only going to and from school, I’d often spend even longer since essentially all of my destinations were about 40 minutes apart).

Lifestyle: Journaling

I used to swear by journaling — I would spend ten minutes every morning journaling, without fail. Then, unfortunately, I fell out of the habit.

This year, I’m planning on getting back into the habit. I’m not a fan of journaling prompts — I find them a bit too specific and often hard to answer. Instead, I’ve started reading The Artist’s Way by Julia Cameron. This book advocates for the “morning pages” — essentially, a non-negotiable mind dump every morning. While it can seem tedious at times, eventually, the idea is that it reveals parts of your unconscious that could be blocking you creatively. I’ve just started getting into this now, but so far, I’m really enjoying it.

A Recipe I’m Loving

For my Christmas table, I made Justine’s Baked Cabbage Salad with Winter Romesco. It was fantastic — nutty and somehow both rich and light at the same time. It was the perfect veggie-rich complement to the Christmas cuisine lineup. It all came together within 45 minutes as well. While it’s a fantastic side dish, Justine’s recipe also gives an option to serve as the main course.

My 2022 Themes in Music

My Spotify Wrapped had an embarrassing amount of Harry Styles. I’ll be the first to admit that and get it off the table. But in addition, I had some other artists sprinkled in there. Car Seat Headrest (yikes), Florence, Charli XCX… but most importantly, Remi Wolf.

I first heard of Remi Wolf when I saw her open for Lorde last April. I was instantly obsessed, and I’ll be the first to admit that this obsession hasn’t really subsided for more than a couple one-off weeks.Her music bridges funky rhythms and witty lyrics and is the perfect music to clean, walk, run… essentially, do whatever. Liquor Store would probably have to be my favorite song of hers.

What’s Coming in 2023

The last bit of 2022 was a difficult block of time for me — I felt isolated and creatively blocked. I finally feel like I’m on the come-up from this, so I hope to have a year of creativity, free expression, and confidence.

And I wish you the same! Talk next week.