How I spent my brat summer vacation
I'm finally ready to hear about your trip to Greece.
The vibe we deserved.
I secretly looked forward to the first day of school. As in, so excited I couldn’t sleep, coursing with electric energy like on Christmas Eve or before an early morning flight. The first day of school was for: reconnecting with friends who promised to KIT but didn’t, scoping out potential crushes, seeing whose boobs came in and braces came off, and hard-launching the brand new person I willed myself to become every day for the last 81. It was about showing out for the gen pop. I lived for the dramatic reveals, the movie makeover montage of it all.
In class we were usually asked to write a few paragraphs about how we spent the summer break and read them aloud. Some kids kept close to home and sped through the required reading list. Others got to go on lavish family vacations, or were shipped off to sleepaway camp or to stay with a relative. Maybe someone’s grandma died or their parents split up. You’d find out who hung out with who the most, and whose friendships fell apart, and which new cliques rose from the ashes.
It was a lighthearted assignment meant to give the teacher a few extra minutes to enjoy their coffee, however the message was clear: how you spent your summer mattered. I’m nosy, so of course I wanted to catch the tea, but sharing those stories also armed us with immediate opportunities to size up and judge each other. By lunch, we could prove to our peers how much cooler we’d gotten or remind them how much cooler we’ve always been.
The vibe has felt like that lately, primarily on social media. I’ve read/watched dozens of summer wrap-ups and introspective girl autumn kickoffs in the past couple of weeks because I…can’t get enough? I’ll admit that I didn’t have the same passion for everyone’s brat summer content in real time. But now that there’s a nip in the air and the leaves are changing colors, I’m ready to hear all about your trip to Greece and who you saw at Glastonbury. I’d also like to know your thoughts on barn jackets. What are you reading? Which sweaters are you buying? Here I am, baby! Tell me everything.
Oh, me? My summer (and mental health) was mostly held together by hobbies. Actually, a lot of friends were also diving into new hobbies or revisiting the ones they abandoned—rock climbing, crocheting, ceramics, swimming laps, lifting weights, dance classes at night and yoga before sunrise, learning how to play pickleball on vacation because the instructor is hot. Personally, I’ve been taking ballet classes and doing some light gardening. I’m also about seven months deep into my tennis era. By that I mean I’ve had a handful of lessons from my dad, gone to the BNP Open, sat through Challengers, and gotten pretty good at tennis.
There can be intense discomfort in learning new things, especially if you lack patience like I do. It’s not easy to a) admit you don’t know how to do something, b) approach it with a beginner’s mind, and c) allow yourself to be shitty at it for a while. Some days in ballet you can’t tell me I’m not Misty Copeland and other days I can’t tell my ass from my elbow. I primarily hit tennis balls into a chain link fence against a wall by myself but am just now starting to feel confident enough to play with other people. It took trial and error for my wildflowers to grow, but eventually they did, and the plant I killed within days of bringing home is finally beginning to grow new leaves. I’m not perfect at anything but more importantly, I’m not trying to be (anymore).
I guess I’m trying to say that it’s not too late to sign up for piano lessons or learn a different language or buy a used sewing machine and teach yourself to make a scoochy little cocktail dress, if you really wanted to.
Hobbymaxxing and relaxing. Shoutout to Taylor Snead for getting my good side.
Short stack: brat summer edition
What I watched: Every season of Sailor Moon (1992-1997) from the beginning; it only took three episodes to become my personality. A surprising amount of sports content…NBA Finals, plenty of tennis, Sprint and the Simone Biles doc on Netflix…and man, I was a real slut for the Olympics. It was all I could talk about.
What I read: Homebodies by
and The List by Yomi Adegoke. Danish fashion magazines via Google Translate. An article with Kacey Musgraves where she said “The passage of time really fucks me up.” Newsletter-wise, I’m loving , , and .What I wrote: Mostly client work and delayed text responses! I redesigned my portfolio and made myself business cards, which was a fun project. I’ve been out of my journaling routine and….haven’t been in much of a rhythm here either (drag me). I’m working on it, or at least I intend to work on it.
What I listened to: Tems, Charlotte Day Wilson, Blxst, Pip Millett, Remi Wolf, ‘90s R&B, Sinéad Harnett, Vince Staples. The Doechii album has me in a headlock. “Nasty” of course, and brat, but specifically “365.” Questionable to buy into brat summer at my big age but whatever, I fell for it, sue me. Charli XCX…she knows what she’s doing.
Where I went: Jersey to visit family and Denmark to see my sister
and my 2-year-old niece, then Cancun for Amanda’s 40th birthday—we stayed at the TRS Coral, my first adult all-inclusive experience. The hotel was incredible and I adored not having to worry about room keys or splitting a four-course dinner 8 ways including tax and tip. It’s the way forward, I fear!What I ate: Funnel cake at Fisherman’s Wharf. A lobster roll from the Cousins truck at Fillmore Jazz Fest, then fries and rosé at little shucker. The mushroom toast at Bodega (also their chicken nuggets that taste suspiciously like McDonald’s??), and the chu toro and red dragon roll at Elephant Sushi. In Denmark…the breakfast board at Cross Café, Clementine’s Korean fried oysters, and late-night peach cobbler made by my sister’s boyfriend.
What I bought: I hadn’t shopped Alo before buying this dress, but wearing it makes me feel hot (I suspect it’s the piping). The Ami Colé Desert Date multistick is crazy pigmented and gives me that freaky baby doll look I love (I got it in Flame). It’s also perfect for travel. Candles, well yes: Vacation x Prince’s Ball Boy and my favorite Skandinavisk scent, Koto. A pair of vintage fringed leather shorts from Högenhof, my favorite secondhand shop in Aarhus. Ecooking’s HA serum and this extremely Nordic woods moisturizer from the CPH duty free.
What I learned: I feel the most free when I’m logged out of Instagram. And it’s okay to drop my shoulders and smile at strangers once in a while—it doesn’t make me a creep, it just makes me from California.
I’m an October Libra so fall really matches my freak. I can be as moody and dark-sided as I want and I don’t feel guilty for staying in the house. The restlessness is palpable, it’s giving the bell doesn't dismiss you, I dismiss you…and I’m at peace with that. I wouldn’t say I’m pulsing with first-day-of-school energy but you better believe I’m tossing and turning at night. (Sleeping soundly, in this election cycle?) It’s a scary time and tensions are high and there is fresh horror happening every single day and and and.
Here I am, processing. Here I am, re-strategizing. Here I am, moving in silence. Here I am, walking down the street wearing my little AirPods and listening to my little true crime podcast, trying not to get hit by a Waymo.
Back to life, back to reality, bye-bye brat summer.
Living everything about this post! Wow!
Sis where did you find Sailor moon!!!!???