![\"Goethes](\"https:\/\/christowski.de\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/11\/october-2018-700x700.jpg\")
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I am strolling through Goethe\u2019s garden (as depicted) as I\u2019m in Weimar, a small German city known for, well, Goethe\u2019s \u0153uvre and the Bauhaus university. It\u2019s mid-September; summer is still in full blossom and makes us all feel like we could get used to this; this does not need to stop, ever. But it will, we all know it, the seasons won\u2019t fool us. But we like the idea of being fooled, even for a couple more weeks.<\/p>\n
One and a half months later\u2014October\u2019s in its final hours as I type this\u2014I peel myself out of bed and turn on the radiator; I have my gloves and thermal underwear in place and switched from iced coffees to hot tea. But outside, I still cycle through golden, leave-paved streets on Urbanstra\u00dfe, which is delightful and makes the thought of the upcoming months more bearable.<\/p>\n
I am happy<\/em> to welcome you to another episode of this little gathering. Quite a few things happened during this summer; however, I wasn\u2019t part of most of them. I was busy writing my Master\u2019s thesis. While passing a couple of miserable moments (\u201dFuck this; nobody cares about my degree, let\u2019s simply not finish it\u201d, as well as \u201cWith this thesis I will go down as the first design student who failed and disappointed his supervisors in an abysmal manner\u201d), I finished the book, I had it printed, I presented it in front of a room of intimidated undergraduates, and I passed. I was actually happy with the result. Lesson learned: Accepting that your own work is enough as it is, and trusting the people who tell you along the way that you are doing fine, could prevent a lot. Of. Stress.<\/p>\n During the thesis research as well as the writing as well as the miserable phases, I had two mantras pinned to my wall, hoping to find peace with both of them. One said \u201cYou are not special, work harder!\u201d, the other one said \u201cYou are valid\u201d. To cut a long, philosophical exploration short: I still haven\u2019t found peace with neither of them. I don\u2019t think I am special, but working harder isn\u2019t always an option (sometimes, yes, but I carry a slight disbelief in the hard-work-can-get-you-anywhere-philosophy). Being valid, however, is a though one: Am I? Is that all enough? Is a book and it\u2019s presentation in front of intimidated undergraduates and a good grade and a finished degree enough? I know that I myself am the person who can decide what\u2019s enough, but how on earth am I supposed to know?!<\/p>\n [A lot of italics, this time. I am sorry. Maybe I should make this newsletter a podcast. (No.)]<\/p>\n The thesis was the main reason I didn\u2019t get to jump into Berlin\u2019s lakes during this summer\u2019s heatwave. Very possibly, after nine years in Berlin, it was the first time I envied my friends and actually wished to refresh my media-theory-twined brain with a jump into cold water. But it\u2019s okay. Maybe next year, or maybe never; maybe I really am not the person for lakes (that\u2019s at least what I learned about myself every time someone convinced me to join them for a trip to Berlin\u2019s outskirts).<\/p>\n I am trying<\/em> to re-structure this monthly (or rather quarterly?) piece of writing little bit. You\u2019ve already made it through the biggest part; the self-absorbed ramblings and updates on life and existence. What follows is a shorter part, where technology, design, culture and feelings are taking turns.<\/p>\n To keep it brief this time, I\u2019d like to hand out two recommendations to add to your digital digest:<\/p>\n 1) Spencer Tweedy restructured his newsletter as well and now sends out very brief and snackable observations. Subscribe here<\/a> or delve through<\/a> his online collection of words.<\/p>\n 2) Perfect for quick lunch or dinner breaks home alone: The New Yorker\u2019s Cartoon Lounge YouTube series. Everything is fun and witty and entertaining about it: The animated intro, the cartoons themselves, but especially the charming hosts Emma Allen and Colin Stokes. Watch the playlist here<\/a>.<\/p>\n I hope<\/em> you all had a great summer, got one or two chances to jump into a lake (or any other refreshing surrounding), and are in peace with how much you need to be to be content with yourself. If you have any tips or other, more rewarding mantras, please let me know.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" I am strolling through Goethe\u2019s garden (as depicted) as I\u2019m in Weimar, a small German city known for, well, Goethe\u2019s \u0153uvre and the Bauhaus university. It\u2019s mid-September; summer is still in full blossom and makes us all feel like we could get used to this; this does not need to stop, ever. But it will, … 102018: We Are Our Own Devils<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1206],"tags":[44,41,40],"class_list":["post-1934","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-christels-corner","tag-christels-corner","tag-english","tag-newsletter"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/christowski.de\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1934","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/christowski.de\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/christowski.de\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/christowski.de\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/christowski.de\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=1934"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/christowski.de\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1934\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":1936,"href":"https:\/\/christowski.de\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1934\/revisions\/1936"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/christowski.de\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=1934"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/christowski.de\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=1934"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/christowski.de\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=1934"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}