I talk to the wind, my words are all carried away

I know it probably seems a bit redundant to be starting a blog in the year 2024, but honestly I just miss it. I don't enjoy the shift social media has taken towards video content and never have - I'm an illustrator and hobbyist photographer, so the still image has always been important to me, and I just enjoy writing. I like the slower pace, I like being able to take my time and select my words and think a little more about what I'm saying and putting out into the world instead of just word vomiting to my phone camera. I'm an introvert and so much of social media nowadays makes me uncomfy, and I feel like it's forcing me to be someone I'm not.

Although blogging might seem out of date nowadays, it is still around but for some reason we don't call it that anymore. Substack? As far as I can see that's blogging. Updating your Patreon with what you've been up to lately is blogging. Having an email newsletter of stuff you've been enjoying lately is blogging.

I feel like when people hear "blogging" they think of the glossy blogs; of women taking editorial style photos of their designer outfits, of 'influencing'. I grew up with Rookie Magazine, and one of my favourite aspects of Rookie was always the comment section where girls would leave links to their own blogs which were messy and raw and real. I made so many friends that way, and that's the blogging I miss. It was like reading someone's journal, or zine, without the pretence or clout chasing that goes into social media nowadays. No one was trying to be anything, we just were, and there was a genuine earnestness. And I would like that back, even if it's a little uncool now. Be the change you wish to see I guess.

I should probably start by introducing myself.

My name is Sadie, and I'm an illustrator. I'm a massive introvert and romantic and my ideal day is spent drawing, reading, and daydreaming. I love journaling and stationery and I get excited about paper. I'm passionate about musical theatre, something I love with my whole entire heart. My favourite show is Wicked because I'm not pretentious enough to pretend it's something you haven't heard of. I discovered it in 2018 and it helped me through some of the darkest times of my life and helped me find joy again. I've seen it in London and on Broadway, where I also met my favourite actor Aaron Tveit and had the opportunity to give him a piece of my artwork.

I love creating in almost all of it's forms: I'm a beginner knitter and crocheter, I book bind, I build websites. I also sew and have an interest in vintage clothing, Japanese street fashion, and historical costuming. Most of my wardrobe is either handmade, vintage, or from Japanese brands. I also enjoy photography, although not from a technical perspective. I enjoy the art form of snapping memories and catching pictures of things that people forget to notice. My idea of fun includes rooting through junk shops, wandering through nature, watching horror movies, and making weirdly specific playlists. I like the colour yellow, autumn, whimsy, Moomins, Disney parks, raccoons, folk tales, and anything spooky and atmospheric.

I enjoy travelling, although it's something I get to do very rarely due to the expense of it all. I've spent some time both living and working in Japan and South Korea. Korea was traumatizing (and I don't want to talk about it), but I enjoyed Japan very much and consider it my second home.

My music taste is quite eclectic and mostly consists of show tunes, 1960s-70s rock, with some 00's metal thrown in. Some of my favourite musicians are My Chemical Romance, Ghost, Pink Floyd, Donovan, Mika, The Zombies, David Bowie, King Crimson, Small Faces, and Cat Stevens. I collect CDs and secondhand vinyl, and one of my favourite pastimes is digging through dusty crates in old record stores and junk shops. I also love reading and getting lost in other worlds; some of my favourite authors are Richard Adams, Lewis Carroll, Stephen King, Tove Janssen, L Frank Baum, AA Milne, Shirley Jackson, and George Orwell. My all time favourite books are Watership Down, Alice's Adventures in Wonderland, and Misery.

I love aesthetics. I love decorating my home and creating a space where I feel happy. Something I've had to learn is that you can make anywhere your home. It's up to you to find joy wherever you are. I'm disabled (hEDS) struggle with my mental health, but I try not to forget that there's so much good in this world. I know that I'm ignorant about a lot of things but I am so excited to learn what I can.

“So perhaps the best thing to do is to stop writing Introductions and get on with the book.” - AA Milne