hi! it’s natalie. i guess this is it, la blog.

amidst unfettered storms, i’d like to imagine a swan gliding across a lake in quiet solitude; amongst thrashing winds, a single leaf swaying gently in the air. currently, the real world is offering no peace for me – i have constantly found myself swept up in an endless flurry of endless anxiety, deadlines, and toxicity, longing to be that swan staying gracefully afloat.

here, as the real world rages, i try to subsume myself in a tiny distilled bubble of my own thoughts, so that momentarily, i situate myself at the eye of the storm. here, i am just the observer, nestled into my little Cave of Solace.

if you know me, i’ve been talking about starting a blog for the absolute longest time (i’d say roughly 3 years). so hello, it’s me, just ages late, in typical fashion.

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anyways. i think one thing that put me off starting this was just not knowing what to write about. my plans of historical / political articles shifted to a more overarching theme of cultural commentary, but even then i realised that my scatterbrain was too dishevelled to categorize my thoughts into boxes. my lovely friend gia said to me about the blog (it was so cute i had to write this down) – “it’s like a time capsule! you’ll look back at this one day and think ‘huh this was what i was feeling when i was seventeen, young and sweet’”. so here goes nothing… presenting… natalie’s hyperactive brain squirrels!

and it’s a scary thing, trying to express yourself authentically on the internet. i’m starting this blog because yes, i love the idea of a little digital retreat, talking to the void like an imaginary friend on the phone (not something i do on the daily), but also because i want to gradually be able to be less afraid of speaking my mind, to no longer have to sterilize my thoughts just for the sake of appealing to mainstream sensitivity / societal conformity. introducing the voice, à la natalie!

that’s all for today. i am so excited for Cave of Solace. thank you for being here <3