By Livi Player, second year English
Livi Player explains how she plans on tapping into her creative side this year.
The all too familiar whisperings of dreaded diets and demanding exercise regimes are circling, clouding our social media - but I’d like to talk about my New Year's arts resolutions, as small creative alternatives that may even provide some inspiration for your 2019; ones that might include a cheeky square of chocolate every now and then (exams are on the horizon after all!).
Last year I was introduced to the wonderful world of bullet journaling. This involves a creative diary or planner used in whatever way you wish, be it a fitness tracker, a daily diary or a mindfulness log to track your thoughts and goals. As you can imagine, a quick search for bullet journals on Instagram instantly filled my brain with colours, fonts and doodles, rushing me to my nearest stationary shop for a fresh new notebook and fine tipped brush pens (that remain my pride and joy).
Unfortunately, as life inevitably became busy my bullet journal was put aside to gain dust. So, for my New Year’s arts resolution I hope to start bullet journaling again, and, this time, to use to its full potential. Bullet journaling was a great stress release and an aesthetic activityTM that brought out my creative side, which other aspects of life, such as university work, sometimes lacked. It’s a small project to work on and become proud of – and maybe it will help me become more productive, both in and out of university, if I can stick to the flexible, well-balanced schedule.
I’m also a clichéd musical fanatic – yup, the one regularly and shamelessly caught dancing to the Mamma Mia soundtrack- and I plan on seeing Kinky Boots touring at the Bristol Hippodrome from 25th February until 9th March. After watching the phenomenal performance of Miss Saigon at the Hippodrome last year I became inspired to make more time for theatre trips, and what better place than Bristol?
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Book wise, as an English student you can imagine my to-read list is already fairly long, bordering on a novel all unto itself … but a couple of books have particularly caught my eye in recent weeks and shot to the top of the list. The first is Michelle Obama’s memoir Becoming. My initial response to the book is of pure awe at such an incredible role model. Finally being able to get my hands on her book and read about her life has led to a great excitement to sit down, a cup of tea in one hand, maybe a square (or four) of chocolate in the other, and spend some time with such an author.
Second, a fairly old book, is Adam Kay’s diary of being a junior doctor, This is Going to Hurt. I’ve seen a lot of hype surrounding this book with its painfully funny anecdotes of life as a junior doctor, set alongside a genuine observation of life on the NHS frontline, and I can’t wait to start a book so different from my normal read. While this might not be everyone’s cup of tea, the main idea is that by choosing this book I’ve really gone out of my comfort zone – let’s let 2019 be the year we allow ourselves to look somewhere unexpected to find something wonderful.
I hope my ideas have inspired some sort of arts resolution to fuel your 2019. Be it a theatre trip, a colourful new page in your own bullet journal or something entirely different – there’s something artsy for everyone to add a sparkle to the cold January days. Who knows, maybe you’ll still be going in February when everyone else has cancelled their gym memberships…
(Featured image: Unsplash / Jon Tyson)
What are your New Year's arts resolutions? Let us know in the comments below or on social media.
