If you’re on Pinterest or Tumblr, you have probably seen the “dark academia” aesthetic. I came across a few posts, and I realized that DA is something I’ve been a part of for my whole life. I’d like to explain with a list (because lists are just a part of this blog, and you know it).

• Reading Alice in Wonderland, deciding I didn’t like the ending, and writing my own where Absolem convinces Hatter to jump through a portal and visit Alice instead
• Filling notebooks with stickers, receipts, little scraps of pretty fabric or flowers, and any thought that pops into my head
• Making a cup of tea or coffee when something doesn’t feel right
• Always focusing better when it’s raining or gloomy outside
• Loving long walks and picnics
• Craving second-hand bookstores and thrift shops because I like to imagine the lives of the people who owned the things I purchase there
• Keeping movie tickets, programs, concert bracelets, and railway cards in a lockbox to preserve the memories
• A shelf of photo albums from my childhood
• Late-night research about psychology, ancient architecture, or what it would be like to live in 18th-century London
• Smiling at animals and calling them beautiful
• Hearing “mystery of love” by Sufjan Stevens and realizing it’s an anthem for life
• Planning anything and everything, down to the last detail, but always changing something someone else planned because it’s creative expression
• My favorite color is dark forest/army green, and most of my room is denim, green, gray, and cozy brown
• Giving each of my plants names, and some of them represent my friends, so if they aren’t doing well I check on the friend
• Doing nothing on road trips but listening to classical music and staring out the window
• Owning more jackets than any other item of clothing
• Preferring to walk or bike rather than drive
• Hating crowded places, but liking to watch crowds from a distance to see how other people interact
• Keeping a frantic, giant mountain of different ideas in my notes app (but very well organized)
• Hiding polaroids and small objects I find on nature walks in bags and jacket pockets, not finding them till later
• Owning far too many pens, but organizing them by type… ordering refills of the ones I like
• Insisting on visiting a city strip mall just so I can examine the Japanese paper in that one stationery store, holding a freshly-purchased notebook to my cheek because the pages are so soft
• Learning better when I hear something out loud, rather than see or touch it
• Spending hours staring out my window while clouds gather in the sky and a storm pours over the world
• Watching the entire Harry Potter series every fall, making some of the foods they have in the Great Hall
• Feeling guilty about keeping books I love because other people should read them, too
• Highlighting quotes I love in “Looking for Alaska,” specifically the quote that says “NEVER USE A HIGHLIGHTER IN MY BOOKS!”

I’m going to stop here… but I think I’ll do a part 2 later because I really enjoyed making this list! Comment any dark academia things you do in your life and why you like it. 🙂

–ellynn ❤