silly joys as resistance
a list
using lowercase letters. (do you see what I did there? ha!) but here’s the thing: I personally love the way lowercase letters look in more “informal” written spaces. it’s cuter and a little comforting to me. When you’re here, I want you to feel comfortable.
reading children’s books. there can be so much fun, light, and beauty in children’s books, and how lucky are we that the beloved Golden Books of our youth are now putting out topics so tied into our pop culture loves!
white glue on our palms. PLEASE tell me you too did that as a kid? It was definitely a comfort stim that I practiced during moments of elementary overstimulation. Every great once in awhile I get the urge, and roughly a quarter of those times I go in search of my bottle. it’s silly. it could be argued that it’s a little wasteful (but is it really?), but the moments of peeling that magical goodness off? ten out of ten.
we are so fortunate to live in a time when there are twelve million different silly cat videos at our fingertips. How is partaking in this resistance, you ask? Because anytime we find joy, pause from productivity, and simply allow ourselves the moment, we are resisting.
my absolute favorite task of resistance: solo dance parties!!!! Now, you may be an incredible dancer so this may not feel particularly silly, but as someone who is most definitely NOT a member of the rhythm club, mine are pretty darn silly!
compliment a stranger. This one isn’t really silly, persay, but I know most of the time when I practice this I will initially feel pretty dumb taking the risk.
STICKERS! I am a slut for a good sticker, and if it is an adorable design with a powerful statement, I am COMMITTED! My world (laptop, water bottle, notebooks, journals, ipad, kindle, organizational bins, etc) is adorned with many a sticker.
for the even bolder sticker lover: tattoos. (i’m adorned with those too. BIG, BIG fan!)
edible gold flakes in your clearer beverages. Sometimes we just need a little sparkle.
colorful hair, colorful nails. More socially acceptable than in the past but still very much a rebellion against many social norms.
writing funny, simple poetry for no other reason than joy.
overusing punctuation you love, because you love it. I am an overuser of the ampersand and ellipsis. I’ve been called out many times, and I don’t give AF. there are many rules that matter, such as “look both ways before you cross the street” and “don’t use electronics in the bathtub”, but sometimes there are rules that simply exist to ensure conformity. Sometimes it matters & sometimes it doesn’t…
any healthy hobby that brings joy is a simple joy and form of resistance. ANY.
controlled chaos. What I mean by this is that I love an organized home, and my home is well done. That being said, when I’m deep into projects (writing, crafting, etc) my work area is CHAOS. There are stacks and piles, scribbled notes and remnants of several beverages. To an onlooker, this may look like a giant mess, but to me, every single bit makes complete sense and serves a purpose.
hand creams that smell good to you. (resistance? nurturing any part of us is a direct defiance to the system.)
buying yourself a box of chocolates.
shopping locally owned, small businesses.
simple little doodles, for doodles’ sake. Yesterday I doodled a snail to remind me to take my time.
getting excited about the things we eat. Courtney Cook has taught us this, and it’s wild to me that this was such a simple lesson that the majority of us really needed.
Daydreaming. (Daydreaming is THE BEST and an absolute badass form of rebellion!)
sharing. Sharing with neighbors, sharing with friends. Whether it’s streaming apps, pizza orders, fresh-baked goods, physical labor, or funny news… SHARE SHARE SHARE.
Coloring. Try it. Truly settle in, like a child, and color. MAGIC!
hot cocoa.
audibly squeeling and doing a shimmy when something good happens. we WANT to do this, but we don’t because we’ve been “taught not to”.
weird decor and thrifted finds. DO IT!
rewatching Heated Rivalry. (Or rather, watching ReHeated Rivalry) There. I said it.
Here are twenty-six of my favorite little joys as resistance. Want to share some of yours?