double lives in single beds.

I'm really bored and generally bummed out, so I've decided to do this here. It's an exercise from Julia Cameron's* The Artist's Way - it's sort of a terrible self-help book, but the exercises are good. We're supposed to write down what we'd do if we had five other lives to lead, and then do something related to them (I'm probably not going to).

from here

01. I would be a slightly insane boy. The kind of boy who stills wears a pocketwatch, who climbs trees and always has ink smudged all over his fingers. I'd never brush my hair, I'd be less cynical about the world and I would make a hobby of decorating paper boats. I'd learn how to sail, I'd know how to taste wine and I would have a passionate attachment with another such young man. I'd do things out of pure, plain curiosity more than I do now.

image from here

02. I would be an incredibly trashy girl, who wears cheap, chunky jewelry and enjoys shots (I hate shots). I'd wear lots of terrible make-up and get a bellybutton piercing and a hip cellphone and probably have a boyfriend with his boxers out and a diamond stud earring. I'd be really rude to teachers, I'd get kicked out of class (I was only kicked out of class once and the teacher admitted I was right), I'd listen to trendy stuff and I would find Brad Pitt attractive. I'd have lots of items with the Playboy symbol on them and I would fail class a lot and not even care. In short, being like my high school - and some university - classmates and seeing if I would be happier that way (protip: I wouldn't).

found here

03. I'd squat, and I'd dye my hair again. I would get a devilock. A neon green devilock, because green is the one colour I haven't tried but wish I could (though I would get bored and go pink, pink was the best hair colour I have ever had), and I've never had a devilock. I'd wear Creepers and I would start a band with a name like Sickening or something. I'd chain smoke and I would travel with my friends in old beaten down vehicles, live wild adventures all the time, dumpster dive, and kiss strangers. I'd adopt that dog I don't have room for where I live, because I'd be on the road and squatting all the time so I'd have room for her. She would have a bandana collar. She'd be named after the Riot Dogs from Greece. (This is probably my favourite after #1.)

here

04. I would be an incredibly average person. I would go to Law school. I would be a Catholic. I would dress preppy-but-trendy. I wouldn't appreciate Jane Austen for her wit, but because Mr. Darcy is sew dreamy1!181!!!1. I wouldn't kiss any girls, ever. I would have a boyfriend who was studying something like Economy or whatever - he would be incredibly boring, he would wearimpeccably ironed shirts and make misogynistic jokes. I would be, of course, waiting until our wedding night (the wedding would be something in a church, I'd have a white dress with lots of lace and someone with a nickname like Pippa as the wedding ring girl). I'd wear bracelets with pictures of saints. I'd be a conservative. My biggest aspirations would include things like having three kids with names of saints. I'd have a very nice house in the suburbs, and I would probably know how to cook. I would be monarchic. I would read Nicholas Sparks. I'd ONLY listen to Classical music and The Beatles (I love Classical music and The Beatles, but it's not all I listen to); I wouldn't really listen to David Bowie or T.Rex or the Misfits (Danzig-era) or anything. I would probably wear liner pads and get a staph infection because of that. I would wear a small necklace with a crucifix, and think that boys are acceptable matches on the sole basis of their religion and their virginity status. And somehow, I'd be happy that way. I'm really curious about whether the girls I encounter who are actually like this manage to be happy.

from the files of yours truly. kind of unrelated. but I mean, whoa.

05. I would be a seductive 30-something woman. I'd have flaming red hair styled into a bob. I'd be teaching Italian at a very posh private school. I would have affairs with younger girls and I'd introduce them to Ancient Greek. The Love of My Life (tm) would be an actress. In my youth, I would have backpacked around the world and studied at a prestigious liberal arts college in the US, but I'd have a generic European accent. I'd be an expert on Classical music. I'd play harpsichord. I'd have a bisexual husband and we'd have an open marriage and two twin children with red hair and freckles, and on weekends we would smoke opium and watch old British films. Oh, I would also actually have boobs, so I could wear a wider array of dresses including strapless dresses (which I can't wear). I'd also be able to convicingly pull off straw hats. And I'd finally get around to wearing my monocle. And I'd wear silk (synthetic silk, of course) robes, the kind that look a bit like kimonos, and I'd know how to fly small planes. I would pull off pearls and I would collect rare records and expensive tea. Scratch everything, this one is my favourite of all 5 - I know it's really cliché, but I don't care.

from here

Bonus #06: I would be Vita Sackville-West.

(Sorry about the crappy sources on some of these! I blame it on weheartit and the fact that most tumblrs I know and follow didn't include the images I was looking for. I usually look for things that link to the right source, but this time I didn't. Sorry!)

* Not that Julia Cameron.