Romance & Rejuvenation
Self portrait, 2025.
Hello, Happy New Year and apologies to my beloved but long-neglected readers! If you follow me closely on social media (I’m most active on Twitter, but also keep up with my Instagram when I remember to) you may have noticed I’m quieter and quieter there too. Forgive me the neglect but, it’s in service to something important — my inner peace.
Perhaps that’s a bit dramatic; I’m working on self improvement in many parts of my life, but none have quite the weight to rival “inner peace” as a concept. Every improvement in my life furthers this goal though, from cooking at home, to reading more books, or spending more time in nature and less time on my phone. That last part is a big part of my absence online, both in a quieter social media presence and also slower email replies. I’m prioritizing dates with long-time friends and people who fill out my contact form fully (wink wink), dates that are especially appealing (romantic catching up, eating somewhere new, seeing live music together, whathaveyou) and whatever makes it feel easy to schedule with someone, like shared curiosities or connection.
What have I been up to? Well, last year I visited two countries — Japan for my first time in Asia, which was delicious and perfect and packed full of art and food; Tahiti and Mo’orea for my second trip to French Polynesia, this time to scuba dive, read books on the beach and swim with whales. I read 50 books, many via audiobook but a good chunk on paper while on the train, a flight, or ideally a park in the sunshine. For domestic travel I visited New York City a whopping five times in addition to traveling to LA and Portland. If we’re being honest, I’m a bit burnt out on travel so I can’t promise I’ll be getting on a plane every month this year. You’ll find me prioritizing FMTY travel instead of touring, plus enjoying plenty of dates with my local and visiting lovers in the Bay Area.
Are you the New Years Resolution type? I’m not keen on resolutions, but I’m deeply sentimental and believe in greeting each new year with intention. My intentions for this coming year all revolve around creativity, rest and connection. Some of these won’t surprise you if you’re aware of my arts background! I’m doing a daily drawing prompt for January that I’m hoping to keep up throughout the year; if you’re curious, I’ve been doing Wendy Mac’s Grown-Ups Table prompts which for January are a daily substack post. You may know her illustration work from articles in the New York Times or popular books such as Salt Fat Acid Heat. This year I’d also like to take a ceramics course or in-person drawing class — even better if I get to do both, since I haven’t attended any structured classes since my college years over a decade ago. For bonus points I’m still doing photography and have been taking pet portraits for my friends whose beloved animals are getting on in years, knowing how important it is to have the good memories to look back on. And so on, and so on.
On top of my creative goals, I’m also staying active and continuing to push myself. Currently I rock climb and bike multiple times a week and am hoping to bring back hiking and lifting weights as regular activities too, all of which I do both solo and with friends. My plan is to scuba dive in at least two different new places this year. My reading list is as long as ever and I’m starting the year off with a reread to hook me in (one of my favorite intense, richly world-built geo-political fantasy books The Traitor Baru Cormorant by Seth Dickinson). I’ve been cooking more, and am currently on a seasonally-appropriate soup kick. It’s been delicious, very fulfilling and has been necessary to keep up with everything in life.
So, I’d say that I’m doing pretty well so far on my year’s intentions! Hopefully you’ll join me on some of that. Unfortunately, the one thing not on my docket is more time online. Which means we should plan a date!
Hopefully, I’ll see you soon.
Until next time!
Xo,
Rose Gibson