January Gloom and What's Been Inspiring Me This Month
Hello there! How’s your 2026 going so far? Mine’s been a mix of things. I’m doing okay; a little bit burned out but relatively okay. Across different friend groups and even with coworkers, I’ve noticed a lot of people around me are extra depressed this month. While I cannot fix anyone else’s problems, I thought it might be nice to share a few things that have been inspiring me and helping me feel a little lighter this month. If you feel down, maybe something will resonate with you. If you’re not feeling down, maybe something can still give you a smile at least.
1. This youtube video: “go live a life you’re actually interested in” by ciel
This video really stirred something in me! I found it in those early days of January when I was re-evaluating my life. I was so inspired I watched it a second time and took pages of notes! It talks about some concrete tangible strategies to make your life a little more interesting. I don’t want to give to many spoilers, but one quote has really stuck with me;
“Writing is thinking, and by giving myself the time to write I give myself the time to think” - Ciel
I’ve been reminding myself of that a lot these days, especially as I’m trying to build my journaling habit further!
2. My friend Petra
Before I came back to LA, I met up with my hometown friend Petra for some coffee and conversation. Her creativity inspires me so! She’s a writer, and a very good storyteller, and I love listening to her talk. I felt very creatively inspired after we met up. We wrote messages in each others journals for the year, and we only really see each other about once a year these days, so it feels very sweet to have that little piece of her in my book that follows me everywhere!
One thing she said that inspired me, I’m paraphrasing, but it is along the lines of “if I can drive myself to rock bottom, think of all the power I have in me and how far up that can take me”. It sounds crazy at first but it has lowkey been so motivating for me, especially in these depressing winter days where I feel like I’m going crazy.
I have no Petra to share with you all, but I hope you can find someone in your life who inspires creativity in you the way she does in me. Petra, if you’re seeing this, I love you :)
3. Katamari Damacy
I have to say, even after playing only two games in the series, I think Katamari is one of my favorite video games franchises. It truly is a work of art; it’s so funky in both its music and visuals, and the gameplay loop is so tricky but so satisfying. If you’ve never played before, the game follow the Prince of the cosmos as he rolls up katamaris; balls that pick up everything in their path they can. You can only pick up an object smaller than your katamari, but as you pick up items, your katamari grows, so you can go from picking up paperclips to grabbing skyscrapers. It’s a lot of fun, and a lot of weird in the best way. The first title in the series was for PlayStation 2, and the franchise encapsulates the artistic experimentation and wonder that I consider to be a trademark of that era in games.
Fun Fact: Katamari Damacy has been featured in the New York Museum of Modern Art (MoMA) and is even part of their permanent video game collection (alongside other games like Minecraft and Portal, to name a few)!
4. Starting a CD collection
The physical media bug has finally bit me once again! I recently caved into a long awaited dream of starting a physical CD collection. I have a few from back in the day at home, but my current collection in LA includes a chosen few albums…
ᯓ♪ Taeyeon’s To X., which was given to me as a birthday gift a few years ago from my friend Rae
ᯓ♪ TWICE’s Formula of Love: O + T = <3, which is gift from Rae’s library which she so kindly gave me to display on my shelf!
ᯓ♪ Fall Out Boy’s Folie a Deux, one of my roommate and I’s favorite albums. I actually bought it as a copy for her as a Christmas present, but the case came cracked. I ordered a replacement and was supposed to return this one… but I think I will just keep it and let amazon charge me again
ᯓ♪ Coldplay’s Mylo Xyloto, one of my FAVORITE albums of all time <3 Which I swear I manifested finding a used copy of at Amoeba Music for $5
ᯓ♪ Sleeping with Siren’s Madness; another favorite album that I got this week used for $5 at Amoeba
After scouring a good few thrift stores and facebook marketplace for a CD player I liked with no luck, I gave up and bought a cheap one of Amazon. I plastered it in stickers, and now I have 5 albums to spin to my heart’s content! I also bought an external CD drive, so I can burn some mixes for myself and others. I want to try and find blank CDs at a thrift store, but I’ve had no luck yet. Also on my wishlist is a binder for said CDs once I burn em. I might make a whole page just dedicated to my collection and my wishlist because I’m so excited about it at current.
Alright, I’m running out of writing steam here. I hope you’ve also been able to find some pockets of inspiration this month- if you want to share them in my guestbook I’d love to hear! I’ve been working hard this month and feeling a bit burned out, but especially with gabysworld’s 1 year birthday having passed last week, I have a few more posts and pages on the to do list for the imminent future!
Much love,