I breathed a sigh of relief at the end of this article knowing that someone else's brain also works like this. My medium is food; my mom's ubiquitous desserts, the book I read in second grade about a Japanese and American couple who shared their food traditions with one another, Martha Stewart on Sunday mornings, my first dinner party, the dobosh torte I attempted to make when I was 12 because other other cakes were too easy... the list goes on.
And I too worry that these brain imprints don't happen as frequently or as deeply in the current generation because of the speed and quantity of their digital interactions but I try to do my part. I recently had a taste-test with my 10 year old niece of four bags of chips we got from the Japanese mart. The labels were in Japanese so we just tasted them and guessed the flavor, and as the last step we used google translate to read the bags and see if we guessed any correctly. Highly recommend ;0)
I’ve been thinking about the moments a lot, especially when we think we know what made us and then a song or album is played and it turns out it’s imprinted on our DNA.
Me too!!! (Obviously lol) it’s part writing a memoir, part thinking about how I worry for people not much younger than me who have had too much stimulation from others to know themselves well!
This essay is nudging me in a direction I’ve been wanting to go for a while—to really dig into those formative exposures and consider, now, how they molded my brain and soul. I feel like lately I’ve forgotten (or ignored?) them, and something has been lost. But they’re in there, and worth revisiting. Loved hearing about yours.
What a wonderful reading to wake up to! For me, today’s essay was an ode to the beauty of nerditude, of the hunger for learning and the joy that using the mind brings, shaping us, beyond the mind. And oh! That line about Kafka! ❤️
I breathed a sigh of relief at the end of this article knowing that someone else's brain also works like this. My medium is food; my mom's ubiquitous desserts, the book I read in second grade about a Japanese and American couple who shared their food traditions with one another, Martha Stewart on Sunday mornings, my first dinner party, the dobosh torte I attempted to make when I was 12 because other other cakes were too easy... the list goes on.
And I too worry that these brain imprints don't happen as frequently or as deeply in the current generation because of the speed and quantity of their digital interactions but I try to do my part. I recently had a taste-test with my 10 year old niece of four bags of chips we got from the Japanese mart. The labels were in Japanese so we just tasted them and guessed the flavor, and as the last step we used google translate to read the bags and see if we guessed any correctly. Highly recommend ;0)
Love this! I have my food affinities, of course, but they’ll be in my next book 😂
What a great idea you had with your niece! Adorable.
Ahh can't wait!
I’ve been thinking about the moments a lot, especially when we think we know what made us and then a song or album is played and it turns out it’s imprinted on our DNA.
Me too!!! (Obviously lol) it’s part writing a memoir, part thinking about how I worry for people not much younger than me who have had too much stimulation from others to know themselves well!
This essay is nudging me in a direction I’ve been wanting to go for a while—to really dig into those formative exposures and consider, now, how they molded my brain and soul. I feel like lately I’ve forgotten (or ignored?) them, and something has been lost. But they’re in there, and worth revisiting. Loved hearing about yours.
So cool to hear it could be inspiring! I love this—it’s so interesting and sometimes strange to dig into those formative influences.
This inspired me to finally watch Party Girl and this movie would have changed the trajectory of my entire life if I’d seen it as a teenager.
I am so glad to inspire this watch!!!
It’s just not fair that I can never be a twenty-something living in 90s New York
What a wonderful reading to wake up to! For me, today’s essay was an ode to the beauty of nerditude, of the hunger for learning and the joy that using the mind brings, shaping us, beyond the mind. And oh! That line about Kafka! ❤️
Yessss, I’m so glad you enjoyed! Thank you for getting it!!! Kafka forever.
Loved Frusciante as well in my early 20s ... in my case discovering the songs one-by-one from Napster
Please tell you’ve watched the movie Downtown 81…
Of course, but like once—I should do so again
John Frusciante forever😭
I’m so glad I’m having a mini renaissance with all his work!!!