Rage, in small ways
- Noah Kahan, “The Great Divide” (2026)
Dear Reader,
How can I even begin to summarize January? On a personal front, it was admittedly pleasant, though I found it a more difficult time to put words to paper. And I think my creative spark has been influenced by external pressures; regardless of the state of the world, anything artistic always feels inherently dismissive. Artists are labeled as unrealistic dreamers, and when the state of the world is in such disarray and ruin, it feels especially daft to ramble on pitifully about how difficult the creative scene feels to break through in and explore. Because, it’s such a But as one of my professors reminded us on a day when it seemed we all felt a bit heavy coming back to ourusual routine of class and discussion in our small pocket of London, art has always rebelled against injustices. Being a creative at this time remains important, for as indulgent as it sounds for my peers and me to keep writing, generating, and contributing to seemingly inconsequential discourse, it should be remembered that art presses against and reflects inequity and brutality.
Now, to address the situations head-on, what the administration at large is executing across the United States in the marauding and terrorization of immigrants is a gross misuse of privilege and power. This country was built upon the backs, bravery, and labor of immigrants. And to this point, this land is stolen. Thus, for anyone in a position of power, or for anyone to sit idly by and just accept this as the state of things, is abhorrently wrong. The ICE raids and presence across the country are harrowing and gruesome, as are the murders and the arrests. I cannot and will not claim to be the most informed on this subject and any related to it, but from what I’ve been educating myself about on intellectual and emotional planes, we are witnessing a stark decline in our government’s tolerance and agenda for preserving humanity, which should be unacceptable to us as a community. We are a people who are meant to pride ourselves on being a country that sings of “liberty and justice for all,” but the current actions and administrative voice is not a reflection of this motto. We are a place where an array of cultures is meant to prosper and be celebrated, but on the whole, this is not the current picture of our country and hasn’t been for quite some time. Thus, I urge you all to take action for yourselves and for your neighbors, and educate yourself both intellectually and emotionally. Relearn and retrain your empathy to reflect that of productivity and intelligence. And this stretches across borders and subjects. The ongoing Russia-Ukraine crisis and the genocide in Gaza cannot be ignored or observed passively. I am sure I am missing a load of other current world events, but these are just a few that continue to way heavy on my mind.
I’ve included some resources, particularly regarding the ICE Raids, at the end.
Now, not to make a stark pivot, but I’ll share a quick recap of my January as usual. The month began as a continuation of December’s celebrations. My sister, who had come for a visit, and I hit the ground running. I did my best to show her all the neccesary sights of London, and a few bonus spots. In no particular order…
We frequented an array of photobooths, to which we had one great success, where we both were flattered by the camera. We went vintage shopping around Brick Lane and Portobello Rd, wandering around the various markets including Spitalfields and Bourough. We stopped to share a few cups of the famed chocolate strawberries, a bubble waffle, and quite a large slice of pizza. We went mudlarking on the Thames and found loads of old clay pipes and pottery. We hugged a tree in a wood and played with large branches as we did when we were younger, wielding them like great swords or lightsabers. We giggled when a squirrel nearly climbed onto my shoulder. We rummaged through trays of old jewelry—Katie found one with a pair of fish engraved on it. We chatted over spaghetti at Sam’s and then ate small cups of ice cream. We met a small plastic figurine and named her Vishna—she now lives in a pocket. We made our way to Hyde Park and oogled at the swans; we’ve never seen so many before. At the V&A, she and I posed like statues and pretended to be critics, and then accidentally wound up with at least eight cups of tea. There was a bit of miscommunication between us and the barista. At some point, we found ourselves at the Tate Modern, and then it snowed. A day or so later, we acquired some cream buns (as recommended by one of my editors) and absolutely scarfed them down. They had peach inside. We made up a card game, 123 war, as we came to call it. It’s some sort of mix of war, slapjack, and crazy 8’s or something of the like. And then she and I packed up our bags and met our parents at Paddington Station. Hi mom and dad!
From Paddington, we left on a train bound for the Cotswolds, where we spent time at Burton-on-the-Water in a quaint, vine-decorated cottage with particularly low ceilings. Dad hit his head quite a few times. Here we celebrated a small Christmas together and spent time wandering around the various neighboring towns, popping into antique stores and pubs. It was a nice change to visit the countryside after spending as much time in the city as I have. Being a girl who's lived in Colorado and Alabama, surrounded by no shortage of nature, I’ve not known much of a true city life. I like it, I like the energy and how there really is always something to be seen and done, but I do find myself craving the slowness that’s offered by nature. I miss the air and the space. And anyway, there are so many places to be seen and appreciated. So I’m glad to have gotten a little break in a pocket of the Cotswolds for a bit, and I hope to do more exploring come summer. A definite highlight was Birdland, where Kat the penguin lives. Dreams came true here.
And it should be said, that on the whole, I enjoyed spending time with my family. I know it’s not the most common of things to have a relationship as I do with my parents and my sister, especially as we creep higher in age, so I’m always appreciative of the time I get to spend with them. And I’m grateful to get to explore different areas of the UK with them. I’ll leave it at that.
And then we boarded the train back to London, where my family left to go back to the States. I prepared for the start of the Spring term.
For much of January, I just walked around. I think in part it was in an attempt to do as many people do, and force myself into good habits at the top of the year. I’m not one for making resolutions, but I do try to start each year in a way that reflects how I want the rest of my year to unfold. So, I’ve been wandering and frequenting galleries, I sent a picture of a joint favorite painting to a friend who was missing it, hi Olivia! Ophelia says hello :)
And on the whole, I’ve been trying to engage more with media that feels more fulfilling than the usual pastime of mindlessly scrolling.
Oh, one event from January that I absolutely have to tell you about is January 21. On January 21, a horde of other Harry Styles fans and I found ourselves lined up on Carnaby Street with the hopes of getting to listen to an early stream of his latest single, “Aperture.” It was raining. I got drenched. I didn’t make the cut to listen to the song that night, but I don’t regret even a second of the four or five hours that I spent out there. It was a bit silly and dumb, and all things considered, the song was to be released the next night anyway, so there wasn’t much of a point to the whole thing, but it was fun. I shared a box of chips (fries) with an Italian girl and an Australian girl, as we chatted and huddled together waiting. I also would up walking away with a button and two posters, one for me and one for a friend (hi, again Olivia, with whom I’m friends largely because of Mr. Styles). So, for as wildly dumb as it sounds, I think this will be one of my favorite stories to tell of my time spent in London.
As for the latter half of the month, I ate a lot of toast and read a lot. I met up with that same friend who was sort of my friend before we met up a few weeks ago, and we went to Sam’s for dinner on one of her last free nights in London before going back to the States. I showed her Sylvia Plath’s house as a literature student does for another literature enthusiast.
I consumed a lot of clementines and restarted taking my vitamins after the checkout till lady told me that I both have a baby face and look tired. I called my mom later that day, and she confirmed that I do look “rough.” Thus, per her suggestion, I have been trying to take my supplements more regularly… though I do admittedly forget, and if it’s past 1 pm, I just tell myself I’ll do it the next day because it just seems wrong to take them too far past morning. Anyway.
I’ve been frequenting the Southbank more often these days, just perusing different parts of London. I quite like the little book sale that goes on beneath one of the bridges. I haven’t bought anything from it yet, but it's nice to look at the expanse of used literature. I also discovered a good cafe over there, and they had a nice chai. It was spicier than most of the ones I’ve found over here.
And that’s about it. I ate a lot of toast and soup. Drank a good bit of kombucha and many a cup of tea.
Some of the media I consumed and recommend to you:
Books-
Foster by Claire Keegan
Oranges Are Not the Only Fruit by Jeanette Winterson
Do Not Go Gentle Into That Good Night by Dylan Thomas
Music-
I Love You, But by Maya Delilah
Someone Great by LCD Soundsystem
Only When I by Alice Phoebe Lou
Yesterday by The Beatles
Dagger by Slowdive
DtMF by Bad Bunny
Got My Mojo Working by Muddy Waters
Del Water Gap’s Chasing the Chimera
Film-
The Green Knight (Dir. David Lowery)
I can say that recently, as February has begun, as far as my writing and project are concerned, I have found some progress and am crawling my way out of the slump I was in. And I credit that largely to one of my current reads, I Paint What I Want to See by Philip Guston, and some conversations I’ve had with my dear hosts, Raynes and Patrick. But more on that later. I leave you here with that. That was this January.
It’s been heavy and wonderful, and I’m trying to find a balance in it all, and make sure that my creativity is a productive rebellion and that my moments of joy are a rebellion. Because everything is political, and it’s arrogant to say that you can just exist alongside it without feeling an empathetic rage, even if it’s quiet, simmering in your nerves while witnessing the horrors going on around us that are damning and made to seem far too normal and inevitable.
https://www.standwithminnesota.com/
https://www.immigrantdefenseproject.org/raids-toolkit/
https://www.ilrc.org/community-resources/know-your-rights
https://hias.org/news/ice-raids-what-you-need-know/
https://www.nbcnews.com/news/us-news/are-cities-ice-raids-are-taking-place-rcna189390
But the world is scared of hesitatin’ things
Yeah, they only shoot the birds who cannot sing
- Noah Kahan, “The Great Divide” (2026)
Until next time, take care x
Comments
Nothing yet. Say the first thing.
Sign in to join the conversation.