Cristian's Commonplace

In this entry: A short piece on appreciation amidst the everyday & access to my first YouTube video! Celebrate the Small Things 😌 When was the last time you took a second to celebrate something small? Maybe even something seemingly insubstantial and "ordinary." Today, it's easier than ever to get caught up in the momentous milestones that everyone curates and shares online. After a while, we might even mistake that as the norm if that's all we're inundated with. If the grand is all we engage...

In this entry: A piece on a musical and life, recent obsessions, and an update to the newsletter release schedule! Like You're Running Out of Time ⌛️✍️ My Long-Awaited First Experience of Hamilton I'm ashamed to say it: I hadn't really experienced Hamilton until last month. I'd heard of it, of course. Who hasn't? A phenomenon such as Hamilton doesn't require chronically online instincts to recognize the record-shattering musical. In fact, I was even faintly familiar with it before it became...

In this entry: We're so back! Here's a new piece on reading, friends. How I Read 📖🧐 My Current System and Why I Recommend You Develop a Reading Practice, Too I hated reading. Not only was it quite literally homework, but I would prioritize anything and everything else above it. At least, that was how I felt when I was younger. It began in elementary school, where we had mandatory "Accelerated Reader" tests that would quiz us over our reading comprehension. Summer reading books were later...

In this entry: A rant on change and related recommendations! Turning Pages & New Chapters If you take a moment to think about it, life is nothing but transition. Every one of us is in a constant state of change, no matter who or where we are. For starters, you can go the very literal route, with examples like the cell turnover rate at the foundation of our bodies or that when you finish reading this sentence, you will be a few seconds older. However, I want to point out the more obvious...

In this entry: A silly, simple piece on driving and productivity & an update on upcoming entries! The Road Densely Traveled 🚘 How Driving and Traffic Provide Simple Yet Helpful Metaphors for Growth It’s relatively easy to forget how complicated something like driving can be. Years after receiving your license, you might be able to hop in a car and drive without much effort or concentration. This is especially the case if you have your accustomed routes and destinations. Get in, go, get out....

In this entry: A special announcement & new Golden Lines! It's Been a Long Time Coming Don't ask me why, but back in college, I used to run a few miles around campus in the middle of the night. One night, as I followed my usual path through the University of Northern Iowa's defrosting grounds, I noticed bursts of light in the distance. As I approached the area, the source of the lights became much more evident. I saw that the flickering was only coming from the tennis courts nestled near the...

In this entry: A new piece on the importance of community & some related recommendations! Finding Our Way Back to Each Other 🤝 Why Community Is the Trend We All Need You remember it, don’t you? That confining isolation we all experienced a couple of years ago because of the pandemic. Every day, time seemed to stretch and bend, and the weirdness of our frightening, collective situation was very much real yet elusive. And despite the drawn-out days, that entire period seemingly vanished in a...