what if you're the magic?

2024: a Play in 12 Acts

I have recently learned the lesson that there is power in being yourself. Yes, I’m talking about the same lesson we are told from the second we are born, whispered from the lips of our mothers and performed at us via Barney & Friends. It’s the kind of lesson that’s so obvious the only person you will actually learn it from is you. I’m approaching the end of my twenties, and upon dissecting the decade I’ve realized that every good thing that’s come my way has been a reward for affirming my truest self.

This year could be the birthday I mourn something lost from my past or imagine endless doors closing around me, but instead, it reminds me how much beauty has come into my life and how recent so much of it is. keepsake comes to mind. This newsletter that even a year ago I didn’t have has given me so much purpose, creativity, and agency. Three years ago, I moved to New York, and my life exploded with color and the warmth of new relationships and exciting opportunities. Two years ago, I adopted my cat, who sleeps on my thigh every night. How can I fear the years to come when life just keeps getting more beautiful?

I speak about this realization like it’s a brand-new philosophy. It’s like a little incantation I can call upon whenever necessary. I consider where I’m at in my career, friendships, and creative pursuits. I think about all my possible shortcomings that are so cruelly blocking me from getting what I want. Then I remember the magic and the world opens up to me.

“I feel like I’m on the precipice of something very powerful,” I tell my sister. “I feel like I can get whatever I want right now, so I have to be very careful about what I pick. I think there’s a major change coming.”

It’s a potent drug to believe in yourself. It’s like greeting a soldier home from war after years of trying to fight myself away. I’ve told countless friends about my new superpower— being myself. I don’t have degrees from prestigious universities or every experience under my belt, but I have a unique perspective, and I know that it’s worth sharing. I have an innate excitement about the world around me that is a key part of who I am. I’m a happy person, I’m a lucky person, and I can create something out of nothing with only my mind.

October: Magic

Casting spells, shifting perspectives, owning your power

• Make your own magic. In the supernatural spirit of the season, it’s time to lean into your charms. Welcome the witchy! Don’t wait for things to happen to you; make room for them.

• Insist on yourself. What if the most magical thing about October is that it’s the month you finally realize you are all you’ve ever needed to be? You’re the missing piece for others; you bring something special wherever you go? If this feels foreign, try committing to just four weeks where you believe being yourself is exactly what you need right now.

• Embrace the woo. Maybe it’s something you do every month or something you’ve been curious about. This could look like getting really into astrology, booking a tarot reading, doing a past life meditation, seeking out angel numbers, or pretty much anything unexplainably wonderful and strange.

• Honor autumn. I plan to take at least one trip upstate to surround myself with changing leaves, seasonal goodies, and crispy fall air. The obsession with fall is real, so it should be easy enough to find some fun activities in your city or have a little harvest dinner with your friends to celebrate.

• Go analog. October is about being cozy. Yes, sometimes this means watching fall movies, but I think it should also mean unplugging a bit. Imagine you’re reading a book…in October. You’re on your couch, it’s a dark stormy night…in October! You’re journaling, you’re drawing, you’re knitting by candlelight. It’s all very romantic if you ask me.

♡︎ Buy a fall candle. That’s right someone is telling you that you have to it’s a perfect excuse. You have no choice.

♡︎ Indulge in routine. It’s still kind of back to school vibes amongst all this witchiness. It can be a skincare routine, it can be a daily foliage walk…make it a ritual.

♡︎ Stick to your guns. Don’t second guess yourself this month you’re too magical for that.

At a very young age, I was convinced of my magical prowess. I couldn’t stand the thought of being unremarkable or ordinary in any way. When I was little, I thought I was an alien, and my soul was accidentally exchanged in utero with a human’s. In my true life, I was a princess on the planet Saturn, and I would look at the clouds and imagine a homeland waiting for me. Then I got into Ouija, searching every interaction for a clue about who came before me and who I would be next. I’d describe visits from ghosts, pointed out translucent cats I saw haunting old houses. I even cast a few spells in elementary school called ‘color changing spells,’ where I’d stare at a flower long enough to convince myself it shifted a slightly different shade of pink.

This otherworldly magic felt like it was always at my fingertips as a child. There are pieces I keep with me, but a large part of my third eye has been shut off in adulthood. I’m simultaneously worried that if I tried to open the door wider, I would be met with something bigger than myself, and that nothing would be there at all. I can see, looking back, that some of my paranormal experiences were real, but a lot of it was probably a little kid hoping to be defined by something else. I wish I knew that the best kind of magic, the purest form, came from me the whole time. Not a ghostly visitor, not an alien form, just myself.

I still leave a light on for magic outside me, out in the world. It always seems to find me, especially when I let myself look.

⊹₊ september favorites ₊ ⊹

By far, the highlight of the month has to be my trip to Mexico City. I wrote a bit about it here for an earlier keepsake. It was my first time in Mexico, and I fell in love with it. If you’re planning your trip, definitely make a reservation at Blanco Colima, book a food tour with Eat Like a Local, and take your time at the Frida Kahlo House.

This month I was honored to be invited out with Zeen (the people who brought you Landing!) to celebrate the launch of their brand-new app. It should be available 10/3, and with the sneak peek I got I know keepsakers will love it. It’s part design, part collage, part shoppable blog.

Lastly, I’m giving a little shoutout to Nuuly. Certainly isn’t my first month using it, but perhaps the first month I’ve used it to the fullest. I had so much fun building outfits for my trip and beyond. It’s inspired me to share more #ootds and make a little album in my camera roll to track the outfits I like best.

P.S.

I’m working on a special end of year project called keepsake yearbook club. If you submit some photos and fill in the prompts you can be featured alongside fellow keepsakers for an end of year review!

This will be a glossary somewhere digital, but I’m working on a physical version too.

All the school spirit of yearbook club (shout out to those in the keepsake chat that already submitted!) has me dreaming up fun product options to close out the first year of keepsake with.

I’m excited to be expanding what keepsake entails. I have a new segment coming to my paid subscribers called Inspo Dump where I’ll share inspirational items from across the internet, creative prompts, and bonus material. If you upgrade to paid now you should receive the first one in a few days (!!!)

Have a magical October in the meantime,

xo Julianna