When things come back around again

STEEPED BY SAMIA #31 | 06.30.24
Musings on the unexpected & intriguing ways that things come back around.

Note: This was sitting in my drafts since March and I just wanted to post it! It’s a mix of finished & unfinished thoughts on the cyclical nature of life.

I. What does a year look like in your head?

I remember talking to my cousins about this during one Eid morning years ago. It blew our minds trying to explain the shape of a year and how it appears to us all, individually.

To me, the calendar year looks like a lopsided rectangle with slants and edges to signify seasons, where time feels slower or faster. Almost like being plopped in a board game, the year looks different in different vantage points. For example, January through March is pretty slow, while April and May lead to a downward curve into summer where time feels fast and light, despite the longer, golden evenings.

We’re already in the second half of the year, omg.

II. Things come back around again, in unexpected ways.

“Moving on from people and situations is a cyclical pattern. A rift can mend itself with time, even if it feels like it’ll never happen.” — I wrote this in a post-grad blog post in 2020, reflecting on a year of therapy. I had reread this blog post recently, because this theme surfaced in my mind and I wanted to come back to it again.

“What goes around, comes back around” is a familiar phrase in our collective conscious. It tends to have a negative connotation — and it’s bound to be a lesson learned on a sitcom TV episode. The bad thing you did that might have gone under the radar will come back to get you down the line.

But in a more neutral or intriguing way: Things simply come back around again, in unexpected ways.

A door you thought was shut for you, actually has considerable wiggle room to open. A friend who you haven’t spoken to for years sends you a Facebook message and you catch up on years of life. A childhood hobby you start doing again — let’s say, rollerblading or scrapbooking — helps you move past a roadblock.

There are so many ways, unlisted, where things come back around. Sometimes, ‘the thing’ can happen again when you’re not paying attention, coming back to you later in a strong gust of realization.

III. One day in March, when pink magnolia flowers were blooming on trees,

I went on a walk to the local art museum. In elementary school, I took a few art classes there (like oil pastels 101), and I love wandering around the exhibits and getting inspired. Their exhibits feature more BIPOC artists lately, and it’s so refreshing to enter the museum on a whim and come out with a new favorite artist to follow on the internet.

On my walk there, I was listening to an episode of This is Uncomfortable podcast, and it was so interesting. A young British musician gives himself a deadline that by 25, he’ll break into the music industry. This, unfortunately, isn’t in his cards. Years later, he gets a second, unexpected chance. His music becomes part of something much bigger and essential than he could imagine: one of his songs becomes the anthem for a freedom of expression protest in Hong Kong.

I’m in awe of the cyclical nature of our creative journeys — how we’re all just trying to make things that make us feel something, not knowing if it’ll resonate. But things can come back around in beautiful ways.

IV. Life is composed of new and familiar experiences,

— Even ones we’ve vicariously experienced over and over through family members & friends, TV shows & movies, or in our dreams.

We have expectations of what an ideal life looks like, pathways laid out by culture and society and our own values. There are so many points where our lives diverge into different pathways, from events in or out of our control. Things might come around again, but I remind myself: There is so much life to live. And I have yet to encounter and get to know different versions of myself. The possibilities ,,, 🤯 — S.A.

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 🔗 Steep On This:

• A book: Floppy by Alyssa Graybeal
• A song: Red Wine Supernova by Chappell Roan
• An anime: Tari Tari (2012)
• A podcast: Proxy with Yowei Shaw
• A newsletter: Awe in Retrospect by Sadia Nowshin
• A tea: Vanilla Lavender Chai by Herbs & Kettles

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💫 Catch Up:  

04.30.24 | April showers and such

STEEPED BY SAMIA #30: Scooping water into the ocean with a plastic shovel and pail.

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💌 About This Blog:

Steeped by Samia is a space where I can simmer on thoughts & curiosities about life, liminal spaces, digital culture, & more. Far too often, my writing ideas fizzle out in energy; I never get to see them to their full potential. While building my rhythm with writing, I want to share these stories with you. 

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