my take on dark academia. i tried adding new photos & faces for those searching for more poc dark academia inspiration.

i don’t own these photos — all photos with links can be found on my pinterest: marieinanutshell (dark academia board)

As much as I love dark academia, here are my personal additions/suggestions:

- girls of color helping each other with complex protective hairstyles before class

- diverse study groups using ancient philosophies and myths to argue against modern systemic issues (ex. plutus)

- falling into research rabbit holes after learning about the whitewashing of ancient greece (the STATUES vex me)

- responding to racist comments with an eye roll and thoroughly researched and rehearsed responses 

- veering (slightly) off topic in essays to talk about racism and other issues close to their hearts, and getting a better grade because of it

- dealing with microaggressions from classmates and teachers- in a very da way- mysterious but direct (and lowkey pretentious)

POC BELONG IN DARK ACADEMIA. ALWAYS.

“The caged bird sings   with a fearful trill   of things unknown   but longed for still   and his tune is heard   on the distant hill   for the caged bird   sings of freedom.” - Dr. Maya Angelou “Caged Bird” I Know Why The Caged Bird Sings

i miss you a lot. i keep thinking about how you looked with your head tilted back, laughing. i’ve lost lovers before and wept over my fingers. but what am i going to cry about this time? you were just my best friend. i still know your birthday and your favorite color and how you feel about lemonade and how you sound singing at the top of your lungs. like, i still think about you at night, wondering if you’re doing alright - but when i reach out, we walk the same six conversations - how’s it going? haha yeah that’s crazy. oh cool! yeah totally. yeah i’m busy too. hope we can see each other soon. i know we’re different people now. but you know. somehow, i still love you.

“Life is pure adventure, and the sooner we realize that, the quicker we will be able to treat life as art.”

— Maya Angelou

“You are the accumulation of screenshot messages I never got the heart to delete. You are the sunset I watched, racing down the city bridge. You are the words I scribbled down at 2 am after you fell asleep. You are the old fantasies of “forever”. You are just memories. You were just right, until you left. These beautiful memories are turning into nightmares.”

— I Have Nothing. |(Morsus Engel)|

Sylvia Plath, The Unabridged Journals of Sylvia Plath

“It seems I’ve stopped speaking with my voice. Part of me fell asleep and just watches.”

— Fernando Pessoa, “The Mariner”

“If I write what I feel, it’s to reduce the fever of feeling.”

— Fernando Pessoa; “The Book of Disquiet”

“The truth is rarely pure and never simple.”

— Oscar Wilde, The Importance of Being Earnest

“Be clearly aware of the stars and infinity on high. Then life seems almost enchanted after all.”

— Vincent Van Gogh

love is not just the soft place but also the place where you have to look at yourself and ask, “can i be better? can i be kinder? can i give more? can i listen more? can i grow? can i support?” 

If I could do girlhood again, I’d ask

to be scarier. Less whimpering—more pyromaniac

urges, more flirting with kerosene.

— Sally Wen Mao, from “Drop-kick Aria,” Mad Honey Symposium

“If you love yourself, you love others. If you hate yourself, you hate others. Because in relationship with others … the other is nothing but a mirror.”

— Osho (via goodreadss)