Alone time is essential in blossoming into a strong vina; but books can also be a great conversation topic and a window into the world of another’s soul. Reading is one of the best ways to unwind, pass the time, explore new worlds, and bond with yourself. The way we interpret texts and the influence they have on our everyday lives says a lot about our character. I love discussing books I have read with my grandma (she reads even more than I do). I am a strong advocate for reading and an even stronger advocate for book clubs.
So… We’re starting one! Download the Hey! VINA app and meet other vinas in your area; get together and discuss the books we’re reading. Instagram a pic of your book, or your book club meet up and use the hashtag #VINAbookclub. Join us in this intellectual adventure; broaden both your mind and your vocab.
For our first round we picked a fun and relatively quick read, written by a vina of many talents. Arden Rose is a “person of the internet” with one of the longest held and most strongly followed YouTube channels; a couple of acting gigs; a book titled Almost Adulting: All You Need to Know to Get It Together (Sort Of). I, myself, am one of those Youtube subscribers, Instagram followers, and an all around proponent of Arden Rose. Recently, a friend of mine said that I remind her of Rose; now I cannot help but notice the similarities in our character, humor, and couch potato-ness. Maybe we are kindred spirits, or maybe she is just so damn relatable. She broaches sex, role models, mental health, body image, etc. in the most relatable and agreeable of ways.
As I started reading, I decided to take everything very seriously; so when Rose advises that we “sit back, grab a large mug of tea, and let’s get into it,” I jumped right up and made myself a large mug of White Tea with Blueberry and Elderflower. Only then was I truly ready to begin.
In the chapter entitled: “Creating the Perfect Apartment without Wads of Cash or Buckets of Tears” she shares her theories on how to best utilize your space (no matter the size) in order to maximize specific function and productivity whilst minimizing stress. She always suggests adding greenery to make your house a home, and if you can’t keep plants from withering up or turning brown in two days time… stick with succulents.
There is one page in this chapter in which she commands you to separate your work and sleeping spaces, clarifying that “you don’t want to become some weird person who ends up sharing a bed with a cup of coffee and a notebook.” Upon taking my nose out of the book, I found myself leaning deep into my pillows, Almost Adulting in hand, a pen and pad within reach, and the previously mentioned mug of tea precariously perched atop my duvet cover…. at least it isn’t coffee. While this is obviously not the first time this has been suggested, it may be the first time I take it into consideration. Although she is just about my age, I feel like Rose is this authoritative figure to be taken seriously and she knows what the hell she’s talking about.
Another insight Rose gives within the narrative of her life is the summer she molded herself into a morning person. She has always thought she was a “night owl,” (as have I) however she concludes that this is a made up term and with enough will power and a reasonable bed time, we are all capable of rising with the sun and getting shit done. She recalls how adult she felt those couple of months when she was going to bed before midnight and waking up before seven. I too spent a summer utilizing my mornings and I wish I had never broken that cycle. I was adulting better at the age of seventeen than I am now.
Almost Adulting: All You Need to Know to Get it Together (Sort Of) serves as a guide into the tricky waters of adulthood. A quirky read full of anecdotes and so many jokes that flow effortlessly and make you lol at nearly every turn. Rose takes some of the most difficult and salient obstacles faced by young adults and adds humor and approachableness to it. Informing us on the many strategies to overcome these obstacles; all the while reminding us that we are all human.
Grab a copy and get going! Make sure to tell us about it– tag us in an Instagram picture of your book/club and make sure to add the #VINAbookclub.
(feature image via @paolahueck)
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