I read a lot of books. I always have and I hope I always will. There’s nothing like experiencing an entirely different life or seeing brand new worlds or diving into the depths of knowledge books contain.
Whether a book is fictional or factual, I always learn something about myself or the world that is worth remembering. To help me remember all of those things, I’ve kept notebooks where I write down my favorite book quotes or “sparklets”. I recently learned that these notebooks can be called florilegia … isn’t that a pretty word? I feel fancy just saying it. By putting sparklets from different books together in a florilegium, you end up finding wisdom and insight that you might not have otherwise.
I don’t think I want this to be a book blog, but I do spend a lot of time reading. It’s a big part of who I am and I want to share that with people. So I had an idea…
Without further adieu, here is my very first Florilegium post:
Oathbringer by Brandon Sanderson
“He’d once believed he had been four men in his life, but now he saw he’d grossly underestimated. He hadn’t lived as two, or four, or six men – he had lived as thousands, for each day he became someone slightly different. He hadn’t changed in one giant leap, but across a million little steps.”
Oathbringer, p. 1185
Every morning, I wake up as a brand new person, a version of myself that didn’t exist the day before. Our entire beings are constantly in the process of imperceptible changes that add up to monumental differences over time. If the past-Amandas from 5 years ago or 10 years ago were to meet me today, I’m not sure they would recognize me. I’m not even 100% sure they would like me.
Almost two years ago, I got a small tattoo on my right forearm, in part to remind myself that change is a part of life, and that it’s okay to allow yourself to become someone new.
I don’t think I spend enough time honoring all of those people I have been. My past selves spent a lot of time trying and working and laughing and suffering and learning and crying and dreaming… and without all of that, I would be a completely different human than I am today.
Regardless of the mistakes my past selves have made and the ones my future selves most certainly will make, they deserve to be celebrated and thanked. Same goes for you and all the people you have been or will be.
Shout out to my fave podcast Harry Potter and the Sacred Text for teaching me about florilegia. ♥
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