Editor's Letter December
Photo originally shot by Harley Weir for i-D.
You gotta go inward
To experience the outer space
That was built for you
“Freq” by Pharrell Williams ft. Jojo on GIRL
December is all about SELF here at Brainwash.
This idea of SELF is all about deconstruction with intent. It’s this idea of sitting with oneself and actively figuring out what matters most. Who am I? What do I like? How can I self-actualize? On A Seat at the Table we see Solange navigate through bouts of depression and anger and love and acceptance and come out on the other side victorious. What steps must one take to truly design the world in which they want to exist in? These sort of questions are precisely the ones that we shall be asking ourselves throughout the month of December.
As the prophetess Ru Paul says at the end of every episode of Ru Paul’s Drag Race, "if you can’t love yourself how in the hell are you going to love someone else?" As we wrap up the hot mess that was 2016, December is the perfect time to grapple with our idea of SELF. Chilly mornings and 4pm sunsets lend themselves to reflection and introspection. It is precisely during this time where we retreat into our safe spaces; take inventory of all of the events that occurred over the course of the past 11 months and figure out what we will take with us into the New Year and what must be left behind.
It is time to level up. *insert clip of SchoolBoy Q saying "levitate" here*
You have 31 days to figure it out. So we want to hear from you! Here are some ideas to get you started.
Some ideas to think about:
Daily Routines
Passion Projects
Wellness/ Self Care
Emotional Baggage- Sorting through your own emotions
DIY Projects
Impact of a Trump Presidency on one’s psyche
Culture References to pull from:
ATCQ’s We Got It From Here, Thank You for Your Service
Gilmore Girls Reboot
HeyFranHey 3 Life Lessons I’ve Learned From My Struggles with Youtube
Solange’s “Cranes in the Sky”
FOR VISUAL ARTISTS:
Here are some reference images for this month’s vibes here.
SUBMISSIONS GUIDELINES:
If you would like to be a Brainwash contributor this month, send your draft to ayanna@brainwashdigital.com with “December: Submissions” in the subject line by Saturday, December 10th at 11:59pm.
Included in the body of the email must be a brief description of what the piece is about and why you feel this particular story must be told.
Please note that drafts do not need to be complete but must give the editor a clear vision of where you plan to go with the ideas being presented in the draft.
Should you decide that you would like to do a visual story for Brainwash please send some photos of your work and copy of about 150 words describing what the work will look like and what is happening in the piece.