Life Lessons and nostalgia

The life lessons I learned from my parents, the power in people watching and Fefe Dobson

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Welcome to Notes From Erin, a weekly newsletter highlighting things I read, listened to our other pop culture things on my mind. If you got this newsletter from a friend or on social media, please consider subscribing.

It's been awhile since the last time I wrote, and this week I am feeling a mix of things, mainly wise and like my parents. I have been getting asked different questions about life from the younger people in my life, like if I had any advice that I can give them about getting older, life, and navigating corporate America. Giving them advice made me think of life lessons I learned from my parents throughout the years. 

If you have been a reader of this newsletter for a while, you know that one of the best pieces of advice my dad ever gave me — that I can quote off the top of my head, is: 

"Money is only here to fuel the experience." 

Another piece of advice that my dad gave me that I shared is the idea of People Watching. Growing up, my dad was an avid people watcher, and I always thought it was bizarre. He would take me to the Sanrio store, and instead of allowing me to bribe him for pens and gum in the store, he would sit in the mall and watch people walk by. I would then have to go outside and beg him for money to cop my Spottie Dottie swag which was an extra step my youthful self didn't feel like doing. 

However, the older I get, I realize how much you could learn about people just by people watching. As a writer, it helped give me perspectives that I may not have ever thought of. It helps me be more imaginative, and honestly, a better communicator. Also, I think it has helped me respect the differences in people and the differences in cultures. The concept of people watching was one of the pieces of advice I gave to the young people, along with being open to experiences and figuring out the things you like to do both personally and professionally. 

I have learned other lessons from my parents and adopted most of their habits while I was a child that I hated, including falling asleep out of nowhere. I fall asleep during commercial breaks, short and long car rides, or even when my company is in the restroom. It's a trip - I'm literally the girl from the "Girls Girls Girls" video. 

"Mommy's a narcoleptic, always sleeping on Hov / gotta tie the back of her head like Deuce Bigalow."

What are some lessons or pieces of advice you would share with your younger self? 

In other news, here are some things I thought were worth sharing this week:

Ashley C. Ford’s Somebody’s Daughter

I just started reading this book over the weekend and could not put it down. I loved it so much and suggest that you read it as well. The stories that she shares throughout the book have such great detail, I felt like I could see some of the characters.

“When children are small, our desires seem small, even if we want the sky. Anything we want seems to be only a matter of time and effort away. It’s too early to imagine what’s already holding you back.”

Ashley was also a guest on one of my favorite bookworm podcasts, The Stacks Podcast, and this too is worth a listen.

Women Are Having Few Babies Because They Have More Choices (New York Times)

Interesting perspective. I feel like lately, I have read so many articles that echo this idea even though this read I shared over a year ago, is still one of my favorite reads. This quote stuck with me:

“But what if lower birthrates are a good thing? For a great many individual women, reconsidering motherhood doesn’t reflect hardship or unmet desire, but rather a new landscape of opportunity. As a country, we would be better off if we saw significant demographic changes as data points that can give us important clues about what people want, what they need and how we might improve their lives.”

Tyler the Creator CALL ME IF YOU GET LOST

Bruhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh. This album is fire. I have nothing else to say.

Fire Playlists Curated by me

Speaking of Tyler's album, I love sampled music. Listening to some of the samples on Tyler's album led me to create a new playlist called SAMPLED SUMMER. Listen to it and my other playlists: SUMMER and MELLOW for your WFH chill vibes. 

Sinead Harnett Ready is Always Too Late

I still can’t get over how good this album is and last week, I discovered my new favorite song was "Like This." My favorite song changes weekly, however. 

Fefe Dobson Is Ready To Let It All Out Again (Refinery 29)

I can remember the first time I heard Fefe Dobson. I was watching some NBA thing, and she was performing, and instantly, I was hooked. A few months ago, Fefe was interviewed on one of my favorite podcasts, Danyel Smith's"Black Girl Songbook," and now she is interviewed by Refinery 29. This interview made me happy because Fefe is returning, and I can't wait to hear what she has coming out.

Spend some of your Wednesday revisiting Fefe’s self-titled debut here.

The Real Zola (Vulture)

This week the movie Zola comes out and I cannot wait. If you aren’t familiar with the story of Zola, you may have missed the most iconic Twitter stripper thread that ever existed. This article kind of talks about the filming of the movie, the tweets, and more.

A few other things I thought were worth sharing this week:

That’s it for this week!

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