after a week of unexpected warmth, it's snowing again

Yesterday afternoon, I went downtown with Natalie to attend the new Munch exhibit at the Art Institute. I was eternally grateful that she came with me, not because company was imperative but I had a genuinely good time. The lecture I was so excited about turned out to be a bit of a flop, and there were so many people at the exhibition because it was a members-only preview two days before inaugural weekend. But the Art Institute is such a refreshing place, and afterwards, wandering around on State Street in disappointment because everywhere was closed but Starbucks, we finally settled down to drink tea for an hour until the final establishment in Chicago locked its doors for the night.

This is also approximately when Natalie said the exact thing that I've been looking for people to tell me (but didn't realize until that moment that it was exactly what I was looking for; such is the nature of such things), and the floodgates of thought opened. As a result, today I finally went out to seek closure; closure was what I found. It had nothing to do with the situation but rather my approach, and I think I've realized what I need to know at long last.

I've also decided that it's not worth it to be so dissatisfied all the time. I can't help it sometimes when I look at people like Emmy and Evan, who are just so passionate about what they do and can't get enough of the beauty they see. I feel this strong urgency to catch up to them. I want to believe in something beautiful!