Quiet in Blue

______I once read a book where the story's main character was transported from one dimension to another; initially residing in a bustling city, cacophonous from dawn to dusk, she was abruptly transported to a time and place where the sounds of a modern city waned. She noticed, after a few weeks, how at peace she felt with herself and those around her. How every interaction was savored, unhurriedly, how every situation gleamed newness from all that did not distract her. Nothing seemed to irritate her and everything was slow, meditative, deliberate.

______My upstairs neighbors moved out what must have been a couple days ago. I recently returned to my apartment after a week at home and immediately felt the quiet, palpable as ever. There weren't any heavy feet pattering from one side of my ceiling to the next, and chair legs no longer scraped the linoleum. Usually, even into the wee hours of the morning, I'd hear water trickling through the walls, feet shuffling, cabinets opening and closing. If the way my body reacted to these sounds was a line graph, the line would surge sharply with each sound I heard. But now, it was a shallow, undulating line, at ease with the knowledge there would be no surprises in what I was hearing.

______I like the quiet. I'm drawn to the slow serenity nature boasts season to season, from twigs snapping crisply in autumn to the buzzing of bugs in deep summer. I enjoy the sounds birds make, the nocturnes of night owls and the melodies of robins, but the clamor of a metal utensil scraping against a ceramic dish or the drone of vacuuming ramps up my heart rate. I don't know why this is, but I listen to it and can't seem to shake it off as just white noise; unlike nature, it does not eventually fade into the background undetected.

______I think the quiet is an experience I try to recreate in whatever environment I'm in; at home, it's by pairing the soft, orange flames of candles with something I'm interacting with--a drawing, a book, even something on Netflix. In my studio, it's music that cancels out other noises alongside an organized space.

What is the quiet to you?

Dress: Scheels (similar)
Heels: Charlotte Russe (similar)
Earrings: Charming Charlie (similar)
Necklace: Forever 21