Natalie Audelo

satisficing: abandoning the quest for the ideal in favor of the good-enough

The idea of research as leisure activity has stayed with me because it seems to describe a kind of intellectual inquiry that comes from idiosyncratic passion and interest. It’s not about the formal credentials. It’s fundamentally about play.

Honey, I really don’t care what you have to do in order to return to a feeling of love. In your scariest moments, you have my permission to find me however you need to find me. And if “finding love” means scarfing down a box of cereal on a scary night alone in a hotel room in a foreign country, then you better believe that I was inside that box of

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Here’s something I’m very thankful I was told while I was still in my 20s: that the point of all this “hard work” is to recognize the person it makes you, not what it “gets” you

I’m starting to wonder if the process isthe art. What do you mean by that? Maybe the photographing, the writing—maybe the tangible forms of the work are only the receipts of something much more important. What do you mean by that? I’m not exactly sure yet. But I’m paying close attention.

We’re all familiar with the question every college graduate hears on repeat as soon as they’re finished with school: “What do you plan to do next?” That question invariably means, “What are your job prospects?” Meanwhile, the admonition to “get a job!” is synonymous with “grow up!”

What a soulless way to conceive of existence. What a dull invitation... See more