Hey, I’m so happy you’re here!
Photo by Gladdys Arias
Origin
For almost seven years I had a blog where I wrote mostly about big subjects around social healing, but the posts were few and far between. I’d seek to put together well-researched, insightful, and compellingly nuanced pieces. Yet, every time, the weight of my own expectations was such that I wouldn’t find joy in creating this long-form content. I wanted to bring more joy into my writing and into my life.
On “petites notes”, what can you expect in terms of form?
This blog here will go microscopic: it’ll be about the little things. I aim to post monthly and for the posts to be breathable; that is, 1,500 words each at the most. Yet, because the site is in both English and French, while the source-language posts will be under 1,500 words, the French translations might sometimes exceed this number. As for visuals, again for the sake of simplicity, I commit to choosing one visual per text, not several.
While the concept is different, it’s not a total departure from my former blog. I still intend to write from my heart, and wonder, for instance, remains an important theme. Also, the old posts haven’t disappeared: you can find them in ‘Archives’. The prose poems relating to my tribute “In Loving Memory of Miyo” can be found under the tab ‘poems-poèmes’.
As a French native speaker of Laotian-Polish descent, a great curiosity about travel and the different cultures around the globe was instilled in me from the very beginning of my life. It might be why I decided to get a master’s degree in Germanic Languages and Literatures. You could say writing in English is a way for the nerd I am to practice the language and keep a learner’s mindset. The aspiring woman of letters in me also tries to make sentences clear and readable.
What kind of content will you find here?
Through “petites notes”, hopefully, I’ll show you that small joys are within reach and that we, too, can contribute to making the magic they carry visible and felt by others.
I’d love it, if my writings could help you notice some forgotten beauty – out there or within yourself, give yourself grace, spot the sublime hiding in the minutiae of the everyday. I’d love it, if they could make hearts, including mine, a little lighter, a little warmer. I wish for us humans to look deeper at the world, and to love us – ourselves and each other – a bit better.
I believe that just because our lives are at times soft tinted rather than glittery doesn’t mean they’re not worth appreciating, that not only end results are worth celebrating, that there are causes for celebration in between milestones, that new beginnings and messy middles can brim with a sense of possibility. And what if you could even fall in love with all of it?
When the world is in turmoil, when you’re in a vulnerable place, I hope that you can find a fragment of peace under the shade of a tree, awe in an enchanting starry canopy overhead, delight in the sun ‘s warmth and the loveliness of its daily rising and setting, comfort in sipping a hot latte or putting on a fuzzy sweater. That you can allow your heart rate to slow down at the sound of birds that keep singing amid the uncertainty. The tiny things are often the most consistent ones; a simple or familiar presence we can rely on but tend to take for granted.
Say hello
I love deep conversations, listening to inspiring stories, and considering others’ perspectives. That’s why, even when writing down observations about the small, I want to touch on the profound, if only a little, for I believe the small can reveal grand things about the larger, more extraordinary parts of our brief lives. And that’s why you’re welcome to comment on my posts and share your thoughts.
Besides scribbling notes, among other things, I enjoy using my creativity in other ways, spending time offline, and hanging out with my funny cat. My bucket list includes both ordinary and extraordinary experience ideas, such as learning a sign language and seeing northern lights.
If you’d like to write a guest post for my blog or for me to write one for your site, feel free to reach out. You can also find me here
Please come back anytime!
With all my gratitude,
Surya