Week of Feb 10th: think of a lyric that's been on your mind/stuck in your head recently (and if you don't have any, then just feel free to look for one that resonates right now) and write something based on it!

"I said it's nice to love and be loved / But I'd rather know what God knows" - Pawn Shop Blues by Lana Del Rey

Every night I went to sleep in the firm palm of your hand. I dug my knees under my chin and closed my eyes as your fingers curled around me. There were no doubts when it came to you, only the palm of your open hand for me to walk across day in and day out. As you looked down at me, your head would block my view of the stars. After many of these same nights passed, I no longer found myself eager to dip into the small pools of your eyes. I wanted to be sailing in the middle of a vast ocean and I couldn’t do that while you were always latched onto the back of my neck. I picture a dollhouse you would have built for me to live in. You would whisper compliments through a tiny door, so your words filled the rooms with a thick, muggy sweetness. I don’t think you could ever understand that I needed the bitter wind across my face and roads so rocky that they pierced my shoes. You only see me walking with my own fists clenched and my upturned head, spitting insults at your feet as I walked away. Your love was a warm refuge from the cold of the world I wished to see, but that I never would know about if I stayed in the familiar creases of your hand.

Week of Mar 3rd: write about something you wonder if others do, too

There were moments when everything flowed into one and the clock face became arbitrary symbols lit up in my phone’s top corner - one two three, until the sky darkened. I tried to ignore my body leaving its curved outline in my bedsheets, the sweat pooling in the creases of my skin and the bitter morning taste still lingering in my mouth. Faint bursts of light flickered in my eyes while I felt content cave in over me in thick clouds of smog and debris, each particle so thin that I couldn’t seem to hold onto any of it. I could feel my soul thin and tear like decaying flesh and steam seep through its growing pores, leaking my deferred dreams rotted and black. I let my eyes close and allowed my fingertips to brush across the sharp edge of the scythe. It has been a while since I’ve fallen into this familiar state, but a sand timer still hangs above my head and I wonder if anyone else can’t help but sit and fear the sound of the soft sprinkle of the grains through the glass.

Week of Apr 14th: write something about another piece of media-- an analysis, a response, a deeper exploration, a mutilation. think about something you've read, watched, seen lately, and take your time with writing about it

Interwoven throughout all of Lana Del Rey’s music is the theme of love and the role it plays in her life. She constructs a world out of her lyrics so palpable and central to her artistic identity, but where this world blooms and signals her trademark ‘Americana’ style can without a doubt be directed to her debut album Born to Die. However, one song has recently stuck out to me on this album, which is Off to the Races. References to Vladimir Nabokov’s Lolita constitute much of the lyrics. She tells a ‘love’ story of a relationship with her “old man” in reference to Lolita’s perverted stepfather Humbert Humbert and directly quotes Humbert’s own words, “Light of my life, fire of my loins” to describe her lover. Lana is infatuated with this man and desires him to save her so that she can be his. From the perspective of her lyrics, it is apparent that Lana resembles Lolita, but where the story and song differ is that Lana and her lover share a reciprocated passion for each other, while the book depicts a one-sided obsession over Lolita by Humbert. However, despite this seemingly being a love song, Lana’s innocence slips through, as her extreme adoration may be representative of her naivety and blind trust for a man who may not have her best interests in mind. She is young and carefree and this man has enveloped her entire life and heart. It is clear why many of Lana’s songs have been deemed controversial, most notably for their romanticisation of taboo topics, such as large age-gap and abusive relationships. While I am not defending this song, I believe the problematic relationship or unhealthy behaviours depicted in its lyrics may reflect real moments in Lana’s past which she aims to find beauty in - portraying her rose coloured perceptions through her lyrics and memorable sound. The imagery in Off to the Races stares right at you, particularly the colours of her white bathing suit, red nails and red dress, as well as the portrait of her lover - his gold chain with a cigar hanging from his lips. You can picture them running through America’s west drinking and stealing with only each other on their minds. She invites you into the world she has so carefully crafted out of her own experiences and you almost forget the ugliness that could lie beneath its manicured beauty. What I love about Lana’s music is the maturity and growth which can be noticed when working through her entire discography from Born to Die to her most recent Did You Know That There’s a Tunnel Under Ocean Blvd. Born to Die, I believe, represents her most chaotic as she navigates love and passion in the sun-baked backdrop of an L.A. landscape, with Off to the Races personally being the most prominent. The song captures the beginnings of her music journey (under the name Lana Del Rey), establishing her position as a storyteller who can create worlds out of her own experiences, with the love she feels and has felt strewn across every part of them - “I need you, I breathe you, I'd never leave you”.