Sharing my latest creation stemmed from living life with it’s ups and downs, this zine was made when the downs hit hardest. In this one-pager, this zine is a call to action for trying what you can in increments I called levels. This zine also reminds us of two things: living for ourselves and having community.
Why levels?
Like a video game and grade school, it only gets more challenging as you progress. And like a video game and grade school, the goal is not to rush you through these challenges as hard as possible, but to gradually build up these challenges as you build yourself up.
I have broken my challenges up to 4 levels:
- Level 1 – The Basics: These items are what starts our day and are essential to live. And while they seem like the bare minimums, they’re also sometimes challenging when you’re with low energy levels and motivation. Setting this level, I wanted to remind myself that every action taken is a choice. I decided to open my eyes to see the world. I take a deep breathe in to live. The last challenge is changing into different clothes as that is the final step of getting out of bed and sets us up for the next level.
- Level 2 – Maintenance: Maintenance is increased to what the bare minimum of a day is in (somewhat) solitude. Yes, water and food are essential to sustaining life, and I find that choosing to do so should be in level 2 as level 1 was to get up. Maintenance is about keeping your life steady and maintained with nutrition, physical activity, hygiene, and light socializing.
- Level 3 – For Yourself: In this section, the challenges now ask for you to do things for yourself. It’s a reminder that your life is controlled by you and the choices you make are yours and yours alone. This is where creativity and expression reinforce identity.
- Level 4 – With Others: The final section asks for us to interact with others by extending connection. With the previous levels, you have taken care of yourself and built yourself back up to a functioning adult living life for yourself. You are prepared now to extend your energy and time to build or reinforce connection with others.
“Living for Yourself” vs “We are Social Creatures.”
For levels 3 and 4, I expanded on the reason for these levels with two short pieces. I believe we truly should live for ourselves and what we want to do. I also believe that we are social creatures that should have connection to live. They almost sound like they conflict. I think they go hand-in-hand.
Living for yourself is so vital. We’ve seen the power of influencers, advertising, and social media that glamorizes only the good parts and the end results. To live for yourself is to control your path and choice. If your choice is a popular one, instead of emulating that from an social media post, make that choice in your own style and journey. The most important person for you is you.
We are social creatures and to be social is part of humanity. Socializing helps with finding community and making a place a home. And in meeting others in a space meant to socialize, you find your paradigm of the world open up, even if it’s just for a little bit.
Conclusion
My first zine was made originally for myself and dedicated to myself that struggled in 2016. That year, I had hit rock bottom and finally reached out for help for my clinical depression. This zine is my own inner voice that fought to live again.
What is a zine?
Merriam-Webster defines a “zine” as “a noncommercial… publication usually devoted to specialized and often unconventional subject matter.” These are often homemade and self-published. Zines are created out of wanting to convey something, be it a message, art, stories, lessons, etc.
This is Lina 