Sunday, June 16th 2019

I’ve been fascinated by Japanese gardens for some time. They are places that distill Japanese philosophies and aesthetics into beautifully designed landscapes, of which, bring peace to many people. A few weeks ago I moved to California and having never been to one I decided to finally make it happen. Yesterday I visited the ‘Japanese Friendship Garden’ in San Jose and to my surprise found a garden in repair. Many of the ponds are empty, the tea house is closed for repair, and the waterfalls dry. Despite this, I still found tranquility in the trees, air, paths, and living creatures.

Tuesday, March 12th 2019

Around eight months ago I decided to add two things to my everyday carry: a pocket notebook and a pen. I quickly fell in love and this decision kick-started a lifestyle I hope to keep the rest of my life.

For a few years I have collected Field Notes, mainly as a hobbyist and follower of the company. The co-founder of Field Notes, Aaron Draplin, is someone I greatly admire because of his approach to design, personality, and sense of humor. The people over at Field Notes have proven to consistently tell incredible stories through product design/marketing and have a yearly subscription service with quarterly releases that always put a smile on my face. They are simple, practical, and pure Americana.

After years of accumulating these fun little notebooks I decided it was time to stop jotting in them every couple weeks or even worse, months. The only way I was going to start putting them to use was by stuffing them in whatever pocket that they could fit. For a long time I kept one in my backpack but they typically never left the pack. Sounds cliché, but there is some truth behind, “Out of sight, out of mind” -Bigfoot.

I have always wanted to write daily. I have wanted this habit to be a part of my life for some time because I have always found peace in writing. It allows me to get the thoughts out of my brain and on paper so I can analyze those very thoughts even more. My brain can sometimes get away from me and writing increases my capacity to remember things as they come to me (even the motto for Field Notes is: “I’m not writing it down to remember it later, I’m writing is down to remember it now”). When I embarked on this journey eight months ago I didn’t write in the pocket notebook everyday, but the biggest contributor to forming my habit of writing daily was making sure I had it with me. No excuses. I told myself that, “If I can’t leave my house without my phone, I can’t leave my house without my pen and paper.” Slowly but surely I would remember it was with me when I had an idea I wanted to remember or if I heard someone say something I wanted to think about. Now, it has become second nature to write in them and they help me get things done!

One of the most enjoyable parts of working with these tiny books has been my system. I told myself early on that I would be okay with constantly evolving my syntax, even if I thought I “got it right”. How I write each day has changed significantly from when I started and has been influenced by trial+error and also conversations with a close friend who is also enjoying this hobby with me. I like my system right now but can’t wait to see what other cultures I adopt in the future. Currently, I log what I eat for each meal, the events of the day, my main priority for the day, other “lesser” priorities, and my thoughts on how I am doing or what is going on around me. Each day is a personal taste into my life, my appetites and desires, and who I want to be.

Using these analog tools everyday has been life changing (I will write about pens/pencils in the future, trust me). These tools allow me to slow down and really think about what I am going to write and why. They are also a joy to handle and their beauty sparks a deeper appreciation for craft and great design. I cherish the sight of a worn and weathered pocket notebook. I highly recommend adopting analog tools into your daily digital life and my hope is you too will fall in love. If any readers ever want a recommendation on which tool to add to your life, I am willing to try and give the best possible answer.

Thursday, January 24th 2019

Welcome any and every one! The purpose of this post is to establish why I am doing this, for the reader (if any), and honestly for me to figure it out too. I remember in 3rd grade when we would go to the computer lab for for an hour-block to play “Type to Learn” and I would open the browser and try to type “www.keegancherry.com” as fast as I could. It would always result in a “Server Not Found” but 10 year-old me was okay with that because I imagined that someday I would have my own website. Well, here we are and again, welcome.

Some of you may be asking, “Why a website/blog?” or “Why not just use the plethora of apps we are all on and write there?” I have many answers to those questions but I will keep it short so I can move on. I love design and want to have as much control as possible over how my content is presented, privacy, ownership, and this is the best place for my vision.

Vision, you ask? Here is the meat and potatoes (there are vegan options if you want as well). Writing has always been a form of liberation for me, and I want to write more and more. My hope with this site is that I will be able to transfer the thoughts from my brain and the feelings from my heart into words for the world to read. If no one reads this or finds enjoyment in it, that is okay with me. If people read it and completely disagree with my philosophies or opinions, that is okay with me as well. The beauty of the Internet is that it is typically written in ink (a curse for many but a joy for me) and if I write here for as long as I plan I hope that you will see the most important thing we can all learn to embrace, change. I anticipate you will see me change my opinions on certain things as I gain new knowledge and/or someone/something changes my mind. This site will be an extension of who I am. I am excited to share with you my love for stationery, my connection to the outdoors, my passions for design, photography, my joy from a good laugh, places traveled, philosophy, the books I am reading, and so much more. Contrary to popular belief, I think the world is capable of more good than it is for evil. Hopefully this site brings some of you happiness as I share the things I have come to learn and enjoy.

As of right now, my plan is to write here biweekly, while I work full-time and do college practically full-time. For those of you using an RSS aggregator there is a link at the top, for others check here every so often, if you please. I will continue to evolve this site so that it can be as open and accessible as possible. I am a man that is searching after the old, in order to understand the present, and continue to stay hungry for the future.

Ta-ta for now!