self portrait at 25
who would I become?
During the Greek Art Revolution, marbles began to think. Rigid, flat representations of human bodies suddenly had inner worlds – sculptures eternalized in moments of thought, emotion, the exertion of a muscle. How exactly this transformation occurred remains mysterious1, but I suspect its catalyst coincided with the philosophical renaissance that forever changed how we see and know ourselves.
We are cultures of visions. Writing and image-making both spring from this desire to see, and what we visualize is always self-seeing. Through these images we find traces of our thoughts and beliefs.
What begins as avant-garde becomes historical inheritance, passed down until it’s etched into our psyche, taken for granted. At some inflection point, enough believers tip the balance and declare a new era.
Perhaps the spirit of Parrhesia, Logos, and Dēmokratía2 spread even when education was limited – from those who sat in Plato’s Academy to eavesdroppers in the agora, from artisans executing commissions to the lightning-strike moment of seeing a first piece art that was… different. Those who wanted to learn found ways to engage: they adapted, questioned, practiced. Ideas, unlike gold or grain, take flight and search for fertile minds to root in.
I wonder if we’re living through our own kind of revolution in how we see and shape ourselves.
Life has been full. When I step back, everything calls for gratitude. Glia is growing up fast – poking its head out like a sprout, making new friends. Sacha and I are learning to love and support each other through all the new beginnings. Serene and I spent the summer restlessly building together. Sometimes, when change is constant and supercharged by growth, even the slightest shift of pace can feel discombobulating.
Life starts to scream you must get ready and serious for your higher-stake responsibilities. But it’s also, as always, loving, blessing me with kind and generous people who’ve become my chosen family.
Who would’ve thought building a startup could be the answer to life’s questions? This summer, I’m slowly finding my own pace. Working seven days a week while still growing in multi-faceted ways. Choosing equilibrated serenity over chaos. Always delivering work worthy of my self-respect.
We ask ourselves: if we succeed, would the world look different? Better? Would our relationship with technology resemble trust and human flourishing – softer, kinder, more intentional? Is that worth spending our good years fighting for?
Worth the out-of-breath ascents?
Because damn, the scenery is heart-stoppingly stunning. Never-before-seen.
And perhaps more importantly – who would I become? Whenever someone asks where I see myself in six months, in a year, I feel daunted and exhilarated by how unrecognizable that future self will be.
But I have an idea of how I want to sculpt my marble. Staying authentic, bold, generous. Confident not from flamboyancy but inner conviction. I want to speak clearly and truthfully. To be gentle, to hold space for others, never to dominate. To let creativity unfurl and dream up things that feel like magic.
As both the sculptor and the marble, we see and become at once.
Sipping Earl Grey on a sunny London day,
Erica
Edited on my flight to Shanghai, Sep 30
Beard, M. (2018). Civilisations: How Do We Look/The Eye of Faith. Profile Books.
Parrhesia (παρρησία) fearless speech or frank discourse
Logos (λόγος) - reason, rational thought
dēmokratía (δημoκρατία) democracy, people power
Keep it up ☺️