fractalfreckle

I’m making my comeback to this blog! I’m posting for the first time since November 2025, and I have a lot to say… but first, a prompt to help me get back into writing.

I am a resident of my phone. It helps me in many ways (and hinders me too, but that’s for another post). My top 5 favorite apps are not just what I use most, they’re also going to be apps that help me grow as a person.

My therapist recently had a conversation; I told them that I struggled to find a purpose in my life. They told me that I already have a purpose, and I have shown it every day- my purpose is bettering myself, growing, and learning with time. I show it by showing up to experiences even when I didn’t necessarily want to, by changing my once-staunchly held opinions on certain things, and by continuing to persist despite the hardship I’ve faced. We decided I’m a student of life.

A lot of the change in my mind and heart has to do with what I spend my time doing, which has also changed. I used to spend a lot of time doomscrolling on my phone, just trying to pass the time. I would find myself on Instagram Reels and YouTube Shorts more often than I’d like to admit. Now, I avoid those aspects of Instagram and YouTube, because I know I’ll come out on the other end an hour or so later, drained, and feeling like I wasted my time and energy. I still use those two apps for other reasons.

5. YouTube

I love to watch long form content from creators. It’s the opposite of short form snippets I loathe watching. I love shows from the Try Guys most of all… I’ve been watching them since they were a featured group on the Buzzfeed channel from 2014 to 2018, and watched with glee as they started their own channel apart from the company. They have a show called Killer Dinner that I’m absolutely hooked on! I also enjoy watching podcasts on this app, like Perfect Person, The Bald and the Beautiful, A Hotdog is a Sandwich, and Smosh Mouth.

4. Pinterest

Creativity starts here for me. I love to draw, and sometimes I need help with a pose to reference or a color palette to use. Pinterest has it all! I can also make collages within the app, and I’ve made a couple so far:

My pinterest is here, in case you feel like seeing what I have saved! I have boards for fashion, home decorating, art inspiration of all sorts, things I relate to, aesthetics I enjoy, and more.

3. Gallery

I love to look back on memories. I’m currently going through my entire gallery of (originally) 50,000 photos and whittling it down to only the best pictures. I’m down to 44k after a few days’ work, I know there’s lots more to do! It’s been really fun seeing what I took photos of since 2022, mostly nails and cats.

2. Kindle/Goodreads

I recently discovered that Kindle has a phone app. I used to struggle to read and because I would never pick up my physical kindle, but now that I have to ability to read on my phone, it has changed my life. I have been reading consistently every day, and I love that it has an audiobook read-along feature. I hope to get through book 1 of the Spellmonger series by Terry Mancour very soon.

1. Instagram

Number one… this is where I find my community. Whether it’s for art or for nails, I found like-minded people who I can honestly call friends now. I love talking about subjects I find interesting with people who feel the same way! I also like to show off my work, and get some approval/feedback for it. I want to continue to grow as an artist and the only way to do that is through practice, feedback from peers, and more practice.

An honorable mention is Jetpack, the app I’m using to write this blog. It’s been way too long since I’ve posted, and I’m excited to write more soon!