Hey, I’m Eli!
Welcome to Lumens Lifestyle, a lifestyle blog about my DIY journey to fitting in and standing out! I’m Eli: the blogger, content creator, and Lumens behind the keyboard!
About Eli
I’m a passionate, coffee-fueled grad student trying to create my own path through life. I’ve found a lot of places where I don’t fit in, so I’ve decided to embrace new ways of standing out: DIY style.
“Eli: quirky, artsy, heart of gold, a lil pessimistic, full of righteous fury, intense but in a good way with like infectious fired-up-ness”
Margaret Shinn – my best friend, my person, and my oft photographer
Fun facts about Eli:
Favourite books: A Tree Grows in Brooklyn and The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy
Favourite colours: blue, purple, black…
Favourite food: broccoli (tied with dark chocolate, obviously!)
Favourite place I’ve traveled to: Bucharest, Romania
My hobbies: blogging (duh!), photography, dancing, justifying my TimBit and caffeine addictions
My Starbucks order: black coffee, which cuts down on my wait time for my drink, or iced coffee if I have the time and patience to wait (or if I mobile order from my car in the parking lot)
What is DIY-ing your life?
I started Lumens Lifestyle as a way to share my ideas and experiences with DIY-ing my life. While I hope it will go better than some of the projects I’ve tried from Pinterest, I will be sharing the good, the bad, and the in between with all of you!
Why should you listen to me?
I don’t know about you, but I grew up hearing about this cookie-cutter life that I was supposed to pursue. You go to college, meet your future spouse, graduate with your pick of 9-5 job offers, and then go on to get married and have a brood of young’ns to continue the cycle.
Sounds simple, right?
Wrong.
Really, I tried to follow that plan. I decided to go to college for a degree that I thought would give me the financial stability I craved. I won’t speak much to my dating life, but I felt like I was following the plan.
For the first little bit, it went well. It didn’t take long for it to come crashing down, though.
It took some time for me to get my head above water, but I eventually realized that this plan was a lot like following a Pinterest DIY. The pretty colours, seemingly simple instructions, and lofty promises had pulled me in.
So, how did I fix it?
Well, you’ll have to read my posts to find out!
In all seriousness, it was really hard. Going against the grain is difficult, but I worked at it every day to forge a new path for myself.
I changed my major, did crazy things with my hair, and fostered friendships that I believe will last a lifetime. It took everything I had and then some to get back on my feet, honestly.
Was it worth it in the end?
Hell yes.
I found out that I’m stronger than I ever thought possible, and I’m confident that I can handle anything.
What’s my plan now?
Long story short, I don’t really have one.
I graduated from undergrad with a degree that was closer to my interests, but without my pick of 9-5 job offers. I decided to go to straight into online graduate school for something I actually enjoy.
When the 2019 ball dropped in Times Square, I was settling into living with my long-term girlfriend in snowy Montréal, Quebec. Being here, in this beautiful and accepting place, I’ve found the peace and happiness that I’ve searched for all my life.
The only plan I have right now is to keep living my life: for me. I’m not going to let society limit my existence with its predetermined script and checkboxes.
I am going to be apologetically myself.