What I Need Everyday: My Essentials

As a student running around everywhere, I realized that having a set group of items that help me during my life are essential; hence, the title “My Essentials.” I use everything here practically everyday to help make my life a little bit easier or better. I’m a pretty picky guy, so I tend to attach myself to things that I really like. For instance, I always need to use that one pen or wear that one hat because it just writes or fits perfectly for me, which can be annoying at times for me and for others. But I’ve come to embrace this side of myself, and now I just think of it as carefully curating my personal belongings (sounds fancier than it actually is).

Water Bottle

As a college student, there are stations around my campus that refill my water bottle, so I tend to go through it around 3-4 times a day. I’ve been trying to be healthier and stay hydrated. I say that I drink around 2 liters a day, but that, of course, varies. My water bottle of choice is a simple 21 oz Hydro Flask. It’s small enough to carry around by itself and keep in my bag, but it’s also big enough to keep enough water to last 1 or 2 hours. The outside is coated with a material rougher than what’s on the outside of a Swell, so it doesn’t slip as easily. 

Airpods

I’ve always been trying to find the best pair of headphones. And by the best, I don’t necessarily mean the best quality. The best for me is the perfect harmony of practical usability and quality, and the Apple Airpods satisfy these requirements really well. They perfectly fit in my left pocket and never fall out of my ears no matter the activity. I actually used to own a previous pair of Airpods that I tragically lost on the last day of high school. I barely survived a week without them until I bought myself another pair. Once you go completely wireless, it’s hard to revert to wires. This piece of technology is truly revolutionary, and I’m excited to see where it will take us in the future. 

Bullet Journal and Pen

This item is fairly new on my list compared to the others because I only started bullet journaling this year. Still got some mixed feelings when it comes to the actual system of it, but one thing’s sure: I can’t go anywhere without it now. I write down anything and everything that I need to remember in my everyday life whether it’s assignments, work, events, or just random ideas. It takes a while to get used to outlining every week and month, but for me this process has become kinda therapeutic. Just being able to see my assignments for the week as an overview gets me prepared for the shit that I’ll be going through. I’m using an olive Leuchtturm 1917 dotted notebook just because I got it for free. For my pen of choice, I’m using a Uniball Jetstream 0.5 mm, which is thin enough for my small handwriting and smooth enough to write for a long time. It also doesn’t smudge write after you write with it, which is huge for me because I always end up smudging the ink everywhere. This pisses me off. 

Wallet

This one probably seems obvious for most people, but I included it because it’s really an essential part of my life. I hardly carry any cash. But if I do, it’s usually a $5 bill or a $10 bill (iykyk). Otherwise, I like to keep my wallet fairly slim with only the essential cards and the occasional polaroid. I’m currently using a Montblanc card holder, and it has held up nicely despite my abusing it. However, when I travel to another country, I always want to carry around some cash, so I carry around my Comme des Garçons half-zip wallet that I got from Haven in Vancouver. This one has been a favorite of mine for a while, too, but I’ve just stopped carrying cash, so I don’t really use it. As for the contents of the wallet, I just carry the basics: a debit card, a credit card, a Venmo card, student ID, and a Metro Card. 

Hoodie

This may be just a piece of clothing for some people, but for me a hoodie has become a staple piece of my life, especially one with a proper-size hood and a pocket. I prefer the hoodie to be a little oversized, but having a fitted hoodie has its perks, too. Right now my favorite hoodie is just a simple navy Champion Reverse-weave Hoodie with my school’s name on it. It goes with everything and is easy to wear, but most importantly, it’s a little bit oversized making it mad comfortable. 

Hat

Those who know me definitely know that a hat is essential for Josh. My hair tends to be okay when it’s short, but has a mind of its own after a couple weeks from the clippers. To make matters worse, I have a big-ass head, so regular dad hats don’t fit on me. Luckily, I found one hat that has fit perfectly with my description: a grey Kith hat that I bought at Bergdorf and Goodman. For some reason, this specific hat has a longer visor and a deeper “hole,” which perfectly fit my big ol’ head shape.  This specific hat is no longer made by Kith, but most of the Kith caps usually fit similarly, so definitely check them out. Quality is great, and the designs are simple; highly recommended. 

Macbook Pro

Around 75% of my day is spent on my Macbook. That’s probably really bad, and I’m working on it. I’m using the 2019 Macbook Pro 13-inch that I got for college, and I’ve been extremely enjoying it. But my last laptop was a Macbook Air from 2013, so it’s a huge upgrade. As a photographer, I need to simultaneously run programs like Lightroom and Photoshop, and this laptop has handled it like a beast. I don’t really like PCs just because I started using a Mac as a laptop, but that’s obviously just my preference. 

Camera

I would like to consider myself as a photographer, and I kinda feel more like one whenever I carry around a camera. I don’t really care if it’s digital or film because I just love both, but it does depend on what activities I’m going to be shooting for the day. For my digital camera, I carry a Sony A7 II with a 35 mm 2.8 because it’s honestly my favorite focal length. I mainly shoot street photography or portraits, and this lens has worked very well in both settings. For my film camera, I used to carry my Leica Minilux until it unfortunately broke because of the infamous E02 error. I love the feeling of film and the process of getting the films developed, so hopefully I’ll grab myself a new film camera soon. Occasionally, I’ll also carry around my Fujifilm Instax Mini 90, but that’s probably on specific occasions.