Dear Lazies,
Transitions are rarely linear. They can feel like endings and beginnings colliding in slow motion — filled with uncertainty, vulnerability, and the blurry in-betweens that don’t quite fit into neat narratives. Whether it's leaving a country, finishing a degree, or simply growing out of an identity that once defined you, transitions ask us to let go and reimagine.
We hope you find something familiar, comforting, or thought-provoking here — and maybe even the courage to sit with your own transitions a little longer.
Now, let’s dive into this month's edition…
This issue features an illustration from Maria Angele.
Your Lazies
In July, we asked you to submit pieces on transitions. When we think of this word, we think of transformations, uncertainty, and those difficult periods in life when one feels stuck in between, with the hope that something beautiful eventually emerges. Below, you’ll find four very different pieces exploring these complex emotions. Enjoy!
Zane Lece on LGBTQIA+ in Latvia
I knew I would study more after finishing my undergrad. However, I was interested in topics that were not employable. I decided - if I can get into LSE - I will do it.
I wanted to research more about Latvia’s LGBT+ communities. Thus, I applied for the university and completed masters in Gender, Media and Culture with great grades. Focused my dissertation on Latvian LGBT+ media - how there seems to be information that disappears quickly, because there is no system of keeping track of it. How it is difficult to archive as most printed works are not available. Moreover, how narratives from Western countries are becoming more dominant in smaller countries. Even some educators in Latvia are often using information only in English to learn and teach others.
I presented this work in a conference in Latvia. I was welcomed with “everyone knows this”, “this is a problem for other subjects as well”, I was even told to buy books that I was well aware were not sold right now. I tried to track the books down and failed.
Recently, I created a blog about Latvian LGBT+ topics. Yet the only comments I have gotten were - there is no point in trying to get these books back in shops, there will be new ones, time moves on.
I am slowly accepting that if no one wants it, it is not worth it. But I’m not yet giving up – I’ll continue collecting information in one blog.
The Post-College Feeling of Losing (by Maria Angele)
I only realise it's summer when I lift my head from my laptop and step outside. I’ve spent the past months working on my dissertation, now she’s almost walking on her own. I've been in the education system for nineteen years, if you count kindergarten. Most of my life has revolved around educational achievements. I officially did it. So now what?
This month, Romania’s government cut student scholarships. Protests broke out nationwide. Even before the cuts, most of us struggled to make ends meet. I can’t stop thinking about how much harder it will be for students just starting out, with even less support.

During my study years, I needed to work to be able to sustain myself, like a lot of students do in Romania. All I could find was a job as a customer support agent, which drained me of energy. I always referred to my job as a "transitional job". I was always saying "I work at a corporation, but it's just transitional", but I guess I never knew what I was transitioning into. Now, unemployed and out of school, the transition is over and yet I've gotten nowhere.
During the years I should’ve been laying the groundwork for a career in my field, I was answering phones. It became a vicious cycle: work to study, study to escape the ”transitional” work. I can't help but wonder, what's my identity now?
Lazy Lauren — On Body Transitions
I was in my mid-20s when my body and I experienced a life-changing transition.
I had read enough feminism to know that media rhetoric of how a woman should look was not truth I needed to pay attention to, but still I grew up when every magazine cover offered dieting advice, and TV shows told me what to avoid wearing lest I make myself look bigger.
Some once-known truths are hard to disentangle from, and honestly I spent a decade of my life not wearing jeans because I didn't think my thighs allowed for it.
Then, one summer, I was blindsided by illness that caused weight loss as a result of appetite loss and something seemingly breaking me down from within.
Initially I received compliments, often from well-meaning friends, about looking good as pounds fell away. But my energy was falling with them. I became weaker and weaker, eventually hospital-bed-bound. I couldn't walk down the corridor for a scan, let alone think about hitting that essential 10k step count.
What followed was a long period of physical recovery, as well as a mental and emotional one. How I thought about my body could no longer focus on the size of my thighs, or the (lack of) tone in my upper arms. It was about what my body could do - what I could do - and being grateful for that.
Legs, to go on long summer walks. Arms, to conduct my hands, in writing, colouring, reading a book. A stomach that gets excited by food.
I started thinking of coulds and woulds and shoulds in a totally new way, and seven years on, I still hold tight the mentality that grew from that bodily transition, through before, during and after.
Lazy Maria on Grief and Objects
It’s the middle of the summer, yet some Christmas lights are still turned on. I look at them and wonder how much we hold on to our seasonal paraphernalia, as if desperately trying to turn them into “forevers”. Are they really as important as we make them to be?
Existing is, partially, the slavery act of connecting the dots, or — an automatic process in the background. Do I actually want to feel a rush of my personal apocalypse after romanticising my afternoon and getting hope from a matcha latte? Not really.
While I try to let go of myself, I’m confronted with the reality that I’m still a transitional being, and that I will always be one. These realisations arrive like unwanted subscriptions — I never signed up, yet they keep renewing.
There are many spaces I have inhabited, many people I have met, sunsets contemplated, that I’ve lost count of how many versions of myself and others I have grieved over time. There’s something in that never-ending desolation that I find quite charming and painful at the same time: the phenomenology of the objects. The passage of time mirrored by what I think I am. A fabric made out of my own change and my own mortality.
It’s as if my mind took the concept of capitalism to heart, and is currently running a 24-hour renewal shop of grief. The main product is something that I have convinced myself I lack: a home.
Daily, I build a house in every small corner I can find, one that is untouched by the cold desolation of feeling ripped open.
I take objects from my former home, while contemplating them: destroyed, ruined, unsalvageable. Wallpapers, pictures, blankets, chairs. I stand still with a candle: “Should I leave you or should I keep you?” . But either way, they’re already gone. The firestorm continues in my homeland while I try to sleep next to the debris.
Maybe I’m not holding onto the ashes, maybe I’m also the ashes. The continuous transition from near-to-nothing to near-to-something, and I’m not sure if I’ll figure out the best concept. I guess I’ll just walk through it.
Articles array 📰
Make sure to check out our pieces published in July!
Find your next reads, things to do and exhibitions to see in the June’s Lazies’ List, a monthly favourites compilation, curated by our team.
And read our newest article on women’s careers in Hungary, written by Anna Kiss-Pál.
Cinematic Changes by Lazy Julie
When I thought of this month’s topic, I immediately recalled all the films I’ve watched — most of which happened to be ‘coming-of-age’ stories. So, I thought I’d share some of my favorites in this issue.
Boyhood (2014, Richard Linklater)
This film is so precious to me that it almost feels wrong to recommend — as if I should gatekeep it for as long as possible. It’s a fundamental work, filmed over 12 years. Boyhood follows the childhood, adolescence, and early adulthood of Mason, a boy raised by divorced parents. It’s absolutely brilliant and will keep you glued to the screen, despite its nearly three-hour runtime.
Lady Bird (2017, Greta Gerwig)
A classic, of course! A 17-year-old girl, played by Saoirse Ronan, is about to graduate from high school. The film beautifully explores her complicated relationship with her mother.
The Perks of Being a Wallflower (2012, Stephen Chbosky)
Another film that’s very dear to my heart. I read the novel when I was 14 — the book was a gift from my first love — and it’s forever tied to that memory. The story follows Charlie, who writes letters to an unnamed friend while navigating PTSD, high school, friendship, and love. The soundtrack is a masterpiece.
Brooklyn (2015, John Crowley)
Based on the book by Irish author Colm Tóibín, this film follows Eilis Lacey, a young Irish immigrant who grapples with homesickness, independence, and dual identity in 1950s New York.Lost in Translation (2003, Sofia Coppola)
Two lonely souls connect in Tokyo, both adrift and searching for meaning. I absolutely love the film’s visuals — Sofia Coppola has always had such a distinct eye for atmosphere, hasn’t she?
For more coming-of-age film recs, check out our newest article by Gitta!
Here’s a short dose of what the Lazy Team has been up to for the past month!
Paris: We had our annual Lazy Women picnic-turned-brunch on July 6, with Lazies from across the city and beyond. Meet-ups have always been a casual, chill way to meet new, like-minded women, who’re new to the city or old hands, to meet and build new relations! Thanks to everyone who joined!



London: If you weren’t able to make it to Paris, worry not! We’re organising London Meet-up on August 9! So, if you’re a fellow Lazy, ready for a chat, some snacks and a beverage of choice – come and join us! We’ll share more details on Instagram soon, but you can already sign up via the button below!
Lazy Workshops: Learn, Share, Create
We’re continuing to organise a variety workshops for our members! This Sunday, July 27, Zsofi and Julie from the executive team are hosting a writing workshop — a writing 101 session, perfect for anyone who wants to start writing but isn’t sure where to begin.
We’re excited for what’s ahead — any of our members can host a workshop or masterclass to share their skills and knowledge with the community.
These workshops are one of the perks that our membership offers. Find more information about it here and join the Lazy Women community!
P.S. Our newsletter team is fully volunteer-based. We work on every issue throughout the whole month — picking a topic, collecting submissions and illustrations, writing, and editing.
If you like what we do, you can support our work via a paid subscription option on Substack. This subscription also gives you access to our Dear Lazies column, where Zsofi, our editor-in-chief, answers the questions that bother you and provides advice, thoughts, and recommendations!
P.P.S. We're unplugging for our yearly August break — we'll be back in your inboxes this September, fresh and ready!
Lauren’ contribution resonated with me so hard tbh!
Lazy Maria, wow, wasn't ready for this to hit home that much..