ONE YEAR (on Tumblr!)

Yesterday was the 1 year anniversary of my Tumblr.

I am so thankful to have had such a wonderful 12 months and be able to now say I am friends with people from around the world!

How cool is that?!

There is nothing more awesome than saying your best friend lives in the UK!

From Florida to Arizona to England to Switzerland, I have been able to talk to beautiful people both near and far.

Communication is honestly so cool!

The way social media plays such a big part in our daily lives is radical to me! I love how it can be used to have such a positive impact on people!

During the past year, so much has happened. These experiences have changed me. My senior year of high school has come and gone, I’ve graduated high school, I lost a very important family member and I’m off to college in a couple of weeks. I’ve loved being able to express what I’ve been feeling and know that I’m not alone. Others are going through similar situations and it’s so wonderful to know I have a community of people who love, encourage, and support me. Also, through my Tumblr, I’ve been able to share daily activities as well as a mixture of inspirational quotes, style, and food that I love as well as media that I adore or quote often, childhood memories, posts I find useful or interesting, and thank goodness other people have as quirky a sense of humor as I do :) I am so grateful that this past year has only had a handful of negativity + doubly thankful that I am (hopefully) able to help promote positive thinking. 365 days is a long time. And honestly, life is difficult. But positive thinking is truly the best thing ever. And there just isn’t enough of it. There needs to be more. Definitely. Hopefully, with my blog I can help others learn that true beauty lies within themselves/their heart and I want to encourage others to live a life full of happiness and to love who they are, appreciate the world around them and become excited about the little things.

SMILE more // SHINE and be your wonderful self // INSPIRE people to fill each day with love and good thoughts.

Here’s to another year full of love, joy, and sunshine!

I can’t wait to meet (if only virtually) more people, enjoy dessert first! cause life’s short, and partake of gorgeous sunsets at least 52 times (at least once a week!).

YEAR TWO—LET’S GO! :)

P.S. Having a Tumblr has truly meant the world to me and I would like to thank each and every person who has stopped by my blog. If you ever need someone to talk to or message if you’re bored, I’m your girl! I’d love to chat :)

(You can also send me an e-mail if that's easier for you! :) Use whatever form of communication you wish to!)

I'M MOVING IN A MONTH

Wait, what?!

No, not permanently to another country (I wish I could move to London or Paris!), but to college.

When I think about it, living in a dorm with strangers and the whole having to share a bathroom situation with 9 other girls, it's so strange to me. Now I'm not gonna tell you this isn't scaring me at least just a little bit. Because I definitely AM terrified. 

But, I'm also SO excited! Maybe that is partially outweighing the fear I'm feeling when I think about being in this situation in just a couple of weeks.

Dorm shopping with my roommate has been wonderful! We've bought great stuff at even better prices! All the hard work of looking for the best price paid off! :) I have been so lucky to be able to hang out with my roomie before moving in. She's such a wonderful person. Just a few months ago, she was a stranger to me and now she's one of my best friends. That is awesome!

One of the things I'm most excited about when living in the dorm is being able to live with some of my closest friends. I seriously cannot wait! I'm also nervous though, because I've never been away from my home for more than a week, maybe two max. It's nerve-wracking thinking about the clothes I need to pack, dorm essentials I still need to shop for, and surprisingly, the independence.

Anyway, today I was texting various people over the excitement of moving into our new homes (aka the dorms at our university in exactly one month!), and while talking about wishing there was more time left in the summer and wishing we could relish in it, I could also feel the mixed emotions. Whether nervous or bittersweet, I realized that the incoming class of 2018 is all starting this new chapter in their lives. We are all beginning a new journey and we're starting fresh. Brand new. These feelings are normal and it's perfectly okay. It's our job and maybe even responsibility to each other to extend the hand of friendship and make each other feel welcome because we're all in this together and we're going to make the next 4 years awesome!

What's really cool is we can make ourselves into someone we can be proud of. We have a brand new slate to write on. We can become the person we've always wanted to be.

College--It might take awhile to adjust, but I've never been more ready to begin again.