Welcome to 2018!

You may have noticed, but over the last two months, I've taken a little break from blogging. There are tons of reasons for this - I was being swamped with finals, enjoying the holidays with my family, and readjusting to life back in NYC for my second semester of school. Mostly, though, I wasn't sure what I should write. I always felt the urge to write something, but that "something" never became clear to me. I opened up new posts, typed a few paragraphs, deleted, retyped, and deleted sections again. It seemed that I couldn't find a clear subject to write about. Having never really experienced writer's block like that before (usually when I write, I can barely type fast enough before my brain is onto the next sentence), I wasn't sure what to do; I felt lost and honestly, I kind of felt like blogging was something that wasn't going to work out for me long-term.

What It's Like Your First Time Back From College

As the leaves started to fall and the New York City air got chillier, my anxiousness to go back home for the first time since move-in grew stronger and stronger. Like a lot of my peers, I was counting down the days until I could be reunited with my family, friends, pets, and - oh yeah - my bed. So when the day came for me to catch a shuttle to the airport for Thanksgiving break, I couldn't believe it.

A Letter to the Girl Struggling With Body Image

Every college student (and most people in general) know or have heard about the "Freshman Fifteen". They say that during your freshman year of college, you will gain fifteen pounds. I've been told so many things about this, ranging from "it's absolutely true" to "it's a myth" to "no matter how hard you try you'll still gain 15 pounds". The concept of the "Freshman Fifteen", whether you believe it's true or not, is an unhealthy thing to have swirling around in your head when you enter college.

Why Fall is Truly a Powerful Season

Ah, fall: it's the season of color changes and pumpkin flavored everything.

I love absolutely everything about autumn. Give me the falling leaves, the trips to pumpkin patches, the warm drinks on cold nights, the sweaters being broken out again for the end of the year, and, yes, even the pumpkin spice (my newest favorite is a pumpkin spice chai tea latte!).

By now, it's mid-October, which means that the season is in full swing. Unfortunately, here in New York City, the 70-degree weather has me missing the chilly, drizzly fall weather back home in Seattle. Besides the few random days where we had windy weather in the low 40s, it hasn't felt like fall here at all - which means that I have had to do some creating in order to get myself in the fall spirit, including camping out in a freezing air-conditioned Starbucks while drinking my PSL and creating a fall playlist and Pinterest board to get me in the mood (click the words to see those and fall in love with the season all over again!).

For the Student Who Misses Home

No matter how far away from home you are when you leave for college, feeling homesick is inescapable. And it's hard to be away from home and on your own for the first time - in fact, it's really hard. Whether you were dreading leaving your mom or so ready to get away from your parents senior year, chances are there'll be a point during your first college semester where you miss something from home (even if that be something as small as the way your mattress at home felt!).

A Letter to My New Home

Dear New York City,

I wouldn't say you welcomed me with open arms. In fact, it was quite the opposite. There are so many people in the city that there's no time to pause, even for a second. After all, you are the city that never sleeps. I was dropped here with a bag and a dream and you said, "Figure it out." And figure it out, I've done (more or less).

You're big. You're concrete. You're crowded. You're noisy. You're nothing like my hometown and yet, you're amazing.

A Letter to the Student Scared to Make Friends

College is supposed to be exciting - and for the most part, it is! But when you look out at the crowd of incoming freshman at orientation, it's easy to think, "What am I going to do with all these people?"

There's a lot of pressure put on you the first week of school to be best friends with everyone you meet. Here's the thing: most likely, the friends you make during your orientation are probably not going to be your friends for the rest of the school year. I haven't spoken to the couple of friends I had during orientation since classes started. And that's okay. People need to cling to each other when they are encountering something new, but you'll have more time to make truer, stronger friendships once you get in to the swing of things. And, who knows? Maybe the girl you meet on your first day will be your best friend. The point: don't worry so much about it!

Lessons from the Arch

Wherever you are in life, enjoy your journey!

I decided to take a day to myself the other day to read in Central Park. It was a wonderful way to get out of my head and to take a nature break from the concrete jungle. I didn't expect to learn anything that day, but sometimes the best lessons come when you least expect it.

Walking back to my dorm, I noticed a small crowd around the arch in Washington Square Park. Just another street performer, I thought. However, as I got closer, this performer stood out to me for many reasons. I mean, besides the fact that this guy was painted like a marble statue and climbing on the arch. Even though this was crazy, the thing that got me was that not only was he climbing, but his eyes were closed the whole time so as to keep up the illusion that he really was a part of the arch.

5 Ways to Make Senior Year Easier

This day will come faster than you think!

Ah, senior year. I remember it like it was yesterday. You feel like you're on top of the world, you rule the school, and like you're invincible....at least until it's the month before school starts and you realize you haven't gotten your senior pictures done yet or even had a thought about college. Or maybe you are "on top of it", like I was at the beginning of my senior year, but still feel like everything is starting to pile up. Whichever kind of senior you are, there will be times in your last year of high school where you feel like you're losing control.

Travel Diary: Welcome to New York!

2,685 miles are now between me and my hometown and, honestly, moving in to college is a lot different than I thought it would be.

Over the past four days, I've felt probably every emotion I could feel. I didn't even know it was possible to go through so many emotions at one time, but there I was -  excited, terrified, panicked, hopeful, sad, happy, etc., etc. The world felt like it was moving so fast (which, it was! Moving everything into a small dorm room with two other people in only an evening means everything is fast-paced).

All in all, it's hard to accurately describe the roller coaster that is starting college.

Travel Diary: 2 Days Until NYC!

Pinch me, I'm dreaming! There are only two full days left for me in Washington State before I head off to the Big Apple for school and, wow, is this time crazy.


I am still feeling lots of conflicting emotions - I don't want to leave my friends and family, but I am so excited to be in my dream city and at my dream school. That being said, I'm stressed beyond belief. I usually like to have control over what's happening in my life, and that involves planning everything out on paper. However, with two different orientation schedules to look out for (one for NYU, and one specifically for Tisch), this is becoming very difficult.