July 23rd - August 20th

Hello! If you are reading this, it could very well mean that I am in Europe!

     Please excuse the thumbnail... It was the lesser of three evils. This blog is not as inactive as it looks; I am simply without the proper resources to update it at the moment. But in a month or so, I will be back with a wealth of travel posts! I plan to write down what we do at the end of each day, take plenty of pictures, and do a bit of vlogging when convenient. Hopefully, I will see a lot of amazing things and learn through much trial and traveling error. And surely I will have a lot to share at the end of my 4 weeks.

And here is a link to my Twitter. It's also available in the right-side column of this blog.

     Also, I did try to write a review on The Purge before heading out, but I've been unable to finish with the amount of time I gave myself. But I'm still planning on completing it! It's been over a month since I originally saw the film, and unless our entire American social and economic system dismantles in my absence, it will still be relevant when I get back. I'm sorry I'm so slow. I just know it's going to be a long one, and that makes it too intimidating to start. But most of the difficult work is done. Expect it before September hahah ;)

In the meantime,  ♥ Happy Living ♥

YouTube Inspiration!

     Yesterday, while still lounging about and recovering from my illness, I decided to dive into my YouTube subscription box. I hadn't checked it in probably four or five days, so there was a lot to work through. And I was pleasantly surprised by the videos I found. There was so much to be inspired by, even if Grace Helbig (goddess divine!!) wants hers to be a joke. Here are three videos that serve as motivation to keep on living!

     Take Your Mind Off Of Everything by Grace Helbig. I've watched her videos for two or three years now, and she is such a genuine person. One of my favorite things is that Grace has a constant dialogue with her viewers. And I really love this video because I can tell that she actually cares in a subtle way, and that it's funny, but in making fun of itself, the video serves its purpose. It just makes the viewer happy, which I suppose was the intention! And at the end, you feel refreshed and a bit more motivated than before. :)

     
     The Problem With Seth by nerimon (Alex Day).  Recently, I haven't been a huge fan of Alex Day. Whereas I used to see him as incredibly intelligent and lovely, now he strikes me as a bit too snarky and disrespectful for my taste. Obviously I don't know him, so I can't judge if he's actually that kind of person. But recently, his videos have been less enjoyable for me than they used to be. These days, I tend to skip over his videos in my subscription box. But yesterday, I'm glad I didn't. When the subject of the video became apparent, I honestly thought he was going to shit all over it. Especially with the tone towards the beginning of the video. But I was pleasantly surprised. Really, I shouldn't have been surprised. It makes sense that this would be a serious video, because Alex is an atheist, just as I am. He is a bit more harsh about it at times, but death is not something he would take lightly. This video is a very heartfelt reflection on the immensity and mystery of death, as well as appreciating what one has in life. Enjoy.

     
     Kids React to Controversial Cheerios Commercial by TheFineBros. This video made me tear up at the end, as one girl did, because I feel so similarly to her. And I was touched that someone her age had so much empathy as to be visibly upset at racism's existence. Just as I am moved by everyone's reaction to the controversy in this video. I didn't know anything about this commercial, or the controversy surrounding it, but I am glad it is being used as a means for discussion. I hope these kids keep thinking this way and strike down racism wherever they see it. This video gives me hope for the future, in the face of so many things that leave me hopeless.

 ♥ Happy Watching ♥

19 Years Growing Strong

     Yesterday was my nineteenth birthday, and I'd be lying if I said it went as planned. What was supposed to be a weekend of partying and reuniting with friends turned into a weekend of me, on the living room couch, with a fever and a massive headache. Luckily, the worst of it was on Saturday. My temperature was up to 102.2 and my swollen throat made eating difficult. Yesterday was not a walk in the park health-wise either, but my birthday was actually really great. My birthdays are always kind of "meh" and not very memorable, but for this one, I was surrounded by my immediate family and my two most important friends: Cathy and my boyfriend, Jesse. THEY FINALLY MET! I really couldn't have asked for a better present than that.

    

     On Saturday, though I was scheduled to have my first "actual" birthday party with my friends from college (some of whom I haven't seen in a month), I got to watch movies all day. Even in my sickness, I was able to enjoy the flawless Slumdog Millionaire, the classic The Truman Show for the first time, and the fascinating Life of Pi (though the ending's remark on the truth of Pi's story made me quite sad, to be honest). The best part was that my boyfriend came to visit me despite my infectious state of being. It was funny, because that morning I had been thinking "I hope my friends still have the party for themselves, but wouldn't it be romantic if Jesse came to visit me instead?" Just a passing thought. But he texted me, asking if it was okay if he dropped by later to drop a few things off.

     That evening, he showed up with a giant raspberry-colored body pillow from Costco in hand, a little red bag hung on his finger, and a bouquet of the most gorgeous flowers, in red tissue wrapping,  hugged to his chest. It was one of the most romantic things of my life, and that's not even the full story. But just the fact that everything was red, my favorite color, and the fact that he was standing in front of me when he really didn't have to be, was enough to  make me feel 3432507032% better.

     My mother graciously put the flowers into a vase while Jesse and I sat down on the couch. I read the card he bought and wrote out for me. Something about the phrase "I'm so damn in love with you" pretty much made me fall in love all over again. As we all know, words are very special and important for me. Well thought-out, effortful cards are the best part of any gift. But Jesse went above and fucking beyond. I can't. 

     I unraveled this adorable little red present to discover something he described as "small." But it wasn't in the slightest! He even confessed to me that it took him eleven hours, meaning that he'd stayed up until 10AM that morning working on it. Jesse took a deck of cards and glued pictures of us, the places we've been, and my college adventures onto the back of each individual card. Plus a few gems, like Jesse in his awkward high school stage and a card dedicated to Ryan Gosling. They were all printed on photo paper and cut to the exact size. Okay I'm sorry if this post is too gross and cheesy for you, but I started crying because that kind of effort is the kind that only I put into gifts. When I was younger, I would always take useless things and make them super personal. One time I took a checkerboard and glued pictures of my friend all over it. Another time I made Cathy a house of popsicle sticks and glued pictures of us on it. They were never practical, but they were made with love. I don't know. More than anything, I started crying because Jesse put so much effort into something for me.

     Jesse and I spent the next few hours looking up remixes and scenes from The Graduate on YouTube. Eventually, it ended with me snuggled up with the body pillow he gave me, and him rubbing my head and neck to make me feel better. It was utterly perfect.

     The next morning, he even got up early to finish his Physics homework so he could swing by and visit me again on Sunday night for my actual birthday. Plus, he arrived fifteen minutes after the other brilliant surprise of my birthday: Cathy surprised me after her shift at work to drop off soup her mother made me, and flowers! Flowers which she bought at Trader Joe's because she was low on options and is a perfect friend. And the way she told me was by calling me and being all, "Hey, are you home? Maybe you should go outside, I mean, I don't know...?" And then I look out my door and she's swerving into my neighborhood track, a beautiful display of the struggle in multi-tasking, only to park in the most adorably crooked way right in front of my driveway. She was only going to drop off the flowers, but she ended up staying the whole evening. which resulted in my two best friends finally meeting!! :) I can't believe how lucky I am.