finishing my first draft || nanowrimo ’21 recap || life & literature ep. 9

6th Dec 202119th Jan 2022 maya rajesh56 Comments

On November 22nd 2021, at 3.32 p.m., I finished the first draft of my novel.

It still feels surreal to finally finish it; I wanted to scream from the rooftops, but I had to settle for yelling into a pillow, running around the house while my sister stared at me oddly. This is the book I’ve been working on since early April this year, and I got to about 134k in November. (I have created a monster.)

But, regardless of its many, many flaws and imperfections, I love it with all my heart, and I’m SO pumped to have finished it!

As the year comes to a close, I’m planning to put it aside for a week or two and focus on other projects before I get back to editing and writing a little more. I wrote a whole chunk of the book this NaNoWriMo – let’s get into all the details!

red (taylor’s version) album review 💔 || sad girl fall || life & literature ep. 8

15th Nov 202119th Jan 2022 maya rajesh23 Comments

Last Friday, the 12th of November, the re-recorded version of Red by Taylor Swift was released. She now owns her music and that’s the reason she recorded the songs again – with better vocals, extra songs, and improved music and instrumentals.

The world’s only been waiting five months for it.

I was utterly destroyed by some of the songs, the short film, and the incredibly beautiful lyrics that she included in the new All Too Well. I’ve not actually reviewed an album before, so when Red was released, it was the perfect opportunity!

Today’s post is a review and a discussion of all the songs on the album. It might as well be the longest post I’ve ever written and it would mean the world if you’d stick around till the end. I’ve included some of my tweets from the thread I made when I was listening to the album for the first time containing my unfiltered thoughts so don’t wonder. And before we start, if you haven’t listened to the album already – it’s a literal masterpiece, so do immediately!

travel diary – hiking through the himalayas || trekking sandakhphu || life & literature ep. 7

3rd Nov 202115th May 2023 maya rajesh42 Comments

Hi, there.

It’s definitely been a minute.

In August, life spiralled into a tornado of exams, competitions, performances and worse: deadlines. Since then, I’ve deserted this space, but don’t worry – I’ve got no intention of leaving.

Two weeks ago, my exams finally ended (time. won’t. fly.) and the next day, we left on vacation. Of course, my parents were vaccinated and my sister and I needed to test negative to leave the state, but up in the mountains, there are little to no coronavirus cases.

It’s the best time I’ve had since, well, last year. This March will mark the second anniversary of the virus and I’m glad to say things are looking up. Even simply being in the airport was such a novel feeling – the lines, the security checks. Today’s post is a travel diary and chronicles the entirety of my trip – so enjoy!

august slipped away || days past: a july & august ’21 recap || life & literature ep. 6

29th Aug 202127th Jan 2022 maya rajesh65 Comments

“But I can see us lost in the memory
August slipped away into a moment in time
‘Cause it was never mine“

Starting one of my longest wrap-ups starting with the beautiful august by Taylor Swift (go listen to it just once if you haven’t and you will fall in love with her voice – do it.)

But honestly, how is it that July and August just disappeared? (~~Ignoring the fact that I question time practically every. single. recap, of course.~~)

July & August were beautiful months, and I did pretty well all through – in terms of school, reading, mental health & my online presence so I’m hoping that the second half of the year – which we’re already partially through – will be one in which all of us shall fare well in.

I read, watched, and listened to a lot these past two months and now I have a number of new favourites. Let’s talk books, movies, songs & life!

journaling: how i do it + why you should too! || life & literature ep. 5

10th Aug 202119th Jan 2022 maya rajesh42 Comments

Ever felt the need to channel all that mental energy you’ve built up somewhere? Or perhaps you have a plethora of thoughts you need to jot down somewhere: but you don’t know where! Well. you’ve come to the perfect place.

I’ve had piles of notebooks stacked up on the top shelf of my wardrobe ever since I was a child. The ones I received from birthday parties with Frozen characters tattooed onto the spine, those bound by secrecy with a lock and a key, and my favourite of them all – the ruled notebooks with floral quotes on the cover.

It’s always been hard for me to start using a notebook: I’m always second-guessing myself – ‘is a travel journal really useful’ or ‘this notebook is too pretty to be used as a dream journal.’ And the cycle goes on and on, and hoarding notebooks is now my speciality.

Honestly, though, this never seems to stop me from buying them. Nevertheless, on my thirteenth birthday, I finally found something that stuck: journalling. So, let’s get into why I love it so much!