2022, i bid you adieu || a yearly recap & welcome to the new year 🏵️

It’s the end of the year again, and that always scares me a little.

they decked the halls, all right

I’ve always been tied to routine, and anyone who knows me well is well aware that change – even just the thought of it – isn’t something I adore. As a creature of habit, I’ve always found it hard to wrap my mind around new beginnings.

The close of a year always reminds me that life has new things in store for us; I struggle to put it into words – the sort of impending loss that overwhelms me. It’s almost like a premature longing for times that haven’t passed yet. Nostalgia – one word, three syllables, and yet, it fuels so much emotion in me.

We’ll never be here again: this moment, this place.

But then again, we did make it through these past twelve months. A new beginning is fast approaching, for worse… or for better. Whatever happens, we are here right now, and I think it’s up to us to make the most of it. So, it’s time to see the forest for the trees, and appreciate the hurdles and wins life’s thrown at us this year. Change always reminds me of this quote, one of my all-time favourites:

“[He] wondered if normalcy was something, like vision or silence, you didn’t realize was precious until you lost it.”

― Cassandra Clare, City of Fallen Angels.

On that note, I’d like to finally start the wrap-up. I’ve split up the year into four, with some of my favourite snapshots from the months, and a little note on the special moments. 2022 was a beautiful year, honestly. It gave me so much more clarity on what I want to do with my life, career-wise, I learnt to play the guitar, I danced a lot and school went great. Like everything else, it had its ups and downs, but I loved it.

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the world is quiet here 🦋 picnicking, gilmore girls & life lately

The days are getting shorter, the morning air has a little chill, and the jackets are coming out of the closets… if I didn’t know better, I’d say it was winter again. The skies go maroon at seven, we drink hot chocolate on the weekends, and the mid-terms approach. (Of course, there had to be a catch, didn’t there?)

Anyway, today’s post is a log of the last couple of weeks – we went picnicking, my sister and I have been binge-watching Gilmore Girls, and we did an assembly at school… it’s been a great deal of fun. Life’s had its ups and downs (and things have been leaning towards the latter lately) but I have been trying, and I’m just hoping that’s enough.

Life’s been a bit on the quiet side lately, with extended hours of school, holidays, and studying with Midnights streaming (constantly,) long, handwritten notes to friends, and it feels a little bit like hope again. Winter is slowly setting in, but through the mist, through the rain, I can still see flickers of light – of hope.

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midnights: a taylor swift album review ⭐ stars by the pocketful

Last Friday, the 21st of October, Taylor Swift released her tenth (and arguably one of her best) studio albums – Midnights.

We Swifties truly hit the potluck because she gave us 20 new tracks for us to soak in… and freak out over. Today’s post is a review of all the songs and a ranking at the end. The ranking, mind you, was one of the hardest things I’ve had to do, and that’s saying something because none of the songs was bad.

But I love the whole new electro-pop vibe and the incredible lyricism in her songs – they really resonate with you – and that’s one of the main reasons I simply adore her music. I’ll be doing only the 13 main tracks and my favourites off of the 3 am tracklist today!

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it’s time to pause🌹 stop & smell the roses

Lately, I’ve been struggling to find the time to just pause.

In the tornado of life and school and dancing and travelling… I think I might’ve just gotten a little frazzled by it all. I needed a moment to step back… to just pause.

Pause and finally finish Origin by Dan Brown, which I’ve found absolutely no time to read. Pause and listen to Sabrina’s new album, because I haven’t even made it past track four. Pause and write this post.

I think life’s beauty often lies in simplicity which is something we overlook one too many times. I’m guilty of it – we all are. So caught up in the race to the finish line that we forget to stop and think about why we’re racing in the first place. To win? I don’t think so.

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interviewing THE juliet wilson || blogger, poet, conservationist || life & literature ep. 2

This week, I got an amazing opportunity to interview Juliet Wilson: a poet, environmental conservation volunteer and a blogger this week. I first found out about her when we studied her poem for school and she is such an inspiration!

On occasion of World Environment Month, I thought it would be nice to spread a little more about the ecosystem and this year’s theme is #EcosystemRestoration. It is a growing issue in today’s society and we must start being more careful.

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