Here We Go!!

Hello, friend!

It's that time of year again when we look back at how the past year went, and then look forward with optimism and hope!

Let's take a quick look back at my old blog post... 

Did I succeed in being more positive this year? Hmm... that's a tricky one. I feel like it was easier to be more positive before I moved. The move challenged me in a lot of ways, I had to start over with friends, a new school, a new church... my whole life basically stopped in Ann Arbor and began again in Madison. It's hard to not be cynical and to not compare my life now to how it was a year ago. On the other hand, I think that as time goes by, I'm learning more and more about the great things that Madison has to offer, and that God has provided me with.

This year, I did do a lot of things that I never would have imagined would have ever happened.
I went on a 15 mile hike up a mountain, I went snorkeling in the Bahamas, I made homemade pasta, dumplings, and lattes, I went to San Diego and then Mexico to build a house with people who would become my best friends, I moved to Madison, joined cross country, and I got an adorable puppy from my awesome parents(my mom insists and I agree with her on the last part :)).

This year was AMAZING and I wouldn't want to change anything that happened. I'm so grateful for my life that God has placed me into. Now moving forward!

After a few weeks of thinking about New Year's resolutions and goals, I have decided that my theme for this year is going to be the year of not wasting time/being more productive.

I received an email from Spotify a couple of weeks ago about the amount of time that I spent listening to music and it said that I spend 17,353 minutes listening to music, which is 289.2 hours which is 12.05 days straight of listening to music. I know that this number is wayyy low compared to the amount of time I actually spent in 2016 listening to music because sometimes I went weeks without spotify due to no internet! Why am I telling you this?

Well, I thought, "What if I could see how much time I spent doing other things, like reading, eating, SLEEPING, and watching Youtube?"(I don't have Netflix so Youtube is my main source of entertainment).

Upon further observation, I decided that when school started, the amount of time that I spent on the internet increased... a lot, preventing me from doing other things that I enjoyed. There are a lot of things that I want to accomplish this year; I would like to invest more time into playing guitar, perhaps begin training for a marathon, and begin meditating a little bit in the mornings to relax/refresh the mind.

Also, I read a scripture a couple of days ago that I really liked and definitely want to keep in mind for the year:

Proverbs 14:23

"All hard work brings a profit,

but mere talk leads only to poverty."

So for this year, I feel like I definitely have a goal in mind. I want to be more conscious about what I am doing. I want to make sure that I'm making the most of my time, and being as productive as possible now for a better future later!

This may sound CRAZY, like I'm throwing myself into unnecessary stress and chaos, etc, but I think that if I work on being more balanced, then it will work out and become my normal lifestyle.

I feel ready for the new year!

Wishing you the best year yet,
Joy :)

My Top 20 Songs

Hello, friend!

Since 2016 is coming to a close, I thought that I would make a quick list of 20 of my favorite songs from this year and tell you a little bit about them/why I totally loved them! If you want to listen on Spotify while reading, click here. 

My Top 20 Songs of 2016: 

                                                        1. Take the World // Johnnyswim 

Take the World is a cute folk-like song by a duo, Amanda Sudano and Amber Ramirez. They remind me of Us the Duo, who is a famous vine couple that also sings/performs -- if you like them, I bet you'll enjoy this group as well! This song has a very timeless feel, and is a great morning song to wake up slowly to!

2. Seventeen // Alessia Cara

Alessia Cara has definitely risen to become one of my absolute favorite artists of 2016. Her voice is so powerful! I loved this song of the cheesy reasons- I'm seventeen, this song is about being 17, so why not listen to it? If you're 17 or going to turn 17, I definitely 10/10 highly recommend it!

3. Take me Home // Jess Glynne

This song is sung by the same woman who sang, "Rather Be," that catchy, pop tune that was popular for a month in the summer. She also sings this song, which is really great for just belting out loud when you're driving home alone or even during a rainy day.

4. I'll Show You // Justin Bieber

This song is all about being determined, and I love how Justin is saying that he's a human too, not just some idol, and how even though we get to see a part of his life, it's not ALL of it(the good, the bad, etc). I think all too often we think that we know everything about our "favorite celebrity," whether it be someone on our favorite television show or another musician/artist, and I think that this is a good reminder that celebrities, are learning and making mistakes through life, just like we are except one is much more publicized and manipulated through media. Besides the message of the song, it also has a great beat. 

5. I Wanna Go // Yuna 

In the early days of summer I discovered this three year old, upbeat, carefree song. Whenever I listen to this I think of the warmth and summertime. This is such a happy song, it's really impossible to be sad and listen to it!

6. 1000x // Jarryd James 

Jarryd James and Broods are such a fantastic combination. Jarryd and Georgia both have such unique voices,  and the two of them joined together to create this powerful, emotional song. The lyrics are pure poetry. 

7. This Girl // Kungs and Cookin' on 3 Burners 

This song literally screams FUN. I don't know what it is, the EDM vibes, the trumpet, the clapping... I recommend listening to this in the car with your friends loudly on a road trip or even if you're just going to Target! (@ Kaylee :) )

8. Ophelia // The Lumineers 

The Lumineers came out this year with this amazing album, "Cleopatra," and I immediately became obsessed with this song from it. The piano really SINGS in this song. The chorus is also such a catchy tune!

9. Into the Wild // LP 

This song's drums combined with Laura Pergolizzi's voice is AMAZING. It's a song that makes you want to go on an adventure, and you can picture yourself doing epic things with this song in the background.

10. Stay // Kygo 

This summer I listened to different DJ's since EDM was gaining popularity, and I really enjoyed it discovering artists like this one! Each one of Kygo's songs are great hits and everyone who I talked to was like "ohh yeah that song!!".  Definitely a summer hit.

11. Heartlines // Broods 

I immediately bought Broods' new album this year and could not stop listening to this song on repeat! Give it a listen!

12. Falling // Opia 

Opia, meaning a "visual disorder," (very creative huh?!) really know what they're doing. They're not very popular yet, but I can definitely see them becoming incredulously famous one day! This song is about falling for a toxic love. The guitar riff in it is really something!

13. Ocean Eyes // Billie Eilish 

I listened to this song with my one of my very best friends, Danielle, when we were at the park across from my house and when summer was coming to and end. This song is the definition of nostalgic. Billie Eilish's voice is literally magical. I wish that she would come out with an album or something! 

14. Got You on my Mind // NF 

When we first moved to Madison, I discovered NF with my brother, and we listened to a couple of his songs. This song in particular has a story. Nate had an extremely difficult childhood to say the least, and his music is raw and honest. He has become famous as well for being a Christian rapper which I think is really cool! 

15. Something To Believe In (Acoustic) // Young the Giant 

First off, the normal version of this is AMAZING, but the acoustic is so clean and it really accentuates the singing, and the lyrics!

16. Nervous // Gavin James 

My good friend Kenneth recommended this to me one night, and it has become one of my all time favorites. The soft acoustic makes it sound like a lullaby almost. This is definitely a beautiful, chill, rainy day song. 

17. Stone // Alessia Cara 

Another rainy day song thy can quickly become one of your favorites. It is about security and safety during change, so I definitely listened to this song a lot after I moved. 

18. Guillotine // Jon Bellion

 I was inspired to listen to this song because of my friend Jen, who absolutely RAVED about Jon Bellion, and I hopped on the train with her to become obsessed with his style of music. Each one of his songs is so different from the other and the beat is great! Please also listen to Simple and Sweet if you have time! :)

19. Art Exhibit // Young the Giant 

I discovered this song from my friend Mariah, and am SO GRATEFUL she started tweeting song recommendations! I feel like our taste in music is somewhat similar and this song was everything I needed this fall. The use of metaphoric language in this song is fantastic. 

20. Final Song // MØ

I heard this song actually in a snapchat and was so curious about it that I looked up the lyrics to this and then found the whole song and before I knew it, I was hooked. I thought this was a good "final song," to end this playlist on. This song picks up speed and has such a great vibe to it-- definitely listen to it when you're in a good mood!

As you can see, I love music. It makes the time pass quickly, it entertains, it is art, and it can convey emotions that are not easily put into words. 

If you are interested, I also make monthly playlists on Spotify except for December because I listen to mostly Christmas music in that month. 

 Thanks for reading! If you have any song recommendations, feel free to comment them!

Have a great week leading up to Christmas!

Joy :) 

Live in the Moment

Hello Friend!

Yesterday when my friend Jessica and I were at Barnes and Noble doing homework and listening to Christmas tunes, she told me a quote that I thought was really meaningful, and I wanted to share it here:

I feel like some people may be like whaaat Joy that’s so negative!! You’re name is Joy(be happy!)!! 

However, I think that what this quote means is that we should make sure that we are truly living every second of the day as present as possible, and to make sure that we get the most out of this life while we can. I found this to be a great reminder to myself, because with the holiday season it can be extremely difficult to stay focused on one task or idea. Instead I find myself thinking about the future, Christmas celebrations and plans, etc, which just leads to more stress.

Right now seniors are beginning to receive college acceptance letters/emails(aka our futures). I feel like I haven't been obsessively checking my email every hour to see if I've been accepted anywhere, however, before I was accepted to any colleges I did start to feel a bit anxious. This "waiting time" of the college process has been a test of my faith and how I need to trust God with whichever colleges I get accepted into! I didn't realize how big of a deal being a senior in high school was when I was a freshman at all. I believe that the colleges we get accepted to shape a big part of our future and who we will become as adults. Our lives have the possibility to change drastically in a single year, and I don't know if I'm ready for that. 

All I know is that no matter where I go- God really is in control. 

Don't let the stress of the future determine how you live today!

Joy :) 

Friends, Pickles, and Hats!

Hello Friend!

Yesterday, my friend Abby and I drove into Chicago with our parents to hang out with some friends while they went to meetings all Friday and Saturday. At first planning this, I texted some people not really expecting anyone to be close by to Oak Brook(I don't know anything about directions in Chicago outside of Oriole Park Elementary), but surprisingly Rachel , my very good and old friend from the Central region of the Chicago church, lived right down the street! Chris, another friend of ours, lived half an hour away but he drove up to the mall to see us. I really appreciated that and the fact that they were able to hang out with us on sort of a last minute thing. 

True friendship is getting with your friends when they're coming in from out of town! 

We went to Potbelly's for dinner and Rachel ate this huge pickle for $1, and a sandwich of course. 

Both Chris and Rachel are leaving OUT OF ILLINOIS for college. I was so shocked, it's crazy to think how we're so old and now all separating for college!! This almost makes moving a little bit less painful knowing that everyone is spreading out to different states now for school. 

We just sort of wandered around from store to store, stopping in at Teavana's to try the BEST TEA IN THE WORLD: peppermint white chocolate sweetened tea. 

Try it you definitely won't regret it! 

We also went into fancy stores like Zara and Anthropologie and wandered around, then in Urban Outfitters and we tried on hats. 

That was when we decided that we should buy something to send to each other in the mail when we all move!! In Barnes and Noble we bought a bookmark but really just wanted the plastic container it came in so that we could make our own bookmarks and mail it to each other!

It was such a great time just seeing them and catching up with what was going on in their lives! Definitely a great start to December.

Happy Holidays!!

Joy :)