18 Things I've Learned

Hello, friend!

I thought I'd do a quick blog post about 18 things I've learned in my life since I turned 18 last week. It's so bittersweet! I feel like I'm leaving my childhood behind as I step into adulthood. Here goes!

1. God is real.
2. Music is impossible to live without. 
3. There is a difference between a need and a want.
4. I am actually quite small, but can make a big difference in the world if I just try to be my best self.
5. Try your hardest at academics, but not to the point that it takes over your life. 
6. Trying to fit in is a trap. Don’t do it unless you genuinely like whatever you’re doing. Otherwise, it’s a waste of time.
7. Passion is contagious.
8. Love your parents... and your siblings because family really is forever!
9. If you have the chance to do something new or even move, do it. 
10. When you make mistakes, admit to them asap. It will save you a lot of hassle. 
11. Friendshifts!!! My mom has told this to me ever since I was a little girl. Basically, it means that your friendships that you have now might not all exist later- they will shift. There is nothing wrong with that, but learning how to move on is also a good skill to learn! 
12. IT'S ALL ABOUT YOUR PRIORITIES. Life goes by fast, as I said before, and you will make time for what you want to do if you really want to.
13. Judging a person how you judge a book of a cover, or from their Facebook, Instagram, etc, are bad ways of learning about them and who they really are.
14. If you are overwhelmed about something, pray about it. God will make more time for you, give you more love, and meet you more than halfway.
15. Working out is SO good for you!!! I find that when I am exercising consistently, I am all around more happy.
16. Having a dog actually is the best thing.
17. In the end, you have the power to change YOURSELF.
18. Life is short. Don't wait to do things and then have regrets later!

Thanks for listening to my list of 18 things! If you want me to elaborate on any of them, feel free to comment on which ones and I can make new posts in the future about some of these topics.

Have a great weekend! Xx

Joy :)

Denver, CO

Hello, friend!

I am on the way home from Denver, Colorado as I write this, and I want to share with you all about what I’ve been up to in CO this weekend! I have a very close friend named Naomi<3  who lives in Colorado. I met her on my mission trip last summer in Mexico and have continued to stay in touch with her since then! After a couple months of planning, I decided that I would go out to Denver to visit Naomi and go to Estes Park, where her church was having a teen retreat. 

LITERALLY DENVER {heart eye emoji}

Last Thursday, I hopped on a plane and flew to Denver right after school and experienced a beautiful sunset as I flew across the middle of the US. 

I got to Naomi’s at around seven o’clock, and we just talked and caught up which was very much needed!! It’s fun and kind of crazy meeting one of your closest friend's family and seeing how she lives for the first time when all you know about her is from a two-week long trip! Only in the kingdom could that happen!! The next morning, we woke up and Naomi brought me to a butterfly pavilion which was such a cute place! Unfortunately, it was cloudy/foggy out so you couldn’t see the mountains which she lived RIGHT by but I did see them later. The butterfly pavilion had all sorts of living things! I saw tarantulas, fish, starfish, bees, worms, etc. It was so fun being in the butterfly pavilion and I was a bit freaked out that I would step on a butterfly who happened to be resting on the ground(thankfully I didn’t!).

Are they glowing? Basically.

Yes, we found Nemo AND Dory!

Sheldon.

More butterflies waiting to be hatched!

Then we drove back to her house and drove up to Estes park a bit before the retreat so that we could see the mountains a little bit!

I was BLOWN AWAY. 

I’d never seen mountains this big in my whole life. They just kept on going up up up and I’m so amazed that God created something so grand and beautiful!! It reminded me of my Niagara Falls experience, when I just could feel God’s power through nature. 

ELK!!!!

After visiting a taffy shop and looking around in the little downtown area, we drove to the YMCA, which was where we were staying, and I got to meet all of Naomi’s friends which was super fun!! We heard an awesome lesson by one of the ministers in Colorado, and it was really convicting.

The next morning, I woke up at 6:00 to get ready to see the sunrise and I took a ton of pictures of the sun rising over the tops of the mountains. AMAZINGGGGGG!!

Colorado is one of my favorite states now! Saturday was spent hanging out with friends and playing ukulele, listening to fantastic lessons by great speakers, and eating a lot. I also spent some quality time with one of my very special friends, Christina, and studied the bible with her and a bunch of other fantastic teens from Denver. On Sunday, it was time to leave and of course I took some more pictures of where we stayed, and of the girls in my cabin! I am so grateful for this experience, and for everyone who I met. 

Naomi!! :)

One last picture!

This trip felt like a huge blessing and gift from God and my parents :), especially since my birthday is coming up(march 1)!

Happy days! xx 

Joy :)

Why You Should Thrift!

Hello, friend!

If you don't know what thrifting is, here's the jist of it:

going to your local thrift store and buying stuff.

Thrifting is something that is really popular amongst teens, and especially those who are trying to develop their own style. If you have maybe thought about it but haven't made the decision to go, here are some reasons as to why you should visit your local thrift store to find the next staples in your closet!

1. IT'S CHEAP
This is a given, but thrift stores are cheaper than normal stores. Check with your local store and see if they have certain days where "green tags" are half price. Many stores have special deals at certain times and they just want to get rid of their items so that they can circulate new ones.

2. You are saving the planet.
Literally. Fast fashion(clothes from stores like Nike, Forever 21, H&M) is causing cheap clothes to pile up in landfills and to be honest, you're paying wayyy too much for the price it took to make that clothing item. You can read more about fast fashion here. Plus, a lot of these companies use women/child labor in other countries, and are paying them as little at $4 an hour. Of course, it is often inevitable to buy clothes from stores like these, but instead of buying ALL of your clothes from there, why not try a thrift shop?

3. Get creative!
I have found that thrift stores can actually carry some high end products if you dig around! One brand in particular that I have found a couple great items from is Tommy Hilfiger. Last Sunday I got a Tommy Jeans sweatshirt for literally ONE DOLLAH. I think that with thrift shopping, you have to be open to going a little bit out of your comfort zone and buying things that you normally wouldn't, or you have to have an idea of what you want from a thrift store before you go, otherwise you might not find anything you will actually like(if you're a picky thrifter like I am). ALSO a tip is-- when you go, TRY IT ON and make sure that you will actually wear the piece of clothing because you don't want to end up buying 15 items for $20 but then you end up wearing only one of them.

4. Thrift stores change daily
You can basically go as often as you like and find something new every single day. You will not run out of items, and if you travel other places, feel free to go to their thrift stores too! You never know what you will find. You can also totally DIY your own clothes from thrift store clothes as well, like cutting the bottom of an oversized sweatshirt or making some shorts out of some jeans you find. And you might not just find clothes, but cool cups or records, or decorations that you can refurbish as a little project!

5. You can give back!
When you go and buy clothes, also remember to give some of your own back! Goodwill in particular gives back to the community by helping people get jobs, and who knows, maybe your piece of clothing from last year will be someone else's favorite item to wear.

I hope that this has inspired you to go thrifting!! Go with some friends and help each other pick some items out. You'd be surprised at how much time you can spend thrifting and what great deals you can find.

Welp, talk to ya later!
Joy :)

January Faves

Hello, friend!

January is now far behind us, and I thought it might be fun to share with you guys some of the things that I loved last month, like food, entertainment, etc! These blog posts are fun because then you get a lot of ideas about what to do differently or add to your routine in the next month.

Watch/Listen:

1. RKCB
RKCB is a small group that does indie/EDM type music, and I have been loving the songs, "Open Arms," "Daydreaming," and "Restless". They just do a great job at making music that is relaxing and nostalgic sounding, but at the same time extremely modern and catchy.

2. La La Land
Okay, this is a given because of my last blog post, but I have been loving the soundtrack. Enough said.

3. John Lusk- Increase Our Faith
This video series on Dtoday.tv is great! John Lusk made a series of 8 videos that contain great scriptures from the bible and fantastic stories about how God has strengthened his faith and thousands of others. He also gives you practicals that you can really think about for a while and discover more about yourself and your own faith as you watch the videos. 10/10 recommend!

Apps:

1. Glitche
This is one of the coolest photo effect apps that I've ever seen! It doesn't really have filters, it just has a different range of effects that can make your pictures look like there's been a glitch in them.
Here are some photos that I've taken and edited on Glitche:

2. SleepCycle
I honestly have loved this app for like 5 years(I've had it since it was free), and I do believe that it has helped me to get more sleep, especially in this past month! This app is basically a smart alarm clock that has a sound and vibration sensor to monitor your sleep. It can tell you when you were in the most deep sleep and the closest to awake, and wakes you up in a time gap between 10-90 minutes before the time that you set your alarm to. I normally have my alarm on 10 minutes gap during school days and 30 minutes(recommended) gap during the weekends. This is because if you are in a deep sleep, and you enter your "time gap," (the amount of optional time you set before your alarm), it will wait a little later until you are out of your deep sleep cycle and then set the alarm off. It records it all into a graph and then tell you how long you were in bed for, your sleep quality, average time sleeping for the month or week, etc. This app helps me to see my trends in my sleep, and the alarm sounds are also extremely calming to wake up to, versus a typical clock alarm.

Food:

1. Fresh berries
This might sound SOO boring and you might be thinking,"Joy what the heck everyone has fruit," but there's something special about having them in the winter that makes them so much more enjoyable(probably because it reminds me of summer). I normally take a bag of blueberries and bring them to my first hour class and eat them, and then after school snack on some blackberries!

2. Basil Pesto, Black Olive and Feta
YAY pesto!! It can literally go on anything. I have recently been making my own paninis at home with pesto, lettuce, cheese, ham, etc and then putting it into the toaster oven at home. It's DELISH! Also, I'll put just pesto and then some parmesan cheese and wallah-- super easy tasty lunch!

Fashion:

1. WithWaikei
I discovered her at the beginning of the month, and she is now my style inspiration. She has her own blog and makes every outfit look so effortless and put-together!! If you want to check her out, this is her blog. 

2. Olivia Jade
Aunt Becky from Full House's daughter inreallife. She's gorgeous(just like Aunt Becky/Lori Loughlin) and her minimalistic attitude about makeup and fashion is right up my alley!! She has a Youtube channel that is growing so quickly, she just has a really down to earth, non bragging personality which I think can be rare in the Youtube fashion community.

3. Morphe
This month I purchased a morphe eyeshadow palette, it's called Fall into Frost. IT'S AMAZING. It has 35 different colors, with one row being matte colors, and the rest cute glittery colors. It's only $22 which is QUITE cheap for 35 extremely pigmented eyeshadows. I feel like since I'm just experimenting with makeup, it's a great palette for a beginning like me! :) However, some beauty gurus like Jaclyn Hill and Zoella rave about this palette as well, and they're certainly not beginners. You can buy it at morphebrushes.com and if you go to Jaclyn Hill's Youtube channel I think she has a discount for the palettes as well.

As I end this blog post, I am going to end it with an idea that I want to focus on in February. I know that I've (more than once), felt incredibly uncomfortable around a person who has hardcore judged another person and assumed their whole life story after meeting them just one time. They say things that are downright rude and unneccessary, but most of all WRONG about the other person and based on zero facts. Recently I had one of these experiences, and I just wanted to focus on the fact that it's not right to judge other people and assume that you know everything about them after just one or even several interactions with them. "Judging a book by it's cover," can also be applied to a person. Obviously, it is very difficult to judge other people; we judge EVERYTHING every time that we're on social media, and this judge mental mindset leaks into our interactions with another. It's important to talk about some more serious topics like these, and I challenge you this month to be less judgmental of others and remember to give them the benefit of the doubt.

Happy February! xx
Joy :)

To Dream or not to Dream

Hello, friend!

Recently, I just watched La La Land and I was so intrigued by it, I thought I'd do a little ol' blog post about it. If you haven't watched it, I am going to let you know that there will be !!spoiler alerts!!  a little bit later on so don't continue to read if you're going to watch it soon or want to watch it.

The movie starts out with a classic scenario, Sebastian(Ryan Gosling) and Mia(Emma Stone), destined to be together even though it certainly was not love at first sight. They both have big dreams; Mia wants to be an actress and has been auditioning for seven years, while Sebastian wants to bring jazz back into the spotlight again.

They end up singing a song that has lyrics like, "what a (waste) of a lovely night," and then BAM they're together, both doing what they love and supporting each other through the ups and downs of life and then it kind of spirals downwards from there(their relationship)...

It seemed cruel that they had to choose between doing what they loved, and being with who they loved. The cinematography itself was beautiful, yet the storyline was tragic(for me). Mia eventually ends up marrying someone else and having a baby girl, but then RIGHT before the end there's this crazy montage of scenes that let you visualize what COULD have happened if Mia and Sebastian ended up together. That relates back to the movie's title, La La Land(also Los Angeles), as Mia and Sebastian could have ended up in this dream fantasy land, but didn't. I would argue that they did both have happy endings, as they achieved their dreams, and were accepting of the fact that they didn't end up together, but it wasn't what the audience really wanted. Mia and Sebastian smile before they go their separate ways, which ends the movie peacefully, at least.

This movie is realistic, in the fact that

you can't always get where you want to be with everyone you want by your side.

and I enjoyed that. It's simply about two people who have passion finding each other, and watching passionate people really inspires me to go after doing more of what I love.  The soundtrack is fantastic as well! It's obviously very different than all of the EDM, pop music I hear everyday. The instrumental music fits the scenes perfectly and captures your attention instantly.

Even though it is a "realistic" (but not really) movie, which can take on a negative connotation, it still has hope. That's what fuels Mia's and Sebastian's passions, and hope fuels us everyday as well. It inspires us to get out in the world and do things. There's this one song Mia sings for an audition towards the end of the movie and it's dedicated to the dreamers and the mess that they make. I realized that without dreams, or vision, nothing great would ever happen or change. IT'S SO CHEESY BUT IT'S TRUE.

Anyways, as you go throughout your busy life, don't forget that taking time to dream is important too.

xx
Joy :)

5 Winter Wardrobe Essentials

Hello, friend!

Here is a list of some clothing items that I believe are CRUCIAL to have in your closet during the chilly months of Winter.

1. Turtlenecks

OH-MY-GOSH this is a must. Turtlenecks are incredibly easy to style, and they come in every single color imagined! If you're starting out, try getting a black turtleneck, or maybe a white one if you have black hair(that way it won't wash you out). I have several-- white, pink, gingham ... they're addicting. I also love mock-neck sweaters just as much, and you might want to check these out if you don't like the idea of a lot of fabric around your neck. Turtlenecks + dark wash or black ripped jeans + converse or boots = <3

2. Pom-Pom Hats

These are so cute!! I have been seeing them all over the fashion side of Youtube, and my friend Eliciane got me a black hat that has a little brown/blonde pom-pom on it! I've also been seeing double pom-pom hats at H&M, which make you look like a panda or a bear, and are adorable. Hats will help keep your head warm AND stylish if you're walking around outside in the cold.

3. Cozy Sweaters

Okay, this is pretty much a given because every girl should have like one sweater for the winter! Just like the turtlenecks, you don't really have to do much to style it, but make sure that its completely comfortable because thats the whole point! You can dress up a sweater with a necklace, or even layer a thin one over a button-down for a casual business look(I actually really like this look, but since I'm in high school I am figuring that I can wait until college to pull this one off).

4. Boots

Tall, short, bright, or shiny, all boots are widely appreciated in the winter. Tall boots are great for when you want to make an outfit more dressy and keep your calves really warm! Short boots are fantastic for when you want to keep your toes warm and let your legs breathe more. I find that wearing boots also give your feet more support and then you get to let your other pairs of shoes take a break.

5. Hoodies

For a while I completely lost interest in hoodies(because the ones I owned were all way too big for my little 7th grade body) and then I regained interest after I went thrift shopping with my friend Abby and found the perfect pink hoodie that says Niagara Falls on it(I've been there)!! I feel like winter overall is sort of a season where I am constantly in between- do I want to look good or feel warm and cozy?? And hoodies can honestly do BOTH for you if you find the right ones! It's all about the fit and the feel. I literally don't understand why people buy anything uncomfortable.

Well, I hope that this quick list has helped you a little bit! :) What are some of your winter essential clothing items?? Leave it down in the comments!

xx
Joy :)

Hazy Days

Hello, friend!!

It's that time in January where the hype from all of the holidays and real life sinks back in. I have been busy studying for finals this week, and to be honest, I think that this has been least motivated I have been to study for finals all throughout my high school career. It's just hard to get myself to be motivated for my SECOND TO LAST finals of high school. Yes, second to last EVER finals, or technically the last winter finals that I'll ever have of boring high school. 

While I've been trying to study, it hasn't helped that it's been cold and gray outside. I just want to hop into bed and take a nap!(so much for my new year's resolutions). 

I would just like to say that whoever thought that it would be a good idea to release, "Moana," during the winter was probably already living in a tropical climate(thank u very little). Okay also, that soundtrack is my favorite thing at the moment.  I have been playing guitar a lot more recently and getting more and more excited about Spring. I've found that for myself, the little things that I do(like playing guitar for 20 minutes, reading a bit before I go to bed, etc) can make these hazy days seem a lot better and go by a lot quicker!! If you find yourself in a fog, my advice is to pay attention to the little things you're doing in your life and change them just a little bit to make things more interesting.

This is just a super short blog update on what I have and haven't been doing recently, and I'll be getting back into more weekly blogging after finals! :) 

xx

Joy :)

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 :)