escaping the daily grind

I only have 23 more days left of high school. My thoughts in the past few months have been overflowing with expectations of the future. 2015 is going to be my year,  I can feel it.  And though I feel so content about the things that are to come, I wanted to do something special for myself today to appreciate the things I have experienced. You see, as this year has been drawing to a close, I've seen posts from friends that say things along the lines of "wow I've changed so much since last year" to "wow I didn't do anything this year". Naturally I began to question where I belonged among all of this diversity. I sat down and made a list of everything I accomplished during my 17th year of life and my eyes were opened in an instant.

This is only the first page.

This is the year I learned how to deal with the sting of being alive. I learned not to just love my life when it felt beautiful enough to be portrayed on a screen, but in it's moments of  fatigue and darkness. I understand that I can sit here and tell you this, but you know as well as I that this is a feat that is easier said than done. I realized that the dozens of people who assured me to "just be myself and everything will be alright" were telling the truth. I am still struggling to feel happy with my daily grind (that involves waking up at 5:30 AM), but I have learned how not to feel unhappy and right now that is enough for me. Life is about progression.

 I am here to share some of my most beautiful moments of 2014. These are the good times that helped me feel again. These wonderful memories give me perspective that life is more than assignments, alarms and stressing over the small stuff. 

March 28th - April 2nd: Food, Clothes & Broadway Shows.

 August 4th- 8th: the week I learned more about myself than I thought I ever could.

ALL YEAR ROUND: tears, laughter & love with "my tribe" of two.

November: friends, overwhelming joy and cow costumes.

Some trinkets that make me smile.

To whoever reads this post, let this be the year that you shy away from dozens of your desires on paper and choose to have one significant resolution: do what makes your soul happy & just live.

xoxo

Hallie Jo