STUPID, STUPID, STUPID.

Dear Reader,

I am 18. I can smoke and buy lottery tickets and vote in this country–a country that I know nothing about.

I’ve been feeling awfully stupid lately (I think college/finals has a way of doing that to a person), so last night I decided to quiz myself on the state capitals. THE STATE CAPITALS! We learned this stuff in 8th grade! And you want to know what I got?

20.

A solid 40%. Yup, way to go there, Sammy.

And among those that I missed? Phoenix, Arizona. Denver, Colorado. MONTGOMERY, ALABAMA. 

I mean, I can forgive myself for forgetting about Topeka and Trenton, but come on. Everyone knows Montgomery, Alabama!

And my first instinct was, God, shouldn’t I know this? Shouldn’t I have been taught this better? 

No, no. This is not a teaching issue. I am not about to insult the profession that I’m going into. Because this is not on them, this is on me.

And sure, maybe it’s not exactly brought up too often at the dinner table. Maybe knowing that the capital of South Dakota is Pierre isn’t exactly handy, but this is my country! And I want to be a traveler! I’m proud enough to own up to my Canadian heritage, so shouldn’t I know all of the provinces and territories of Canada as well?

Basically, this was a wake up call. A stupid one, I’ll admit, but one that screams, You’re a poser! 

I want to see the world. All of it. And I might as well start with the soil I stand on. I mean, I’m sure I could make some lovely memories in Delaware and Utah. I might as well educate myself before I leave.

I understand that this post was probably pointless to read, but I was just floored with this new information.

I don’t know, I’ve got some changes to make.

Sincerely,

Sammy

PS. Good for you for sticking to the end. For that, I am sharing my all-time favorite song of the moment. It has been on repeat for a solid three days now so enjoy, will you?

High – Young Rising Sons

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BOOKS ARE REFRESHING

I find books refreshing.

Chapter One.

You meet your protagonist. Sometimes you meet them in their worst state–directly after a tragedy. You meet a shell of a person. Pathetic. Probably not doing much. Wondering if they can carry on. But you know they will.

You read Chapter One and you know there’s going to be more. Many more. Sometimes hundreds of chapters.

And you know that by the last chapter, your character will be whole again. Or on their way.

You don’t know what’s about to happen within these pages, I mean sometimes you have an idea, but you don’t know for sure. And, of course, even your best guesses can sometimes be horribly wrong. There are such things as plot twists, you know.

And sometimes, many times, I find, the book turns out to be a better story than you could’ve hoped for. The characters your protagonist meets are surprising. They’re loving and supportive. They deal with their own troubles too, of course, yet they’re still so good.

Then there’s all of these crazy events that happen. Weird plot lines and crazy stories and remarkable adventures, all covered on these next pages.

But then it ends. If you think as I do–and I encourage you to make the jump with me–these characters lives’ don’t end. There are epilogues, some never told. The characters don’t just die at the end of their novel. At least not always. Not all of them.

I like to believe that they live on, sometimes ordinarily. Maybe something not quite sequel-worthy, but they live on.

But the story is so important. Everything that starts with Chapter One and ends on Chapter Who’s-Keeping-Count-Anymore is important. The characters develop. The problem is solved. The world is right again.

I don’t know that my story has started yet, but I take comfort in the fact that I can be far from perfect when it does. And I surely won’t end up as a perfect character, but I like to believe that something incredible is in store for me. Not that I should just wait around for it, but it’s nice to believe that everything is going to be okay.

One day, I’ll have my own Chapter One. I might be a hot mess, but we’ll just go with it.

My story will be written.

On days as sad as this one, it’s nice to believe that this might one day happen to me. It’s nice to escape into the mind of my 10-year-old self and believe that I am the star of my own story.

It’s nice to find books refreshing.

{TAG} I LOVE WINTER

Dear Reader,

Enjoy this throwback picture to last winter–one of the best winters we’ve ever had.

Sooo I wasn’t tagged to do this, but it popped up on my feed one day thanks to the wonderful blogs by Taisie and Fleur. And, for those of you who don’t know, I love winter. I’m obsessed with it. So, this tag was just begging me to complete it–I mean, it was screaming my name. And I’d never done one before, so I thought I might as well start now. Enjoy! And do it for yourself, if you want!

If you need a more formal invitation, well, then, I tag you to do it! Ha!

1. Do you like the cold?

YES. I don’t necessarily like being cold, but I love bundling up so much that only my nose and eyes can be seen and in order to carry on a conversation, I must turn my whole head.

2.Favorite Part About Winter?

Snow. I love snow. Not just the blanket of snow or watching it fall through the window. No, I love standing outside in the snowfall, holding my hands in front of me, watching the little snowflakes make plops all around. I even love twirling around, looking at the sky, pretending like I don’t know where all of this magic is coming from.

3.Favorite Winter Drink? 
Hot chocolate. I don’t ever add peppermint or white chocolate or anything like that in it, I just drink it plain–sometimes with marshmallows. It’s just the perfect winter drink, in my opinion. Simple. Classic. Traditional.

4. Do You Do Any Outdoor Activity’s In The Winter?
I actually go on a ton more walks in the winter, but no one ever wants to go with me. I just love being outside in the winter–which seems to be the exact opposite feeling of that of my friends and family. But it’s also kind of nice to wander around alone, and not really worry about running into too many people you know. And if you do run into them, they’re most likely in a hurry to get someplace warm, so you can be on your way with as much as a “hey, how are you?” And if they’re not in a rush, then you’ve found yourself another winter enthusiast. It’s a win-win.

5.Favorite Winter Scent?
Pine trees. Warm vanilla. Gingerbread. Homemade cooking. Ahhh the many marvelous scents of winter.

6.Does It Snow Where You Live?
Yes and thank goodness it does. For a few months, the whole world where I live changes color. It’s amazing.

7.Favorite Clothing Item In Winter?
Everything. I layer it all. I wear sweaters and vests and chunky scarves and hats and winter boots with leggings and knit socks. Perfection.

8.Your Favorite Winter Memory?
Winter includes so many favorite memories from my childhood. Skiing with my Canadian family, snow-tubing with my cousins from Ohio, going to the lights at the zoo and getting free chocolate as a treat. But this winter, I’m going to make some of the best memories yet. This winter’s definitely going to be one for the books.

Sincerely,

Sammy

PS. I find this song fitting for this post. Have you guys seen the McDonald’s White Chocolate Mocha commercial? Well, as it turns out, their little jingle is actually a full song. And I love it. It’s called Keep Me Warm by Erin Bowman and I definitely recommend checking it out.

I DON’T KNOW WHAT TO TITLE THIS SO JUST READ IT IF YOU WANT

Dear Reader,

This week has truly been one of the worst of my life. I know that sounds extremely dramatic, and may be troubling to hear, but in all honesty my life has not been terrible. I haven’t had to endure many tragedies or go through anything too awful (that I can think of, at least–unless I’m just repressing some things), so understand that this is all relative.

That being said, this week I have been more tired and stressed than I have ever been before (I kid you not–I fell asleep writing a paper and when I woke up there were some very confusing sentences that lead me to believe that I actually wrote part of it in my sleep). I’ve never felt worse about myself and I’ve never been so close to a nervous breakdown for so long. Everything just seems to build up and, though I’ve let some of it out, I know it’s only a matter of time before something truly pushes me over the edge and I burst.

Now, these are just the lows. I’ve felt this low for a majority of the week, but I’ve also had some highs. I’ve had some wonderful moments this week and I’ve truly laughed much more than usual.

I guess what I’m saying is that this whole week has been one big, draining, emotional roller coaster. But that’s college I suppose.

I promise I do have a point for writing this, though. Something that all of this has done is inspired me to write. I started off the week writing more than usual (just on small projects and my working novels and things like that), but when finals week started approaching faster and faster, I had to put it all on pause. Since then, I’ve had more inspiration than I know what to do with. Everything either reminds me of a character from my book or a potential blog post or a change I could make in my lyric essay. And it’s been really hard not to give in, even though I really don’t have the time to.

So, what I’ve decided to announce, is that I think I’m going to start sharing some of my writing. I don’t know how much within the next week, considering I still have finals to worry about, but I’m going to start putting myself out there. First, probably, with stupid little thoughts I decide to fashion into something creative, but then maybe some personal essays or memoir-type writings and things like that.

Because, honestly, that’s why my blog exists. I’m just writing whatever comes to mind, sharing anything I like, and interacting with people just like me. And people much different from me.

I’m just kind of going in whatever direction I feel like, and this is how I feel right now. And  I just thought I’d let anyone know that wanted to, because this is something I’ve very much looking forward to.

Sincerely,

Sammy

PS. Song of the moment for me is Yellow Flicker Beat by Lorde. It’s from the Mockingjay soundtrack and it’s really hard to listen to without singing along.

{TOP 5} ARTISTS TO LISTEN TO THIS HOLIDAY SEASON

Dear Reader,

Happy December! I’ve been listening to Christmas music for about a month now, but I’m so excited that it’s finally acceptable to be festive! So to show how excited I am, I was going to list my top 10 Christmas songs. But as I was creating this list, I realized that it was all songs from about five different artists. So, here are the artists that I’m listening to on repeat this holiday season.

The Barenaked Ladies

My family is in love with The Barenaked Ladies. Kind of a weird sentence for those who’ve never heard of the musical group before, but their album, Barenaked for the Holidays is always the first album playing throughout our household come December. My personal favorites would have to be Jingle Bells, God Rest Ye Merry Gentleman/We Three Kings (with Sarah McLachlan), Snowmen, and Do They Know it’s Christmas. The whole album is great, though.

Michael Buble

Another favorite at my house is Michael Buble. He was actually the first person I saw in concert–fun fact–and he was amazing, as always. His whole album, Christmas, is awesome, but my favorites would have to be Jingle Bells (feat. The Puppini Sisters) and Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas. My absolute, all-time favorite Christmas song, though, is actually with The Barenaked Ladies and  Michael Buble: Elf’s Lament. If nothing else, do yourself a favor and listen to this song; it’s hilarious and wonderful.

Straight No Chaser

This group would also go under the hilarious and wonderful category. They actually have a few Christmas albums: Holiday Spirits, Christmas Cheers, and Under the Influence: Holiday Edition. My favorite songs for the pure entertainment of the lyrics would probably be The Christmas Can-Can, The 12 Days of Christmas, Who Spiked the Eggnog, and, of course, Nutcracker. Their new song with Kristen Bell, Text Me Merry Christmas, is great, too, but my absolute favorite is definitely You’re a Mean One, Mr. Grinch. I’m a sucker for those low notes.

Pentatonix

Pentatonix is like Straight No Chaser because they’re both acapella groups, but they’re definitely unique. They came out with “PTXmas” first and they’re now out with “That’s Christmas To Me.” It was so hard to come up with a favorite for them, but I’d have to say Carol of the Bells, Mary, Did You Know?, and their original, That’s Christmas To Me. While you’re checking them out, though, definitely look at their other stuff. They’re fantastic.

The Piano Guys

Last but not least I had to include The Piano Guys. Sometimes I opt for the instrumental Christmas tunes over the overplayed All I Want For Christmas is You-type tunes for the holidays. Their version of Carol of the Bells is amazing, of course, but their cover of Angels We Have Heard on High is spectacular.

Well there’s my list! Let me know if there are any other artists or albums I should look out for this holiday season.

It feels like Christmas already. 🙂

Sincerely,

Sammy