{NEW VIDEO} SARAH AND I GET CULTURED

Dear Reader,

Great things are happening!!! Sarah and I have now completed 5 out of the 30 items on the bucket list. We have plans to finish a lot of the others within the next two weeks. AND I already finished editing the vlog of us going to the Toledo Museum of Art and writing on the Before I Die wall!

I still have to finish editing/upload the video of what we did in camera and the one about what the psychic told me, but I really think I’m getting better at making videos! (You can be the judge of that though.)

Anyway, it’s Sunday morning, I’ve got the whole day/week ahead of me, and things are looking good.

Sincerely,

Sammy

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[SBL2K16] #12. WATCH THE SUNRISE

Dear Reader,

I realized that I never actually gave you guys the finished list of what Sarah and I expect to complete this summer, so you can find that here.

#12 on that list is to find the best place in our hometown to watch the sunrise/sunset. We had this place in mind called “420 park,” but it was pretty disappointing to say the least. First of all, it’s not a park. It’s just a little clearing that’s sort of out of the way, so I’m sure it’s perfect for high schoolers to come and smoke weed. It’s not quite ideal for the sunrise.

Still, we woke up a little after five and drove to it and recorded some stuff, so I figured I’d at least edit it into a video. Besides, Sarah got a sweet timelapse of the sunrise (it’s better on her twitter because she puts it to the song “Catch & Release,” so check that out here if you’re interested.)

I’m just currently a little frustrated because I have this nice camera that I’m a little too incompetent to use and I’m spoiled at school with Adobe Premiere Pro, so being at home with nothing but iMovie (and my sister’s laptop because mine is lame) is annoying. It’s easy to use and everything, I just want it to look nice. I want to upload high quality shit, ya feel?

Anyway, no one started out as an expert, right? And the best way to learn is by doing, right? These are the mantras I repeat to myself on a daily basis.

So here’s the final product, if you care to watch.

Of course, none of this matters. Because at the end of the day, Sarah and I had a great time going to the “park” and having a nice conversation while we watched the rising sun on a blanket near the river.

I’m loving life, I’m loving summer, and I’m sorry I can’t better capture that for you, but I’m also glad I have the perspective to love where I’m at in my life right now.

Sincerely,

Sammy

{NEW VIDEO} SUMMER BUCKET LIST

Dear Reader,

I am SO behind with everything. Because of my summer class, I haven’t really had the time to relax and get organized, like I planned on doing, but I’ll officially be done with it after today which means I can get back to my life!

In other words, I can get back to sharing my life.

I can get back to blogging.

But I have a lot of projects in the works right now. I got back from Cuba a week ago and I have a ton of footage to edit and stories to tell and pieces to write, but I also have other ideas for this summer.

Sarah and I are doing a bucket list (we made this video like three weeks ago and I uploaded it last week so sorry for the tardiness) this summer and I think I’m going to get back to writing book reviews (I’ve finished Yes Please, China Rich Girlfriend, and The Summer I Turned Pretty trilogy recently).

Also Sarah really wants me to write another “If We Were Having Coffee” posts. She hardly ever reads my blog but she loves the ones I write like that for some reason so I’ll probably do one soon.

Anyway, I have a ton to do before my class is officially over, so I’ve got to get back to work, but yay for it being finally summer!

Sincerely,

Sammy

MY 2015 BUCKET LIST RECAP

Dear Reader,

At the beginning of 2015, I started a bucket list in the hopes that at the end of the year, I would be somewhat more talented, worldly, or just have done more stuff, I guess. Although I didn’t get to complete everything on the list (when do I ever, really?) I did do a lot this year that I’m proud of. So I thought I’d make this recap.

In 2015 I…

• became an Aunt

• rushed (and joined) a sorority

• completed The Empty Shelf Challenge (at least the filling up the (third) shelf part)

• went somewhere new (Gatlingburg, TN)

• watched 50 new movies
• made a jar for memories (and gave it to Sarah)

• was more confident in a bathing suit than I have been, but we’re still working on it
  
• wrote at least 3 letters to 23-year-old Sammy
• ran a 5k (and took HORRIBLE pictures but I’ll post them here anyway)

• finished my daily sudoku puzzles (from 2014)
• went to a concert (Ed Sheeran!!)
• watched the sunrise

• learned how to use chopsticks
• joined a new club (lol yay CLT!)
• explored interesting buildings on campus that I’ve never seen before

• wrote a letter

• took a hot bath/had a spa day (this is the most scandalous pic I’ve ever taken)

• talked to strangers
• volunteered (I so wish I had a picture of this because it was with puppies but ugh I don’t)
• reached 300 followers on Sincerely Sammy 
• took senior pictures with Sarah

• learned how to tap dance (more or less)
• started a YouTube channel

• took a road trip with Sarah!

• used the ouija board for the first time in years (I’m planning on telling that story on here eventually)

and the last thing on my bucket list was:

• be someone’s inspiration for 2016–I don’t know if I actually did that one but it was a good one to keep on here nonetheless

 

So here’s to 2015, and here’s to the new year! If you feel inclined, I would love to know what some of your highlights of the year were in the comments! Also, leave any suggestions for a 2016 bucket list–Sarah agreed to join me this year and we have some big things planned. 🙂

Sincerely,

Sammy

{ESC} BOOK THIRTEEN: NINETEEN MINUTES

Dear Reader,

This book took FOREVER to finish. Yeah it’s almost 500 pages and it’s not always the most action-packed reading, but it’s more than that. It’s a lot different than the books I normally blow through. I mean, if you look at my most recent books, I’ve read about happiness and road trips and memoirs of people living out their dreams.

This book is about a school shooting.

I’m not going to give away more than that, but I’m going to be honest. It was hard for me to get through. If I read it before bed, I’d often dream about guns and violence or sometimes not be able to sleep (this was during my second semester of college, as well). And then I wasn’t particularly eager to make time in my day to read it, but I did want to finish it. Mostly because my sister said she read it and it “messed her up,” but she still highly recommended it.

And I’m glad I finished it. It was a really good story, and the first book of Jodi Picoult’s I read–and I’ll definitely read more. She’s an amazing writer, but all of her books are about such heavy topics. Still, they’re worth it to read. They make you think and figure out more about yourself, as you notice your own reactions and feelings towards these characters and their story.

Most importantly, though, it made me think about how I’m going to be when I’m a teacher. This shooting was done by someone on the inside–a kid who had obviously been struggling. And as someone who’s going into education, I’ve learned about school shootings, and I’ve been taught how to prepare and how to act not “if” it happens, but “when.” That’s how teachers these days must be taught, because school shootings seem to be happening more often these days.

And I know it’ll be my job to teach students about “The Great Gatsby” and prepare them for the ACT, but a bigger, debatably more important, part of my job will be to be there for the students. Every one of them. In the best way that I can.

And I’m determined to learn how to do that to the best of my ability.

So. This book. I say 5 stars, and I say take the time to read it. Make the effort, because it’s worth it.

Sincerely,

Sammy

Summer is a Long Weekend and July is Saturday

Dear Reader,

In a metaphorical sense, this is spot on. June is Friday; maybe you have a half-day of school or maybe you’re entirely free the whole day. Either way, you’re easing into things. You’re planning for the best weekend (summer) of your life. Or maybe you’re ditching all plans and starting with a bang–full-throttle. Then August is Sunday; you’re recovering. You can still go out and have fun, but in the back of your mind you know you have to get ready to go back to school. But as far as I’m concerned, that’s the distant future. After all, it’s Saturday morning and I don’t have a care in the world. I do, however, have a full day ahead of me.

So, I’m ditching my bowl of frosted flakes and early-morning cartoons, getting out of my gently-worn recliner, and grabbing my notebook. Oh yeah, I’m going all-in on this metaphor. And I’m making a July Bucket List.

I am obsessed with bucket lists. I’m obsessed with lists in general, I actually make several a week, and bucket lists give my to-dos the most dramatic deadline ever. I’m also awful with deadlines, and I’m awful with following through after saying something is going to be different. But I’m committing with you, dear reader, as my witness. And it’s going to be unbelievably shameful if I don’t stick to my word this time (so let’s hope this works).

So without further ado, and in no particular order, my July Bucket List:

1. travel out of the state (I’m leaving on Saturday for Texas, so yes, I’m starting with something that is inevitable. It’s kind of like how I start each daily to-do list with “wake up.” It gets things off to a good start)
2. deliver cupcakes to friends
3. get bikini-body confidence–I’ve never been confident in a bathing suit before in my entire life, and I plan to change that
4. take a picture every day
5. watch the sunrise–just once out of the whole month of July; I think that’s doable
6. explore my hometown
7. chill on a rooftop 
8. learn how to make sushi
9. ride a rollercoaster
10. post 16 entries on blog (one every other day)
11. volunteer
12. go to the farmer’s market
13. learn how to juggle
14. read 5 books
15. chinese fire drill–this is one of my favorite things in the world
16. write the first chapter of my novel
17. silly string someone
18. give Jaden her birthday present (it’s seven months late)
19. go to a water park
20. finish a sudoku puzzle a day (I’ve been neglecting my calendar)
21. run a mile everyday for a week 
22. pull a prank 
23. finish Sherlock 
24. finish The Fault in our Stars
25. finish Looking for Alaska (I’m on the last episode of the third season of Sherlock and I have maybe 50-75 pages of TFIOS and LFA but I’m just really bad at finishing things. I don’t know why.)

Well, I have 29 days to complete 25 items from this list. I think that’s reasonable. Especially since some of them are so stupid, they’ll take minutes to complete. And I’ll obviously be updating my progress on this blog, so let’s hope I stick to my word. Or this will be embarrassing for everyone.

Secondhand embarrassment is real.

Sincerely,

Sammy