September Playlist

here's a playlist for September made by me and my best friend. I acknowledge that there are like five songs with cigarette in the title- that was not on purpose. enjoy and comment favorites!

Cigarettes- The Color and Sounds

For Sondra- Passion Pit

Cigarette Duet- Princess Chelsea

Building the Ark- Slaughter Beach, Dog

Cigarette Smoker Fiona- Arctic Monkeys

Creature Comfort- Arcade Fire

Cigarettes and Old Perfume- Have Mercy

Now I'm Cool- Coast Modern

The Woods- Drenge

Who's Laughing Now- Goldfinger

Seattle- Bellevue Days

Island- HOAX

Lemontrees- Eagulls

Lines that Burn- Tilian

But Not Tonight- Depeche Mode

All Of Me- John Legend

Mirror Kissers- The Cribs

The Hamptons- Transviolet

First Love/Late Spring- Mitski

Machinist- Japanese Breakfast

Revenge of the SpiderBees- Prince Daddy & the Hyena

Ooh La La- The Well Pennies

Girl From Mars- Cosmic Child

Vintage- Allie X

Howl- Declan McKenna

Hard Feelings/Loveless- Lorde

Cherry Wine- Overcoats

Teen Idle- Marina and the Diamonds

The Fear Song- Amanda Palmer & Jason Webley

Pieces of You- Ben Sollee

Pleaser- Wallows

Rumors- Joywave

Overnight- Parcels

One- Birdtalker

You Light My Fire- Nate Ruess

Look What You Made Me Do- Taylor Swift

Pieces (Radio Mix)- Rob Thomas

Basket Case- Bastille

Where the Heck is Vivian?

Hey! First of all, it's been forever. I'm so sorry I haven't had anything interesting to post on ((and to be honest I still don't right now)). So I just want to update you about my life right now and tell you why I haven't been around the blogosphere much lately, and assure you I'm still here and am not leaving!

So basically college. College is a thing. I'm right now applying to schools because believe it or not I'm heading to college next fall *ahhhhh*. So I've been spending weekend time writing essays which may be why there's been a shortage of blog posts. I'm hoping to have most of my applications in by November 1st because I'm doing early decision for some schools, so you can count on seeing a lot more of me when that date rolls around. But until then my posts may be a little sparse, but I appreciate all the understanding and support you guys always have for me.

Another things that's taking up a LOT of time is that I'm working on my AP Studio Art portfolio. Since my school does our year in semesters, I have to have the entire portfolio done by January. That's like a piece a week so I've been spending a ton of time brainstorming and painting and planning all that artwork. I'm super excited to share that with all of you though, because to be honest you followers have really inspired me to continue pursuing art with all of your encouragement. I'm really happy to be continuing to make it a core part of me and my life.

And that leads us to youtube. You're probably wondering if that was just a myth. I'm praying it's not- it's super in limbo right now just because I really don't have a proper set-up, and I'm hesitant to post less-than-good-quality videos. I want to have a strong start. So I'm sort of waiting around to have my shelves in my room moved and get a proper stand and whatnot. It's still in progress, thank you for your patience. Once that's up I'll hopefully start showing AP work, which will be super exciting, along with my other normal work.

I have also been reading a lot. I've been trying to branch out and read lots of genres and types of books, and I've gotten really into graphic novels. I'll be posting my monthly book review posts to show you all what I've been reading.

As for poetry, it's still always being written. A lot of it has just been pretty personal lately. But I'm trying to overcome my fear of sharing personal poetry because let's be honest what poetry besides like humorous limericks isn't personal? So I'll try to get some more of that posted up shortly.

Besides that as always I love you guys- I'm thinking about all of you in your new school years as well and what you're up to, and I'm reading all your posts whenever they drop in my email! Thanks for sticking around even while I'm crazy busy, I'm going to post a playlist for you all after this as a thank you <3

August Book Reviews

Hello friends! So I'm trying out a new style of book review for my blog- basically instead of doing one long book review for each book I thought I could just sum up all the books I read at the end of each month. Although I'm an avid reader and read all the time, I have a confession to make- I'm a much slower reader than some of you other book bloggers! Maybe I read quickly technically, but when it comes to literature I like to spend time looking back on details and flipping through pages to catch threads. So I take my time. But that said, I apologize if there's not like twenty books on here per month like some of you manage- I don't know how you do it. But let me know how you like this style in the comments, and comment your thoughts on any you've read.

p.s. sorry it's a tad late I was on vacation this weekend and couldn't post

Loving vs. Virginia by Patricia Hruby Powell; Illustrated by Shadra Strickland
5/5 Stars

This poem/graphic novel/ documentary novel was painfully beautiful and dealt delicately and simply with complex matters like civil rights and love. I almost cried like three times, which is a lot for someone who never cries during books. The poem was so artistically done, and kept the story open to reader interpretation and didn't try to fill in historical gaps that could only be truly known if you were there, instead leaving the reader to enjoy and imagine what life was like for this couple. PLEASE READ THIS BOOK

The Great Gatsby by F. Scott Fitzergald
4/5 Stars

This is a classic, which I missed out on reading in English last year, so I had to pick it up this summer. The language in this is A M A Z I N G. If you're a sucker for run on sentences and loads of description like I am, then you simply have to pick this one up. The reason it only made four out of five stars is probably because of the ending- I wish it had had a more resounding, closing statement. English teachers might argue with me but I felt that this ending didn't finish as strongly as it could've, and that it could've left a more lasting impact on the reader. Other than that the story was golden and gave a lot of commentary on the glitz of the East in the 20s and popularity, as well as themes about love and marriage. Overall it was an excellent read, I highly recommend picking it up if you haven't already.

Dr. Bird's Advice for Sad Poets by Evan Roskos
4/5 Stars

This book was one of the better books I've read that dealt with depression and anxiety. It covered the topics fairly and (at least as far as my experience goes) accurately, as well as lightening the mood with some respectful but genuinely funny humor. The style it was unique and whimsical and poetry-infused, which I love. It was a quick read but a good one, and if definitely made you think. My only complaint was Beth, she felt fake and didn't live up to what I hoped she would. Other than that it was an excellent read, and I would recommend it to anyone looking for a lighthearted but simultaneously real book about anxiety and depression.

Page by Paige by Laura Lee Gulledge
5/5 Stars

All I have to say about this book is that it is literally about me ok I've never read a more relatable book in my life. 5/5 no brainer, thank you Laura Lee Gulledge for understanding exactly what it's like to be me wow.

Challenger Deep by Neal Shusterman
5/5 Stars

This book was phenomenal. It artfully and respectfully portrayed what it's like to have schizophrenia as a teenager. The portrayal of his conscious and his mind was so well written and painted an eloquent and real picture, and really helped the reader to truly understand the experience in a way that most books dealing with schizophrenia fail to do. Also, the writerly skill displayed in this book was evident and made the book that much more engaging and helped it to read smoothly and gracefully. Although it may feel that it starts out a little slow, it is definitely worth the read, as you will certainly not regret reading this book the whole way through and then taking time to ruminate on it.