IT'S MY BIRTHDAYYYYYY and "I'M FEELING 22"
(cue Taylor Swift's catchy jam cause you know I'm going to sing it all day)
As we speak, I am in NYC to celebrate my birthday and the pictures will be up next week. But for now I wanted to take some time to write a more personal article for you guys. I'm so excited for the weekend I have planned here in New York City. But for now, here's an brief update on what's going on in my life since coming back from abroad.
I am back in school as a full-time student, coordinator of public relations and speakers for my university's marketing association and working long and hard on this blog thingy ;) Between classes, meetings and writing content, I don't have a lot of free time on my hands, especially since I recently started a part-time job to pay the bills... but I love it. I love it because everything I'm doing is a result of a decision I made, a step that I decided to take and projects that I decided to take on. For the first time in my life, I truly feel like I have control over my own life, without actually controlling anything. By this I mean that sometimes we get caught up in the middle of a hectic lifestyle and think to ourselves "I work way too hard to not get this" or "I deserve this". I have found that when you come to expect things, you end up disappointed most of the time. There's a different between being positive minded and thinking that everything is owed to us. We try to control every aspect of our lives, some of us even have "the plan": graduate in X years, find X job, get married by X years old, have X kid(s) and so on. But this plan of mine, whatever it may have been, actually left me feeling more anxious than anything else because I was so afraid it wouldn't work out.
While studying abroad, I realized that it doesn't matter what my plan was, it didn't matter when I graduated or how many kids I wanted to have. I realized that life is extremely unpredictable. And rather than being upset because my plan didn't work out, I should be excited to see where my "non-plan" takes me next. A few years ago, had you asked me if I would ever go to London or Paris I would have said "One day I hope". "One day" as in, "I really hope that sometime before I die I'll have enough money and time to go visit all those magical places I dream of". I would have never expected to be going not only to London and Paris, but also to Vienna and Tangier and Munich and Brussels and many other cities worldwide. Sure, I "planned" to study abroad, but I didn't realize then what a life changing experience it would be. I have been back for a while now and have had time to reflect upon my experience and the lessons I've learned and the thing that sticks with me the most is the unpredictability life shows us. I know this sounds out there, but think about it for a minute and I think you'll understand where I'm coming from.
Of course I have a plan. I plan on graduating, I plan on getting a 'real' job one day and I'm doing everything I can to set myself up for success and I still have goals and dreams. But there are no more set-in-stone timelines, no more unrealistic expectations. Que sera, sera. I have replaced my anxiety about the future with excitement about the future. I can't wait to see where I end up working, what kind of career I will build for myself, what kinds of travels are ahead. One of the hardest things about coming back from a semester abroad is not being able to see your new friends every day anymore. I went from eating breakfast, lunch and dinner with them to going back home and not being around them anymore. But I never thought of it as "I will probably never see these people again", I saw it, and still see it, as "I know I will see them again, I just don't know when yet" and until then we can always Skype. For a reason that is completely unknown to me, I have hope that somehow I'll make it to Australia to see my besties and I'll go down to the states visit my American friends and maybe go to Chile to visit my girl Imahue. Who knows! I actually like how the uncertainty around it makes me feel excited about the future! Who cares if I'm a year older today, time goes by and life goes on. One day I'll find my dream job and one day I'll hold a koala, but until then I'm just going to enjoy what's going on right now, like my job, school life and this blog and let's see where that takes me ;)
XOXX
P.S. For now, I do have a plan for STAINS ØF SUNSHINE, so what's next?
OCTOBER // BDAY + FALL FAVOURITES & MONTHLY NEWBIES
First, NYC.
Then midterms. (Along with some pumpkin picking obviously)
Then Halloween.
Then some fall favourites for you guys, without forgetting the Monthly Newbies! :)
NOVEMBER // STAINS ØF SUNSHINE X F.CAPUANO
My friend, Fanny Capuano, is a Montreal based designer and we're working together on a special project that I am extremely excited about!!! She is currently designing a new clothing collection and has asked me to be the photographer for this new launch. But I've got some collaboration ideas that I can't share with you just quite yet. You will have to wait a while, but there may be sneak peaks on my snapchat the day of ;) In the meanwhile, show her a little bit of love and add her on Instagram because she's super talented!
DECEMBER // HOLIDAYS + PLANNING FOR THE NEW YEAR
The holiday season brings me so much joy, I can't wait to start listening to holiday songs and overdosing on Starbucks drinks. Once finals are over, I'll be focusing 100% on STAINS ØF SUNSHINE and planning out the new year.
Another cool thing happening this month, the most epic sleepover. Ever. I've decided maybe it's time I start a tradition and why not host an annual holiday sleepover? Hot chocolate, chick flicks, pyjamas, midnight snacks and mani pedis... Who will score an invite?
JANUARY // OUR 1ST BIRTHDAY
Yep, that's right! STAINS ØF SUNSHINE turns one this January. I can't wait to see where this will be in a few months!!! This will hopefully get us going in a great direction from the start! #Let'sGo2017
This month I also begin my winter internship and will be working full time for four months. At the same time, I'll be continuing to post every week here.