Autumn is Upon Us!

Hello loves <3

     We are just a few days into autumn and I COULDN'T BE HAPPIER! This is past year I have come to LOVE fall a lot more and really appreciate the season. So, because of that, I thought I'd write a post just expressing all of my feelings about the new season.

     First of all, do you say fall or autumn? I love saying autumn, just because it rolls off of the tongue. But I kind of use the two interchangeably.

     So, when I think of autumn I immediately think: maroon & mustard & brown, boots, sweaters, leaves, hot drinks, pumpkins, bonfires, GAH IT'S JUST SO EXCITING!! What do you guys think of when you hear the word autumn (or fall)? Recently I got back into Tumblr and I've just been spending countless minutes on my computer staring at pictures of orange, yellow, red, and brown.

Side note - I didn't believe this at first, but Tumblr IS legitimately a hole. A literal hole. Once you're in YOU CAN"T GET OUT. Follow me on tumblr: harelzivan.tumblr.com

     Fall, overall, is just an aesthetically pleasing season. No matter where you look your eyes are met with a beautiful scenery. Even if it's raining - which, believe me, here it has - there's just this thing in the air that is so cozy and warm (figuratively, I mean, as it is quite chilly). Can anyone relate - it's really hard to explain in a blog post, lol.

     One of my favorite fall activities, that I'm really eager to do soon, is a bonfire. Last year, my closest friends and I gathered a bunch of sticks and sat around the warm flames munching on s'mores and just chatting for an hour or two. It was so much fun and one of my favorite memories of all of us together.

     You know those times when you just sit back for a minute and think, I am so lucky to have these people in my life and share awesome moments like this one right now? That was one of those times and I am dying to do it again.

     Something else that comes along with autumn is HOLIDAYS! Thanksgiving has become one of my favorite holidays, EVER. First of all, food is involved, so um, count me in. Second (and most important), you are spending time with the ones you love, sitting around a table together, appreciating and being thankful for everything in your life; that just makes me really happy.

     Another big one is Halloween! Some people might say that I'm too old for dressing up, but honestly I have nothing to say them except "you do you & I'll do me".  I mean, really, you telling me that I'm too old to put on a costume and go door-to-door getting free candy isn't going to make me change my mind about doing it ... Am I right or am i right? lol.

     Anyway, I love Halloween. My favorite part is either creating my costume - this year I will be making my costume or accessorizing it in some way/doing my own makeup just like I did last year and that was probably one of my favorite things about Halloween that year because I put my own spin on my appearance - or sitting in a big room with my friends, our candy collections spilled out onto the floor, and having a big candy-trade session. I mean, it's not the best Halloween ever if you don't get those vanilla Tootsie rolls your friends don't want ;)

     Finally, the fashion. As I've said in multiple previous posts, fashion is one of the biggest ways I express myself (other than writing). And during fall time there are so many new ways to accessorize and change up your outfits: knee-high socks, oversize jumpers, beanies (OH, HOW I LOVE BEANIES), boots, mittens, scarves, and so much more!!!

     I haven't stopped smiling while writing this, and that only tells you one thing: I'm passionate about what I'm writing about. Autumn is just such a beautiful season; everything about it makes me happy.

     Unfortunately, it has been raining nonstop where I live. Which, really, I don't mind too much but I would like to see a little less rain and a little more dry, chilly, breezy weather. 

     What do you think about autumn? Are you eager for the crisp, fresh air or are you dreading it? 

  

     Hopefully I'll finish everything on this checklist :)

     Thank you for reading and I'll talk to you soon.

*computer hug*

When You Feel Overwhelmed (Pt. 2)

Hello loves <3

     So, how have you been? I know that in my last post, which you can read here, I wrote that my next post would be all about Troye's new music, but this morning was quite eventful and I wanted to talk to you guys about it.

     My second post on this blog, posted on November 26, 2014 (ONE YEAR BLOG ANNIVERSARY COMING UP!) , was titled 'When You Feel Overwhelmed'. I wrote it because I was at a time in my life where I felt like a lot of things weren't going my way. Not school, not my friends, sometimes not even my family. Over the last year or two, this feeling has been becoming more frequent.

     In my post about being overwhelmed, I had written about how a lot of my stress stems from school. This year I entered high school, and it has been an awesome experience so far. But there is a part that's quite frustrating and stressful, and that part has been finding it's way over to me these past couple weeks.

     The past several nights have involved me staying up late, much later than is needed for me to get an appropriate amount of sleep. I used to LOVE homework and getting all my assignments done neat and perfect. Granted, I do still find it thrilling to have finished an aesthetically pleasing paper or project and admire what I've accomplished, but as years have gone by I find that doing work is more a chore than something I enjoy.

     Some of you might think I'm insane for saying I enjoy homework, but everyone's different. Of course, I love writing more than anything. Although, it doesn't help that English has not proved to be my favorite period this year. There's just something about the different styles of teaching between my teacher in 8th grade and my current teacher that hasn't made me fall in love with writing in school as much I did last year. Hopefully that will change.

     Anyway, instead of continuing on with this ramble I wanted to ramble about something else - smooth transition ;)

     Everyone stresses.

     Everyone has their own problems - those might be physical, emotional, social, whatever.

     Everyone has their own ways of dealing with those problems.

     This morning I had finished my Cheerios and gone out to my driveway to wait for my ride to school. She was running late, and so I was waiting out there for a bit. It hit me suddenly that I had forgotten my health notebook on my desk. My health teacher is really strict about notebooks - we need to have them every class. So, me being me (the crazy worry machine), I start freaking out. I threw down (well, more like gently placed because it's quite heavy) my backpack and rushed to the door. Just my luck - it's LOCKED. So, again, me being me, I start tearing up. What am I going to do? I'm going to get a zero in health. I'm going to fail. I can't wake my parents and my sisters up. WHAT AM I GOING TO DO??? 

     I masked my emotion, like I always do, and hid my face under my frizzy hair. I didn't want my friends to see the absolute weirdo I was being. I texted my parents telling them I had a rough morning and that I forgot some stuff and it seemed like everything was crashing down around me. I got to school all discombobulated and couldn't help but to fear the worst possible situation. Of course, we didn't really need our notebooks that day, LOL. But thankfully, I had an absolutely amazing friend with me the entire time. She noticed that I was "down in the dumps", you could say, and was so supportive and loyal. She offered me a hug and such kind words. I really, REALLY, appreciate that. SO much she'll never know.

     Anyway, I wanted to put that little spiel in here because it just shows you that sometimes we stress over nothing. We work ourselves up over things that easily don't matter. Take the time to breathe and just re-group, and go about your day.

     We all have our own stories. Our own demons inside. Our own worries and stressors. For me, those come from school, my appearance, and relationships with friends. Honestly, I didn't think I'd admit things like that a couple months ago. But I've changed. I've become more comfortable with myself, developed new relationships, and am starting to build a future for myself. But how am I supposed to build that future if I'm here worrying about not getting 100% on a neurotransmitters quiz?

     I'm a big believer of the phrase/idea: Don't dwell on the past or plan for the future, live in the moment. Yes, that kind of contradicts my previous statement about building a future, but that's just general; just thinking about possibilities and fantasizing about going to college and becoming a well-known writer. But anyway, I believe it's important to focus on the present, the NOW. It's kind of hard to do that when all of these thoughts and worries get in my head and in my way. You feel me?

     I started meditating just recently; I'll let you know how it goes. Maybe it will really make a change and improve my temper or something. But I want to make a change. Stop draining all of my energy over stupid, little worry bugs. In a previous post I compared insecurities to pests that you should just flick off. Well, I'm gonna do the same with stress. JUST FLICK IT RIGHT OFF. Let it bounce off of you. You have a built-in shield around you that doesn't let anything get in your way. Granted, that shield might be dented or even cracked sometimes, but you should always mend it back up and keep your feet planted on the ground, ready to move past anything that's causing you to feel as though everything is crashing down around you.

     If any of you can relate or even just need to talk, I'm always here! E-mail me anytime! harelrziv@gmail.com

     Thank you for reading and I'll talk to you soon.

*computer hug*

Eyes Shut - Years & Years

Hello loves <3

     As I was studying for some tests today I shuffled my playlist on Spotify and the song "Eyes Shut" by Years & Years came on. One of my amazing friends recommended Years & Years to me, and I added 4 of their songs to my playlist, this one included. When I first listened to the group, "Real" became my favorite, but after today it has been replaced

    I didn't appreciate how amazing "Eyes Shut" really is until tonight. It's a song with so much emotion attached to it (yes, I'm listening to it on repeat right now). The piano introduction is heavenly, and the way the piano sounds align with the lyrics is just incredible. Olly Alexander, lead singer of Years & Years, is so talented it physically blows my mind. His voice is pretty much perfect.

     I was trying to explain this to my friends today: my favorite part of the song is the snapping in the background. None of them understood what I meant - I meant the physical snaps that they created with their fingers, lol. Anyway, what I recommend is to listen to the song with earbuds and the volume as high as you'd like (I prefer full blast...). The snaps just reach my ears and ripple through my entire body. That is what music is supposed to feel like. That is pure bliss.

    To me, the song means discovering who you are and becoming stronger. You know that you have the abilities to be who you want to be - and no one else's actions can affect your journey to do so. You can see through you eyes shut, you can see that people are trying to sabotage what you're trying to accomplish, but they're not going to get in your way.

    The 2 other members of the group, Mikey Goldsworthy and Emre Turkmen, play their instruments so beautifully and the sound produced when you put all three of them together is purely angelic.

So there's a specific version of the song that is my favorite because it really emphasizes the snapping (lol, I know I'm weird), so I'd listen to this one :)

     If you haven't listened to Years & Years I DEFINITELY recommend it. If you have, what's your favorite one of their songs? If you've listened to "Eyes Shut", what do you think is the meaning/connotation behind it?

     Thank you so much for reading and I'll talk to you soon.

*computer hug*