Letter #5

Dear October,

        (This letter is more to myself than to you. I hope you don’t mind. ) Laura. If you are reading this in the future, this is your eighteen-year-old self talking. I’ve been thinking a lot about how we tend to forget the little things that are really big things, and I’m not just talking about the smell of coffee in the morning or the way the light falls across your room at magic hour. Yes, you should pay attention to those things, but I have a feeling you already do. I’m talking about the ideas that resonate with us in the moment but get lost in the jumble of other thoughts vying for our attention. Ideas like: “How we spend our days is, of course, how we spend our lives.”- Annie Dilliard. And: “Finish what you’re writing. Whatever you have to do to finish it, finish it.”- Neil Gaiman. And: “Don’t back away from something because it’s difficult.”-Me. I am reminded of these things when I find them in obscure word documents on my computer, or scribbled on a page in my notebook, but for some reason they don’t stick. Weeks later I’m still leaving stories unfinished, and hesitating when faced with a challenge. Maybe by this time next year you’ll have figured out a way to live your life according to these principles, but something tells me it’s not just about remembering. I think the best we can do is try to internalize these ideas, to turn them into habits, values, intrinsic to how we live our lives. That way, we don’t need to be reminded of them. And like anything else, our habits and values aren’t perfect, and we can’t live up to them all the time, but that doesn’t mean they aren’t there. I’m still a long way from that stage, but maybe this letter will serve as its own reminder. So if you’re reading this, don’t forget: Finish what you start. Embrace challenges. Live each day knowing that it is not some isolated moment, but part of your life, and you are always living it.

Laura

Song of the day: "Eet" by Regina Spektor

Letter #4

Dear October,

         Today was, in most respects, a great day. You gave me the rain storm I’d asked for yesterday, and cleared up for another beautiful sunset. Because today was the last day before fall break,  classes were laid back and fun. I ate dinner with some great people in the almost empty cafeteria, and then got to video chat with friends back home. Even though there were some technical glitches, and I ended up having to communicate through instant message, it was so great to see everyone’s faces again. I feel grounded in both my new reality and my old, and I’m glad I haven’t abandoned one for the other. What’s more, my cooped-up creativity is ready to pry its way out, and fall break provides the perfect opportunity to work on all the beautiful little story ideas I’ve been having recently. My heart is full of my wonderful friends, my mind is brimming with words, and I can tell that this long weekend is going to be just what I need. Thank you, October, for the gifts you’ve given me so far. Just make sure to keep ‘em coming ;)

Laura

Song of the day: "New Slang" by The Shins

Letter #3

Dear October,

        You were supposed to rain today. Instead, you just teased us with pockets of sunshine and clouds. You made me lug my umbrella around for nothing, but I guess that’s what I get for believing the weather forecasts. I’m not sure I have any philosophical musings for you today. I took my first major college exam this afternoon. It went well, except for the True/False section. I HATE true/false questions. They only work in absolutes, and I always over think them, assuming that the addition of one word is enough to shift the entire statement from true to false or vice-versa. What’s more, these were hardly absolute statements, and for some of them you could make a pretty good argument for either side. There were only a few questions like this, and I feel confident about the rest of it, but it still got on my nerves. Tonight I plan to wind down with a cup of tea and a good book. And that’s really all I have for you, October. Some days are less poetic than others.

Laura

Song of the day: "Let the Rain" by Sara Bareilles (ps. This video is why I love her.)

Letter #2

Dear October,

        The internet is down campus wide and everyone is freaking out. I can’t say it doesn’t affect me: this shut-down is accompanied by the same uncomfortable feeling    in the pit of my stomach that I always get when I feel cut-off, alone. But what’s different this time is that I’m not alone. Losing access to Facebook or e-mail for a few hours doesn’t mean I’m on some secluded island where no one can reach me. I’m surrounded by people, and what’s more I’m free from the distractions that the internet so readily provides. Maybe that’s why it’s so scary when our connection goes down. We can’t be without the knowledge that distraction from reality is just a click away.

This afternoon I finished some homework in the library and then I took a walk. I like the internet because when I share things, I feel like a participant in some big important conversation. But stealing the ten minutes it took to walk around campus, I felt like a different kind of participant. The kind we become just by being alive. And October, I must say, your sunsets really are spectacular.

Laura

Song of the day: "I Will Go Anywhere With You" by Julia Nunes

Letter #1

Dear October,

        You dawned crystal clear and impossibly bright. It’s still a little warm for scarf weather, but I couldn’t resist. The last week of September was full of trips to coffee shops and impromptu celebrations with friends. After a week like that, it can be hard to be sucked back into reality, and today I was faced with a growing mountain of homework and an unexplainable restlessness. Not the best way to start a new month. But you brought other things, October. Things like the promise of a paycheck for my work in the Writing Center, and crafting the perfect last sentence of an essay. Then there’s the feeling that comes with each new beginning, like stretching your muscles after a night in cramped sleeping quarters. Suddenly you feel more awake, you have space to move, and each new experience is the world opening itself up to you, little by little.

Laura

Song of the Day: "Lost in my Mind" by The Head and the Heart

Introducing: Letters to October

Dear Readers,
       Hello there. This is different, isn't it? I am writing to inform you of a new project I am starting. It's called Letters to October, in which I write a letter to the month of October on each day of the month. Each letter will be accompanied by a picture and a song of the day. This project was mostly inspired by my favorite Youtuber Emilieofnewgloom's Letters to July series. If you watch her videos (and you should!), you have some idea of what I want to accomplish with these letters. I have always been partial to keeping journals and diaries, but they always seemed to diverge into a boring or bland recounting of events. With Letters to October I hope to capture the essence of each day, and what better time than during my favorite season, Fall. One of my favorite parts of Emilieofnewgloom's series is that we got to see July through both her and other's perspectives. I would love, LOVE to see some of you undertake this project alongside me. Consider this your formal invitation to participate and share your Letters to October on your blog or through other forms of social media. And, if you decide not to participate, I hope you will enjoy seeing October through my eyes. I, for one, am SO ready to see what it has in store.

Laura

The inspiration:

Song of the Day: 1234 by Feist
(Oh, and at the end of the month I will make a spottily playlist of all the songs from October!)

I will see you on October 1st!

I'm in College!

Hello, lovelies! There's been a bit of a scenery change since you heard from me last....

My dorm room

If you haven't guessed yet,  I'm in college! In preparation for writing this post I did a lot of thinking about how we as humans hate the idea of change, but when it happens we just sort of naturally adjust to it. I guess it's kind of a survival mechanism, something we picked up from our ancestors. But when you're in the midst of facing momentous change this is pretty cold comfort. A few weeks ago the thought of being a college student both terrified and excited (but let's face it: mostly terrified) me. I was about to be left in a place, 2,000 miles from home, and be expected to make friends and go to classes and become an adult. Yeah... 3 weeks in, and I'm definitely not that far yet. But I have changed. Or rather, I'm learning to live my life in the context of my new surroundings. Before I left for Iowa I couldn't fathom the life of a college student outside of what I've seen on television or heard from friends, but now I'm living it, because I can't not live it, and it is so much more that I expected.

My favorite study spot 

First of all there's the concept of time. In college, time is something you have way more control over than you did in high school. Of course you sill have to go to class, but everything is more broken up, and there isn't any significantly large block of time where you have to be in one place doing one thing. As a creative person, this has been semi-difficult to master. The first time I was faced with a three hour block of free time before dinner, my thoughts swam. There's so much I could do! I could work on a short story, or study for Lit class, or write letters to the people back home, or attempt to make new friends! The list went on. It's easy to become paralyzed by all the things I want to do, and end up getting nothing done. Since that first afternoon I've slowly been getting better at making time for the things that are important to me. Not to mention the fact that I've met so many wonderful people, and am learning something new on a daily basis!

Campus geese!

Okay, so what does all that mean for this blog? Obviously I have no intention of giving up on this blog anytime soon, but things are probably going to be a little sporadic (like that's anything new) until I really get the hang of this whole time management thing. I have several other projects I'm working on as well, including a Tumblr that my best friend and I made in order to keep in touch. So much of our inspiration is shared, and it would have been a shame to loose that connection because we go to school in different parts of the country (me in the midwest, she in the northeast). If you would like to check that out, you can find it under the "Collaborations" tab at the top of this page. I also have some great posts and possibly a blog-specific project planned for the future, so stay tuned for news about that!

City lights 

I guess that's all I wanted to say for now. I've never been very good at the "life update" type of posts because there is way more life than can possibly fit into these 550 words. This will just have to do for now.

Rainbow!

If you have some questions (or advice! o_o) for a newbie college student, feel free to drop them in the comment box. As always, thanks for reading :)