it’s been a minute…

I have literally tried writing this post so many times. Every time I finish the post, I get nervous and decide not to post it. I feel like I’m committing to something that I can’t do well anymore, can’t handle, don’t have the time for… the list goes on and on. There isn’t much to be nervous about here, except for the fact that I’m a little rusty on blogging since it’s been a hot minute!! But let’s try this one more time…

Yes it’s been while- more than just a hot minute. Almost a year, which I never intended. But sometimes ya girl gets overwhelmed, needs a break, and needs to focus more on school. Sophomore year was exhausting- physically, mentally, emotionally, academically… the list goes on. It was a hard year. I also just wasn’t feeling creative or wanted to commit to the time that blogging takes up. I kinda had a crisis on what I wanted to do once I graduate and for my career (which is still low-key occurring but it’s fine we are figuring things out).

I also just didn’t take care of myself- I laid in my bed way too often, ate poorly, stressed over things that didn’t need to be stressed about, etc. Self care is important, and I barely took the time to do that! And even when I did (like going to hot yoga every so often!) I was always stressing on getting there on time, wearing the right yoga outfit, etc. Sometimes I literally would have mental breakdowns on the way to yoga- not the way to find your flow lol. I thought I’d feel ya in on what I’ve been up to rather than justify my absence. I feel that we constantly are justifying why we haven’t been present or have neglected something, etc (especially creatives and bloggers!) and never really focus on what we actually accomplished in the time we were absent from the blog or media we were working on. It’s ok to take a break! So here we go…

Sophomore year!! I am now halfway finished with school. What?? Even though sophomore year wasn’t as fun or enjoyable as I would have liked (there were some pretty great moments of course and I wasn’t miserable the entire time!!), I am so so sad that I only have two more years at Furman. Time is literally flying in college and I wish I could hold onto just a little bit longer.

 // I helped welcome new students on orientation staff!! //

Hands down one of my favorite parts about Furman!! I love this organization and am so honored to be a part of it! I got to welcome so many amazing students to Furman, and I cannot wait to do it again in August!

Before I decided I was going to go abroad (that was a long decision process), I took on a leadership role on the Panhellenic council! I serve as the VP of PR and communications, so I basically run the social media accounts, communicate with the chapter PR chairs, and develop publicity for the sororities and Greek life on campus! This is definitely in line with what I want to do for my career! I sadly have to give up my position to go abroad (such a hard decision!), but I hope to serve on the council again next year!

This was my first year going to all the sorority functions since recruitment is in the spring at Furman! I loved dressing up with my sisters and taking friends from campus to my functions!

I’m going to France, y’all!! (anyone get the movie reference here, if not I don’t think we can be friends- jk but seriously let me know if anyone gets this). I am studying French language and culture for the semester, and I am nervous but excited! I am hoping to grow, develop my French skills even more, and meet incredible people! I hope to get some traveling in too- sadly most of my weekends are already planned out, but on my free weekends I hope to check off some countries on my bucket list!

My first Bid Day on the other side of recruitment and dang it was fun! The theme was Delta Disco and my sorority hall all dressed up for the 70s theme! We loved welcoming our new Deltas!

And she read my blog before she came to Furman :). My little is just the best, and I’m so glad to have her in the fam! On reveal day I chose to do “Titanic” Theme. Really proud of it just sayin’

I was super excited to accept a research position in the psychology department at my school! As it has come around to actually do it, I have gotten less excited about it because I’ve decided that research or a psychology-related career doesn’t interest me anymore. However, this is a great opportunity for me to gain some skills related to a variety of careers, make some money for the summer and for upcoming travels, and to stay on campus where several of my friends are for the summer! My lab partner and the professor are great- so they have been making it much more enjoyable (research is not the most exhilarating thing in the world!)

I attended numerous tailgates, friend hangouts, sorority functions, participated in recruitment on the other side for once, took some weekend trips, made new friends, went to coffee shops a bit, and more. Every year has it’s ups and downs, so it is important to recognize how you grew and what was so special about it (even if looking back you feel completely negative or ambivalent towards it!).

Furman students call sophomore year the sophomore slump, and I didn’t believe it until about the 3rd week of school. Academics were challenging, friendships were changing, and I just felt kinda trapped. This year has definitely taught me that what you see on Instagram is definitely a highlight reel, and not everything is as rosy as it seems. There are hard moments of college that people don’t like to talk about, and sophomore year is definitely a slump year for sure. I tried to find small things that really made me happy during the year (which is honestly a bit hard if you’re someone like me who has high expectations for everything!!), but I really got into hot yoga, talking long walks outside, coffee shop studying, and trying to find some other small activities that make my day brighter- such as podcasts, good spotify playlists, sitting outside while studying, getting a treat from the Starbucks on campus, etc. . It’s about those little things when times get tough y’all!

Now for the blog. The blog! I’ve sincerely missed writing on here, and potentially that is a reason why this school year felt off. I haven’t been pouring into my passions, so I’m hoping to change that. I’ve realized the importance this year of finding things that bring you joy, and the blog was something I used as an outlet in high school when I felt like I couldn’t control the rest of my life. While I don’t exactly have endless time to go take photos (and honestly taking photos is a stress in itself!), I’m hoping I can make the blog more casual and not so staged. I’d love to hear y’alls opinions on what you want to see. I know the blogging community is pretty saturated so it’s hard to make changes that make an impact, but I love that y’all follow me and support me!

In the meantime, be sure to checkout my Instagram for (hopefully) updates on fashion, food, travels, college, and life! Hope y’all are excited for the blog to be back and I hope you have an amazing summer so far!