the last day of winter in pictures

My aunt got me a new camera for my birthday and for the Sicily trip. I wanted to bring something less bulky and much easier to carry around for my first trip abroad. (My Nikon camera is not too nice on my neck, and I’ve learned that the hard way!) Plus, I know I’ll be more satisfied with the photos since I don’t have to worry about settings as much! So, after spending the weekend learning how to use it, I took it out today to snap some pictures of the final sunset of the season…

I don’t mean to turn into a tech blogger, but I’m quite impressed with the quality considering it’s a point-and-shoot camera! I’m so excited to take more photos with it. Thanks, Aunt Rosanne!

I hope your last day of winter was lovely and not too chilly (or in my Arizona family’s case… not too hot!). Hooray for spring!

march in new england

Today is March 4th, and it’s a snow day here in Connecticut! We got almost a foot last night, so I wanted to share some photos I took this morning. Yes, it’s very pretty, but I’m still counting down: 16 days till spring!

I clearly jinxed myself by longing for springtime in my last post. These pics aren’t even in black and white — no blue skies here.

Aaaaaand probably no gardening for a few more weeks.

Somewhere under that pile of snow lives a bench…

My car before clearing off the snow.

Cool footprints made by my new shoes.

Let’s hope for some warm weather soon! xo

a playlist for spring because i’m sick of winter

I was sitting in my school’s library a few days ago, trying to finish my homework but distracted by the blinding sun shining through the big, church-like windows. For the first time in what felt like years, it wasn’t just bright outside; it was sunny. The sky was blue and there was sunshine! Actual sunshine! A sign that spring will soon (?) be here.

Don’t get me wrong: I love winter, but only when it snows. Even then, one or two snow storms in the beginning of the season is enough for me. The rest of the season makes me sad and constantly longing for the warm weather and flowered scenery of spring.

I find myself daydreaming about how beautiful it will be once the season changes. I think about how I can finally walk from the parking lot to the entrance of my school without my hair freezing! How I can enjoy the smell of lilacs every time I step foot outside, instead of the cold air that makes my nose run! How the only sound I’ll hear in the morning is birds chirping! How I can open my car windows and breathe the fresh air! *sigh*

Oh, spring. I love and miss you. And I can’t wait for the day that I can enjoy all of these wonderful things. But for now, as I sit in my bedroom with my space heater turned up high, I’ll enjoy this playlist filled with songs that remind me of springtime. I hope they ease any pain you’re feeling about this winter, too:

And once the seasons change, you can bet I’ll be listening to these lovely tunes as I drive around with the windows down. My hair will be blowing in the wind, and I’ll think to myself, “I can’t wait for summertime.”

the college question

Now that I’m a junior in high school, it feels like people ask me what my college plans are every single day. I’m not mad about it; I actually think it’s kind of funny. After all, it’s a great “adult speaking to teen” icebreaker because the adult knows that the teen has been thinking about it (and, thus, they will have to have some sort of answer). Today I thought that I would expand upon what my college “plans” are, as of right now.

Question #1: “Do you know where you want to go?”
My Answer: No, but I know I want to stay on the East Coast/maybe in the New England area.

And this is true. While I certainly hate the cold weather sometimes, I prefer a world in which four seasons exist (although it’s possible that that won’t last very long…). The states/districts I’m considering are: New York, Massachusetts, Rhode Island, Vermont, and Washington, D.C. I’d like to go to school in a city, and NYC is, and has been for quite a while, my top location for college. I’ll probably apply to schools in other states, too.

Question #2: “Do you know what you want to study?”
My Answer: Yeah, I’m thinking of majoring in journalism.

And this is also true! I plan on majoring in journalism because I would love to work (write or edit) for a magazine or newspaper. One of the reasons why NYC is my top location choice is because of internship opportunities. Martha Stewart Living, HGTV, Bon Appetit, The New York Times, Real Simple, TIME, The New Yorker… all of these amazing publications are located within the city. It would be a dream to work, even as an intern, at any of those! Besides the internship opportunities, I really just love to write, edit, and do research, so I feel like I’ll love journalism a lot. Working at a magazine would be a plus, too, because I’d get to write about food, travel, design, and lifestyle-related stuff I’m passionate about.

(No one has asked this, but if I were to minor in anything — which I’m not sure I will — I think it’d be a foreign language. As I mentioned in my last post, I want to be fluent in at least two languages by the time I turn 30, so college is the best place to start on this goal once I graduate high school. I also would love to study abroad. If I minored in a language, it would be so cool to live in the country in which it’s primarily spoken.)

Since I’m only a junior, I still have a pretty lengthy road to college. Nevertheless, it’s been on my mind all week, so I thought it’d be productive for me to share these thoughts on here. And who knows? I could change my mind tomorrow, or I could get to college and hate where I am or what I’m studying. But this is where my mind is right now. Whatever happens in the future happens; I’m just trying to keep an open and excited mind! I’ll try to post updates on my plans — consider this post #1 on “Josie’s Road to College!”

If you have any college advice, please feel free to share. Or if you’re in the same boat as me and are constantly interrogated about your plans, let me know, and I’ll send you my virtual support. 🙂 lol. Happy March!