Author: thestudiojosie

For the last week and a half, I have been trying to finish a post about the eventful day I had last Sunday. I took some great photos I was really excited to share here, and I had some fun stories to tell, too. But I can’t seem to finish it. Perhaps it is because I have too much schoolwork on my plate. Or, perhaps, it’s just not meant to be shared with the world. Whatever the case, I felt like I should write something new, since it’s been a while since the first edition of this “series” that isn’t looking so much like a series anymore.

I am currently sitting outside doing my homework and I was struck with sudden inspiration. Why now? Why this moment? I couldn’t tell you. But this seems to be happening more and more as I practice writing, especially now that I am at school studying it. The most seemingly-boring moments give me the most inspiration, and albeit frustrating at times, I love it.

It’s 19:25 here, and all I could think about after finishing classes was how relieved I am that this day is over. I had three pretty big assignments today, all in a row, and while they were not fun, I did it. And I’m quite proud of myself for it. The college stress is real, and it certainly isn’t nonexistent just because I’m in Italy.

Although, of course, my location does make the stress a little more tolerable — and for that I’m extremely grateful. For instance, this evening, as I worked on readings for my fiction class, I decided to look up from my laptop and found, right above me, a perfectly pink sky. The kind of sunset that makes the clouds look like illustrations, cause the sun illuminates them so clearly.

I almost ran in to get my phone to take a photo, but knowing my luck, it would be gone when I returned. So I turned my computer screen around and snapped a photo with Photo Booth, hence the awful-but-charming graininess of the above image.

I’m taking it all in as I watch the sunset slowly disappear. I breathe in the crisp, city air that, amazingly, smells and feels nothing like city air. There is a slight breeze that blows only enough to make my hair sway as if it were a piece of seaweed. I had to run inside and grab a sweater — an action I didn’t intend on doing until October, at the latest. This moment is meditative, and I will not forget it.

The whole moving-across-the-world thing is hard. Some days, I forget that it’s supposed to be hard, and I hate myself for feeling sad or nervous or stressed. Some days, all I want to do is go home. And some days, I can’t even imagine going back.

But then there are days like today: the ones in which I feel everything all at once: the ones that make me feel the most alive and present. They are seemingly-small, boring, and meaningless, but they are the ones that end with pink skies, bursts of inspiration, gratitude, and a whole lot of feelings.

I’ve known my friend Jordyn since fourth grade, and he is probably the most entertaining person in my life. No matter my state of mind, being with him is always the ultimate serotonin-boost. Over the years, we have developed a mutual love of the Belly Laugh™, since one always ensues when we’re together. He’s also one of those people I’d never want to attend a funeral with, cause we can’t even get through the opening credits of a movie without cracking up.

We became a lot closer in high school, and now he is one of my very best friends. Earlier this year, it was so hard to tell him that I was going to leave for Italy in the fall. The time difference and overall acknowledgement of our distance was too sad to think about. So we decided not to think about it, and instead created The Summer of Joz & Jord.

We started with a bucket list, and decided that we’d try our best to complete everything on it (we didn’t). We’d document it all on video and on a disposable camera, and when we got the photos back, we’d make a scrapbook together with the pictures, receipts, and other ephemera that had been collected throughout the summer.

As you know, I’m in Italy now, but right before I left, we picked up our pictures at Walgreens and declared that, despite the couple of items we failed to complete, it was a very successful summer.

I got Jordyn’s permission to post some of our photos here, cause I think they’re too good not to share. Looking back at them makes me so happy, and I know I will treasure them forever.

The first photo taken on our disposable camera, featuring Jord’s dog Charlie.

Jordyn and Charlie.

Me showing Jordyn how to make crepes, a skill which he continued to use throughout the summer.

We forgot to take photos of the crepes when they were still in tact, so here is the aftermath.

Creepy smiles after Jordyn launched his Etsy shop. You can also see his amazing art on Instagram!

We’re really bad at taking photos of things we do *while we’re doing them,* so this is a photo of the strawberries on Jordyn’s kitchen counter after we went strawberry picking.

Walking up the hill in downtown Mystic, CT.

This was one of my favorite days of the summer. We went to the Mystic Aquarium, ate lobster rolls and soft serve, and blasted our favorite songs the whole way home.

Nighttime stroll at Misquamicut in Rhode Island. I wore too much navy blue this summer.

This is my absolute favorite photo in the whole batch. Disposable camera photos are often very mediocre, but occasionally magic happens.

We ate lots of ice cream this summer. Here’s me with a half-eaten soft serve twist from Iggy’s in Warwick, Rhode Island.

We raced to the Providence Place Mall, got lost, and spent a total of one hour shopping, because for whatever reason they close at 7 p.m. This is us in the mall’s parking garage, which has to be the most chaotic in all of New England.

On the ride home from Rhode Island, we bought lottery tickets and did not win.

Me with yet another ice cream, at We Li Kit in Pomfret, CT.

This is another one of my favorites: an awkward popcorn pose before watching Jungle Cruise and laughing nearly the entire time.

There are a few more, but these were some of my favorites. I hope you enjoyed! Even though we didn’t meet Trisha Paytas or invest in stocks (two crucial-but-incomplete items on our bucket list), The Summer of Joz & Jord was still a blast. I always look forward to spending time with Jordyn, cause I know it will be fun even if we have no plan in mind. I treasure our friendship and am so excited to continue our adventures when we reunite this December.

Thanks for a wonderful summer, Jord. Can’t wait for the next Belly Laugh™!

XOXO Joz

My dad gave me a Pentax K1000 film camera for my birthday back in early April, and I’ve been taking photos with it ever since. Today I drove up to Worcester to pick up my first roll of film, which I dropped off a couple of weeks ago.

I was so excited to see them, and I’m happy with a lot of them, but I realize that what’s missing in these photos is humans. I love taking photos of people and I didn’t really see many people last month. Now that most of my friends are also fully vaccinated, I’m excited to be able to take my camera out when we see each other. One of my favorite things about photography is sharing the photos with the people who are in them, so I look forward to that as I finish shooting my next roll.

Despite my slight-disappointment with these (I’m also just not totally in love with anything I took), I wanted to share some of my favorites here with you. It is my first roll of film, after all, so I should be happy they actually came out!

I hope you enjoy.

Today, April 7th, is my 19th birthday. I thought 19 would be an unexciting age. After all, there is little to look forward to at 19, milestone-wise. It’s just like any old birthday. Right? Well, it’s only been one day, but I have to say that 19 has been the exact opposite of unexciting thus far.

Everyone always asks the question, “Do you feel older?” on my birthday each year. I never feel older, or any different, than I did the day before. But this year I did. I do! I feel more alive today, which has been both the best and the weirdest thing ever. 

The smallest things made me cry, the simplest thoughts and memories made me laugh out loud, and the everyday sights and sounds were a million times more beautiful today.

Perhaps this is simply what happens when one practices gratitude intensely (and on my birthdays I always try my best to do so). In that case, this day was a lesson in itself to practice gratitude more regularly. Or, maybe, this is a one-day thing — just a blip —and tomorrow I’ll be back to “normal.” The world will be a little less colorful, I will be a little less emotional.

I really hope not, though, because I’ve learned today that being alive is a magical thing when you can truly feel it in every way possible.

18 taught me a lot. I look back on who I was a year ago and am astounded. I have changed so much, and I have learned more than I could have dreamed, despite not even being in school. So, alas…

Here are 18 things I learned at 18. (I learned far more than 18 things, but these are the life lessons I felt the need to document, in case I un-learn them any time soon):

1. Waking up late does not mean I wasted the day; I have the power to make it a good one regardless of the hours on a clock.
2. Writing, generally, makes me a less angry person.
3. Spending time alone becomes less significant the more I do it — and it becomes more comfortable, too.
4. I only have the energy to show up for people who I know would show up for me.
5. “It could always be worse” is true, but it doesn’t dismiss the validity of my feelings. (This was/is the hardest thing I’ve begun to learn this year.)
6. If it doesn’t make me feel good, it’s not for me, no matter how much I may want it to be.
7. Every. Single. Job. is essential, in one way or another.
8. Dreams change, and sometimes they disappear completely, but that’s okay.
9. I need to listen to my body and my intuition!
10. Heartbreak is not easy, but lack of heartbreak prohibits growth.
11. It is a privilege to be privileged, and it would be a waste to not use it for good.
12. Letting go of something that is no longer serving you can be simultaneously the hardest and best decision.
13. Therapy is magic.
14. I will never get to do or see or hear or read or meet everything/everyone I want to, but I can’t let that stop me from trying.
15. As depressing as it sounds, in the end, the only person you can rely on is yourself.
16. Taking responsibility and apologizing sincerely is a tough but crucial skill to have.
17. Improving existing relationships is often just as wonderful as beginning new ones.
18. It’s okay to take breaks.

So there you have it. 18 lessons from a former 18-year-old. Next year there will be 19 things on this list, but until then, I look forward to another year of learning and growing.