Category: Et Cetera

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.”

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!

In April, I will embark on my first trip outside the United States! I will be going to Sicily with my school, and my grandpa will be coming along with me. I keep having to pinch myself because I can’t believe that I’m actually going. I’ve wanted to travel internationally for forever, and I feel so grateful that I’m getting the chance to this year. It certainly won’t be the last time!

Now that traveling is on my mind, I found a writing prompt (that isn’t really a writing prompt…) that went something like this: list ten places you’ve been and ten places you want to go.

I’ll start off with ten places I’ve been in the US:

1. Seattle, Washington
2. Phoenix, Arizona
3. Burlington, Vermont
4. New York City
5. Portland, Maine
6. Anaheim, California (but only Disney Land 🙂 )
7. Provincetown, Massachusetts
8. Niantic, Connecticut
9. Boston, Massachusetts
10. Northampton, Massachusetts

And now for ten general places I’d like to visit, most of which are outside the US (and in no particular order!):

1. Italy
2. Nantucket, Massachusetts
3. Iceland
4. Haiti
5. Sweden
6. Australia
7. India
8. Thailand
9. Peru
10. Portland, Oregon

I feel so lucky that I’ll soon be able to cross off #1 from my list! I’m hoping to write a lot about my Sicily trip, either while I’m there or after I return. I’m currently taking Italian I at my school to prepare for it. I have taken Spanish for the past four years, so it isn’t a huge change, but I forgot how cool starting to learn a new language is! My goal is to become fluent in at least two other languages by the time I turn 30. Perhaps Italian will be one of the two!

Arrivederci!