"I think there must be something wrong with me, Linus. Christmas is coming, but I'm not happy. I don't feel the way I'm supposed to feel. I just don't understand Christmas, I guess. I like getting presents and sending Christmas cards and decorating trees and all that, but I'm still not happy. I always end up feeling depressed." - Charlie Brown

At the beginning of this year, I decided something: it was time for me to travel. It's been difficult for me to travel due to my chronic illness, and to be honest, my anxiety was a huge factor as well. But this year, I decided that at 19 years old, it was time to go somewhere outside my comfort zone. I didn't have any specific plans, but I decided that if the opportunity to travel presented itself, I would go.

Cut to my friend Trishelle (some of you may know her as Georgie...) telling me that she was going to school in Minnesota, and she was going on a major crosscountry road trip to get there. One of the stops included Colorado, so a weird idea started forming in my brain: what if I went with her from Colorado to Minnesota, then flew home? It would be fun, it would allow me to see the U.S. (including Mount Rushmore), and it would be a way to stretch my wings.

In July, it became clear that Trishelle actually couldn't go out to school in August due to finances. So, we readjusted. I took the money I'd saved and I bought a plane ticket... to Oregon. It was time for Trishelle to show me her world. I would also be able to see the wild city of Portland and the ocean--my very first time.

I landed in Portland on September 5th and what followed was one of the most awesome weeks of my life.

Day One // Saturday, 9.5.15

My mom, sister, and I drove into Denver and checked me into the flight. We went through airport security, where this nice guy let me bring my protein shakes through even though they were too big. (Thank you, sir!) Then we ate some Panda Express and before I knew it, it was almost time for my flight to board.

This was my first flight, so I'll admit it, I was nervous. Due to my nervousness, my mom asked if I could meet one flight attendant.

Um. They brought out two flight attendants and the PILOT. They were extremely nice and the pilot said he'd show me the cockpit.

Then we boarded, and I forgot to go see the cockpit. I know, I know. I'm still mad at myself.

My first flight was nervewracking and yet actually kind of fun. Seeing the clouds up close was stunning, honestly, and there was a moment where we were in the middle of a cloud and totally shrouded in it. I was in a window seat next to a couple who slept the whole time (and who looked like Dustin Hoffman and Laura Dern).

pc: Trishelle

We got up early and ate breakfast at Newport Cafe before heading down to the historic Newport Bay, which had a pier and lots of shops. On the pier, I found an orange tabby cat (named Colby or something?) who belonged to one of the shop owners, and he promptly decided to lay on my feet. He apparently liked me. It took a lot of effort to pull myself away from him!



We went to some shops and I bought some rings (because hallelujah they had ring sizes bigger than size 8). After this, we decided to go to the Oregon Coast Aquarium, where I proceeded to see sharks and touch anemones. (Though I was disappointed that I didn't see any whales or dolphins. Turns out I was thinking of Sea World.)



After the aquarium, we took off to visit the beach one more time. Our destination of choice? A lighthouse. Yaquina Head, to be exact.


We got out into the wind where we were on cliffs above the ocean, like something out of a movie (or Because I'm Irish). Though we chose not to go inside the lighthouse, we did take a millions steps down to Yaquina Head's Cobble Beach, a beach filled with craggy rocks and tons of pebbles. This time, the cold Oregon water really did make me freeze. We touched some anemones in tide pools and watched the waves crash against the rocks for a while until we decided to take off. It was magical.



From there, we headed out of Newport and to Central Oregon, where we reached Trishelle's family's house after 3 and a half hours of driving (through Corvallis and the Willamette National Forest. It was magical). We ate dinner and settled in to watch more Friends. It was a good decision.

Day Four // Tuesday, 9.8.15

Trishelle had to work, so I spent most of my day writing and working on blog stuff. (Though sadly I didn't post here, as you could probably tell...) When she got off, we headed over to her friend's house for a free Mary Kay facial. I was able to meet one of Trishelle's closest friends and quiz her about make up. Win win.

After that, I believe we went home and watched Bob's Burgers, but don't quote me on that.



Then we went home and watched Bob's Burgers (I think?).

Last year, I would do monthly recaps. I had every valiant intention of continuing them into 2015, but here it is July August and I haven't even touched one. Alas.

So because I've been out of commission and I'm back to regular blogging again, here's what I've been up to, in one general recap.

life

blogging

writing

entertainment

Well, well, well. I'll get the big things out of the way by saying...

I GOT MY BRACES OFF DECEMBER 30TH!

I know you all desperately want to see a picture or two.

On the non-fiction side of things, I worked with Grafted Magazine in several ways. On the blog, I wrote Jesus Loves Me. In addition, Issue 4 of Grafted Magazine released, which included my look back on the past year. If you'd like to contribute to Issue 5 of Grafted, you can find out more about that here.

The Fangirl Initiative flourished in December, with our first full week of posting beginning that month. Now, for real, you should go check out all of the posts on the blog for December, because I'm so proud of all the contributors and what they've written. But as far as myself, I wrote about the new Star Wars trailer (it was the last day of November but it counts, okay?). I also put together an exciting collab article in which the Fangirl Initiative's team voices their thoughts on Benedict Cumberbatch playing Dr. Strange in one of Marvel's upcoming movies. I also reviewed the first two episodes of The 100. Last but not least, I wrote about the relationships in The Avengers! (Oh, and I made a Christmas graphic too.)
Well, we've kind of touched on this already, but... I finished Lost Girls! Cue screaming!

After NaNoWriMo and the excitement of Lost Girls, I couldn't just stop writing. So I picked up Because I'm Irish, the book extremely close to my heart, for a complete rewrite. My total for the whole month was 27,588. (I haven't written that much since Petrichor! Which I still need to finish by the way.)

The rewrite is going well for the most part. It's better than I ever dreamed it would be. While I'm not sure if I've completely captured the heart of the story, I'm just glad to be writing it again. There are some things from the first draft that haven't made it into this one, but I know I have many drafts left to make it exactly what I want it to be. (Which is both a blessing, and a curse.)

Music

Alas, my music playlist was dwarfed by November's, and didn't even try to compete. The music I listened to this month was scattered between several playlists, so I don't have an actual Spotify playlist to embed here, unfortunately. What I listened to more than anything is below, though.

On Instagram

1. last episode of Once Upon a Time of 2014 // 2. i'm in love with Bard the Bowman // 3 & 4. braces are gone! // 5. i got superhero movies for christmas. it was amazing. // 6. christmas selfie // 7. christmas loot // 8. i look like a milkmaid // 9. a picture taken by my sister, shiloh // 10. the amazing hors d'oeurves done by my sister, shiloh // 11. my sister, shiloh, reenacting "We are Young" by Fun. using her ponies // 12. my happy place // 13. Lost Girls is done! // 14. my thrilled demeanor about Issue 4 of Grafted and the first full week of Fangirl Initiative posts

On TV

photoshoot the last day of the year

I caught up on Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D., finally, and cried at the midseason finale. My sister and I finished season 2 of Once Upon a Time and went away to Neverland during Season 3. I started watching The 100 and also watched even more Arrow. (I'm almost done with season 1 of Arrow, guys. It's gonna happen.) Also, I watched Parks and Recreation, both season 2 with my brother, and season 6 by myself. I also watched season 3 of New Girl!

Other Entertainment: My mom and I watched Safe Haven. What the heck was that ending? My mom and I predicted it, but decided it was too twisted of an ending. Except yeah, it happened.

In Conclusion

December was more full than I realized, with finishing a book, taking a college class in just a few days, and getting my braces off. It's actually been a pretty good month.

January has already been full to the brim. I can't believe we're 8 days in to 2015; it seems unreal. I'm watching Good Mythical Morning late into the night, listening to even more music, learning Irish, and planning my goals for the year. I can't wait to see what happens.