Avoidance

I have truly been trying to avoid the countdown which started as good fun and has become a countdown to an anxiety attack.

Here's something I now know about myself: I feed off of whatever emotions I decide to create for myself and this is also heavily related to the music I decide to surround myself with. For example: the other day an innocent journal entry unfurled into a tear-filled declaration of fear and anxiety about my future. It didn't help that I was listening to a playlist called "the end" which I listened to when college was over. Oh gosh.

Anyway, in an attempt to trick myself into being happy, I'm trying to remind myself why I'm making this move (I need to be independent/ grow up, I need a new adventure in life, I want to challenge myself, I want to see if I could be a good teacher, I want to make international/ expat friends, I need to arrange my health and lifestyle, etc.) I know I'll miss Antoinette's bachelorette and bridal showers and that's sad. There are things I'm missing out on. But I have to remind myself... it's just a year. It's just a year. And maybe I'll love it so much it will become 2 years. Who knows? But for now, it's just a year.

So lately, Margaret (my sister) is in town for a few weeks before she goes back to Paris. She's super into the show "Mr. Selfridge," which is great except Jeremy Piven's really stale acting. Me and my mom and Margaret have been watching that, ordering pizza in the day, running errands, and laughing really hard. (See my twitter account for my dad's insane quotes lately). We've also been shopping, going to church activities, having dinner with our adorable neighbors, and just generally hanging out. Oh and my mom plays solitaire. A LOT.

In my free time I've been ringing up my credit card bill at an alarming rate and stressing about not speaking Korean. Also I've been obsessing over the sky here and my sister's dog.

This is blurry because my mom slapped my phone out of my hands.

Ignore the dirty windshield. What a sky!

Ah I love Dallas. I mean I hate it... but I love it so much.

Lorde of the Land

You may have (probably have) heard the song Royals by newcomer Ella Yelich O'Conner aka Lorde.

If not, it's here.

I've read several quotes from this girl and she's just really awesome. Did you know she's 16 years old? 16!!! THAT'S AWESOME. Proof that you can do anything at any age if you work hard enough. She's a New Zealander (more proof that it's a perfect place??) and from this interview in Elle it seems she's pretty down-to-earth. I like that she's straightforward and is in creative control for her look and everything. Her voice is so good and her lyrics totally raw. You can listen to her upcoming album Pure Heroine here on VH1's website. 

I don't know about you but I'm a big lyric person. There is nothing better than listening to a song, hearing a lyric and all of a sudden your situation just becomes so crystalized it gives you butterflies and just is like an icicle to your heart it's so amazing. And even better, when the lyric isn't about love but about something really deep, ah, it's just so good. 

Which is why I like Lorde so much. Her music is just really straightforward. You can tell she thought about these words after a bad party and maybe a walk alone in the street, or when she was leaving a movie or whatever. The point is, the lyrics are awesome and I'm really excited for her album to come out, which, by the way, is September 30th.

Source

Is It Finally Sunny for You Yet? : Music

So I'm into very detailed playlists that attune to a certain emotion... like really sad, lonely songs for the shower or music when you want to cry from homesickness, or music to pump you up when you need to work out.
Now that it's finally getting sunny outside and really warm, I've been driving with the windows rolled down in the car. There are some days when you've got your Starbucks or Coffee Bean drink nestled in right next to you, when the sun is shining and everything seems alright with the world. You're just happy. You know the feeling? I hope so. Here are some songs I like to listen to when I feel that way. (Photo taken by me in Maui)

Give these songs a listen, I know you'll like at least some of them!!
Happy Sunday everyone.

Need New Music Ideas? Take Some of Mine!

I don't think people on this blog realize how often I am shazaming. I shazam at least once a day. And if you don't know what shazam is, it's an app that is on your phone that you use when you really want to know the name of a song but can't hear it that well, or aren't familiar with it. I love music a lot, and I have a wide variety of tastes.
These are the songs I've downloaded in the past week or so that I have really been liking. My playlist is always rotating and I'm always finding new music, so if you need any inspiration for good songs, let me know. If you guys like this I can start making it a weekly thing.