Favorites Entry 2: January 2015

     Hello, My lovelies! I'm beyond excited for today's post! I'm seriously writing this more than a week ahead of time(I would like to add that I'm not finishing in untill 1/30, though...), but I just can't wait! I want to share this month's favorites with you right this very second!

     1. My wall of poetry

My wall of beauty!

     To start things off I'd like to show you my masterpiece (Dun, dun, dunnn!)

     This my epic wall of poetry! It's actually even greater now. This picture was taken in its earliest of days. All of the poetry on this wall is my own...and, to be honest, this entire wall wouldn't be able to hold all the poetry I've written. I'm addicted to writing to poetry...it's wonderful.

     2. North and South(BBC)

     

North and South poster (via Pinterest)

     Okay, ages ago (I mean months ago) I started reading the North and South book by Elizabeth Gaskell...and I failed. I gave it try, after try, after try I wanted to love it so badly! Eventually, I broke down and watched the BBC adaption on Netflix. I loved it! I enjoyed it so much that I've been inspired to give the book yet another try. If you don't fall in love with Mr. Thornton (Richard Armitage)then I will--Well, I already have *swoon*! I love Margaret (Daniela Denby-Ashe) too! She's just awkward enough and just proper enough to be terribly likable! You have got to check this one out. You won't be disappointed!

  

     3. All the lovely books I've acquired this past month

     

My books! (Ft. the necklace from my bestie!)

     I think I went to the bookstore twice this month. Well, I went to two separate bookstores...but books are books, am I right? The first time I went, it was to my usual bookstore(with Bestie in tow). It was there that I purchased The Extraordinary Education of Nicholas Benedict by Trenton Lee Stewart (Pictured: Third from the bottom), Voss By I-have-no-idea-but-I'm-too-lazy-to-go-upstairs-and-check (Pictured: Second from the bottom), and last (but definitely not least) Bestie and I indulged and each got separate of The Complete Novels of Jane Austen (Pictured: Very bottom).

     The second bookstore visit was to the obscure bookstore in town, and, boy, was I in Heaven! So many books! So many books for really low prices! Yes, that was me sitting down on the floor starting The Fellowship of the Ring (Even though I had no money left to purchase it) while my mom continued a conversation with the lady there. 

     Anyway, from that lovely place I purchased The Bridge to Terabithia by Katherine Paterson (Pictured: Very tippity-top), In Bloom By Louisa May Alcott (Pictured: Smack in the middle), Blue Willow By Doris Gates (Pictured: Second from top), and The True Confessions of Charlotte Doyle By Avi (Pictured: Third from top).

     Wow, look at how much I wrote on my bookstore visits alone...nerd, much?

     4. These vintage postcards

Postcard #1 (front only)

Postcard #2 (Front and back)

     The same day Bestie and I hit the bookstore...we also hit the local antiques mall. We scored with our super vintage, super obscure vintage postcards. We each got two...and they are lovely!
     Side note: Postcard #1 just might be my new blog photo...

     5. East and West Vlog (Web series)

East and West Vlog opening sequence (via Google Images)

     Guys. Guys. GUYS.  I found my a new favorite web series!! This is a modern take on North and South, and it's so good! The acting is top notch...and I have never been so inspired to give the book another try! Here's the link to the first episode if you want to check it out! It's seriously amazing!

      Well, that's January 2015 for you guys! Let me know about your favorites of this month!

The Wrong Question

     Lately I've still been feeling like an alien. 

     The reason why I so often feel like an alien is not because I'm better or worse than everyone else around me. I think I'm just in my own square of individuality, and I look at everyone else like they're in one big square. 
     I mean, I've gotten past most of it, but I've realized something. I've been spending a lot of time just asking myself why I'm this way. It seems like there's only me, and then all of you. Which is really and awful way to look at it, I'm one of you, aren't I? I'm not superior or inferior to anybody...and yet, I feel as if I'm both at once...
     The problem is, I've been asking myself the wrong question.
     The real question is: How is everyone else different from me?
     The truth is, they're not. We're all different, obviously, but we're all the same. 
     How is everyone different than me?
     They aren't.
     We're all individuals, yes. We're all ourselves, yes. But it is never me against everybody else. It is never a category where there's me...and then you. This is not a book where there's one chapter about me and 20 chapters about everyone else. This is not a book where there are 20 chapters about me and a single chapter about everybody else. I guess we're all in this together. Even if you feel like you know it's about you more than others, or about others more than you...we're all in this together. 
     We like to believe that we know this, but we don't. We don't understand that treating everyone with kindness, and love, and genuine care is the only way that we can even try to show everyone else that the line between inferior and superior does not exist. There is no line. 
     I always kind of feel that I'm on the outside looking in on everyone else. I think I'll feel this way for a long time...but I think it's because everyone is on the outside looking in at everyone else. I thought it was just me...that I was the only one who really felt this way, but I believe that we've all felt like an alien. I've never felt intimidated by this feeling, I've only felt lost and challenged. Lost because I seemed to have no direction to go, and challenged to find a direction. 
     You are in a square...but you're not the only one.

   
    "Have no fear, you will
     find your way.
     It's in your bones.
     It's in your soul."
                          --Mark Z. Danielewski
      

Favorites Entry Special: 2014

     Ah, hello my people! Today I have a special look back at 2014 for you. I know, I'm as excited as you are...which probably isn't that excited. But what do I know, right?
      Anyway, today I'm going to list my favorite things as far as film, television, books, and such go. 
     Honestly, this was much more difficult than I expected. I mean, it should be easy to pick my favorite book of 2014, right? No. Wrong. Terribly wrong. Frightfully wrong!
     Well, I guess I should probably get started, right?

     To start things off rather simply, my favorite Movie this Year was...

Official Poster (via Pinterest)

     Yes, that's right. This film is all around gold. It's just my favorite. It's hilarious, it's heartfelt, it's the best Marvel production yet--in my opinion, of course.  My family(usually my dad and brothers) always drag me along to movies that I don't particularly want to see, and I always end up falling completely in love with whatever they make me go see. This one, though, I believe I loved the most. We just watched it again last night (Per New Year's Eve tradition that involves watching a movie before the new year), and let me say, it was just as funny, just as awesome, just as everything as I remember!

     Other Favorites Films from 2014: Interstellar, Big Hero 6, The Book Thief, Ivanhoe(1997)

     Now, to dabble in Television. This past year marks a year of, well, awesomeness as far as TV shows go. I don't know if the mere fact that I had more time to watch TV is embarrassing or what...but who cares, really? 

    Moving on, my favorite TV show this year is (Not surprisingly):

Doctor Who in a picture (via Pinterest)

     If you saw this coming, I really don't blame you. If you know anything about me, you know I love Doctor Who. Seriously, it's a sickness. I mean, I could go on and on, but I'd prefer not to bore you.

    Other Favorite TV shows: Gilmore Girls, Psych, Hotel Impossible, The Voice, Probably others I can't remember right now...

    Okay, so here's the hardest one yet. Books are pretty much one of my all time favorite things ever in the history of all of time and space...and that's probably why choosing a favorite book of 2014 was incredibly difficult. I haven't actually read as many books this past year as I'd like to have-- which is what every bookworm says, let's be honest. Seriously, though, I'm just rambling now.

    After many painful minutes of contemplation...I decided that a single favorite book was impossible...and that's why I chosen two!

    First we have the not surprising:

(Via Pinterest)

     If you've read any of my past posts, you'll see this as no shock. This book is a masterpiece. I mean, there are no words to describe it. It's beautiful, it's heartbreaking, it's just amazing. I can't wait to read it again, honestly.

     My second favorite this year is one I haven't even blogged about yet:

Sorry so blurry (via Pinterest)

     Every Girl should seriously read this book. It's blunt, it's beautiful, it will change your life. (Special thanks to a close friend for giving me a copy)

     Other favorite reads of 2014: The Ascendance Trilogy By Jennifer A. Nielsen, Meet the Austins by Madeleine L'Engle, Little Women by Louisa May Alcott, and many more.

     Now for an easier category...music! This past year I listened to music a lot more than any previous years. I didn't really discover any new music exactly, though. I really just listened to what I've always listened to with a touch of this or that.  All in all, I think my favorite artist that I never get tired of is the one and only Coldplay!

                   

Coldplay's Ghost Stories cover art (via Pinterest)

     Colplay is another thing that I could go on and on about(and I have)...I just never get tired of their music. 

     Other Favorite musicians of 2014: Owl City, For King & Country, Relient K, One Direction (judge me if you must), James Blunt, etc, etc.

     Last, but not least, I have my favorite web series. 2014 was the year I discovered web series'...because I'm obviously way behind everyone...because I'm me. I have many favorites (okay, like 5), but I think my favorite is probably this one

GGF opening sequence (via Pinterest)

     This one is (obviously) a modern take on Anne of Green Gables. I may be bias because I love Anne Shirley more than most, but if you want to check it out, here's a link to the first episode. They start off kind of low quality, but they do get better and I think the lack of camera and sound quality adds to the reality of the story. 

     Other favorites: The Lizzie Bennet Diaries, Emma Approved, In Ernest

     Okay, folks, I think that's all. I really enjoyed 2014. Heck, I started this blog in 2014. It feels like age ago, honestly. It's weird to look back on the last year...it's always weird for me because I feel like I'm not remembering enough of the important things that happened. I'm not saying that I'm ungrateful, I'm just saying that it often feels like no matter how grateful I am, it never seems as if I am quite grateful enough. Am I even making sense at this point?

     2014 has been great, but every year is a great year. Heck, every day is a great day. I feel like 2014 really was the span of 365 days where I have grown in spirit, in mind, and in self more than every other year before. I haven't even graduated high school yet, but here I am feeling more like an adult than any teenager should. I have ambition, I have spirit, I have beauty, I have art, and life, and breath, and so much possibility at my fingertips. I am unstoppable. 

     What are your favorites of 2014?