Welcome Back!

Oh hey! Where have you been?
What? No! I've totally been posting for the past month.
YOU'RE the one who hasn't been here....

Okay, I guess you caught me. I've been a bad blog owner. But I'm back! I hope..

I've found myself staring at a blank new post screen many times over the past almost two months, but somehow or another my mind is whisked off in another direction. I'm sorry it's so been so long. School has really been a big weight on me, not to mention work. I end my days feeling bogged down and too tired to do anything. It really shouldn't impede my work. This is my job, and it's an important part of me. If I lose sight of it, I lose something of myself.

So let's do a bit of updating.
-School has been okay. It sucks cause it's school, but I still really enjoy my teachers. I have an exam and a paper due on Tuesday and I'm a bit worried about them. I just hope I can get it all done.
-Work has been awful. I'm so done with this job and it's only been two and a half months. Looking for other jobs already. I just really need something that is mentally challenging and satisfying. Yesterday, I spent a good hour looking up writing jobs. No luck. If you have anything, PLEASE send it my way!
-Our four year anniversary was this week. We spent the weekend before together, celebrating ang enjoying what little time we had before the real world decided to rear its ugly head again.

Alright, on to less boring things.

I have literally been craving activity lately. Exercise, writing, reading, photography, making videos. But I feel like I have no time to do the things I want to do, what I feel like I need to do in order to be happy and content and at least freaking satisfied.

Life is hard, y'all. And my life isn't even that hard, not compared to the reality of peoples lives out there. But I'm not diminishing what I see as hard, or what someone else sees. Everyone has their own version of what a hard life looks like.

ANYWAY, off that tangent.

The need to be doing something productive is hitting hard with me. But I can't start videos until I learn how to edit. And really I need a lot more time for that kind of thing. So it might have to wait until summer. I feel like I'm always saying that. But it is really something I want to do, so I think it will happen, one way or another.

The exercise thing I could totally be accomplishing on my own, but laziness and tiredness get in the way. When I do have the energy to do something good for myself, I don't because I want to relax instead of moving. Definitely a project for improving my self worth.

Writing and reading... That one I do all the time! I'm reading a book called My Paris Dream by Kate Betts, and I absolutely LOVE it. I raved about it on my Instagram. I'll probably do a post on it. I need to make posts for several books. Honestly it'd be easier just to video... I wonder if I'm able to just post my videos on here? That would be a good transition.. Then I don't have to be so wrapped up in what I want my channel to look like, cause I already have a feel and view of what my blog is. I can't believe I've never thought of that before... Hmm.
Oh yeah writing! I'm doing lots of that. I started a book recently, and I'm attempting to force myself to only write that. It's super hard. During the Halloween month, I kept getting distracted by ideas for witches. As soon as October was over, so was the witch thing. However, I recently stumbled across an old story of mine and holy crap! It wasn't bad. I was actually super impressed with my writing. It was the kind of sophisticated writing I wish I had now. Maybe my confidence is faltering. So I am working on both of those, the new story and the old one I discovered the other week.

Okay and the photography craving. I am actually going to take a photography class next semester! I'm super excited for it. Definitely going to learn more than I have ever known. Not much to say about it haha, just excited. Also! There's probably going to be a photo dump post soon. I really love the things I've captured, and I want to share them with my friends:)

Well, I'm not sure there's anything else to talk about. Not interested in discussing the Presidential Election. I'm mourning and hoping these next four years just fly by.

That's all for now.
Keep being fresh and tune in next week!
Kaylee



PS- I don't know if you have noticed, but besides spelling, I don't edit my posts. I don't have the patience. Stories? I'll edit those all day long. But there's something about a blog post and essays, I hate editing them. Okay bye!

Photography (Appreciation..?)

Okay so remember like a long time ago when I posted a bunch of old pictures? Well I'm posting a bunch of pictures again, but this time they're a lot more recent. I hope you guys enjoy them. Have a fresh week! 

Kaylee

Around campus. 

Leaves in fall on campus. 

Chair at a second hand store. 

Drive to my cousins. 

This Week We Discuss Books.

I've tried over a hundred times to write a blog post, but nothing would come to me. It was like the energy to create just didn't exist for a while. But, while my writing has been on the fritz, my reading and photographing muses have been singing. At Christmastime, I started rereading one of my favorite book series of all time: The Gemma Doyle Trilogy, by the all-powerful Libba Bray.

http://libbabray.com/

This would be the first time I've read these books again, since I was in seventh grade. That's nearly seven years! It took me from Christmas until this past weekend to finish the first one, which is only 400 pages long! I imagine it took so long for several reasons: I got bored (hard for me to admit), I had school and sorority, and I was busy being with my boyfriend. Luckily, I did finish the damned thing and moved onto the sequel (600 pages), Saturday. I finished that this morning and then proceeded to grab the last book off my shelf (800 pages).

It's also very interesting that I'm reading this (my favorite book series) at the beginning of the semester, because last fall, I reread my second favorite book series, by a talented Mrs. Rosemary Clement-Moore (https://readrosemary.wordpress.com/). Who I actually have met! Almost all of the books that I own by her (which is nearly all the YA books she's published) are signed (in person!) copies.

Both of these women writers, Bray and Clement-Moore, are my role models. They're beautiful, strong, courageous, and they write in such a fashion and in such lines that I wish to be the main character. Not to give spoilers, but both series revolve around a young girl who has just discovered powers inside herself that she's not sure how to control. In Bray's trilogy, Gemma is a young girl (just turned 16) who was raised in Victorian era British-ruled India, but pretty soon in the book is moved to England for school. Clement-Moore's books detail a slightly older girl named Maggie who attends a present day high school. Both girls must battle demons, while facing rocky friendships, growing up, and finding out who they truly are (and romancing hot guys).

I love these books with all my heart. If posting this gets anyone out there interested in either the authors or the books, great! I would feel more than accomplished at getting these authors' names out there and these wonderful books noticed. Read them! Follow them! Live the lives of two young girls just trying to make their way through this cruel and craggy world. I love books, y'all!

That's it, rant over.
Kaylee

PS- I got a job!

Classes... Tomorrow

Well I'm back at school. Yay..? My room looks cute (of course), and my roommate (Chey again) is still basically moving in. Classes begin tomorrow and I'm not looking forward to it. I mean, my classes are fine, almost all of them are things I really want to take, but the problem is actually going to and sitting through classes. Of course I only have three classes and one of them is cancelled, but one of them is also a night class. For two hours. Ugh.

Also tomorrow we have our first sorority meeting. And like I said before, because of my night class, I won't be able to go to a lot of them. And tomorrow is the first example of that. I'll be able to meet with the executive board tomorrow before my class and get things done, but it's definitely not the same as actually sitting through a meeting with everyone and seeing them all again.

Saying goodbye to my mom was hard, like it always is, but she's already planning on coming and visiting soon. She also got to stay an extra night, which is amazing. But we aren't even able to talk because her phone bill wasn't able to get paid this month. Now we're just waiting for her to be able to pay it. I can't believe how much I already miss her and I just wanna be able to talk to her. Oh well, guess I'll just have to wait.

I think I missed Chey and Alex more than I thought I did. It's only the second day in and it's like the great times of last year all over again. Tonight we've laughed a lot, made great dirty jokes, and created a "Dirty Mind" headband. Mostly it's stayed on Alex's head, but once it almost made its way to my forehead. I think this might be a good year... besides, you know, classes.

Also, I posted this a day early so I wouldn't forget tomorrow.
Kaylee

Hellooo

So Monday I went to the lake. A friend of mine was having a really tough time emotionally, so after classes, she invited me and a couple other friends out to the lake around Nac. I didn't wear a bathing suit so I didn't do any swimming, but she brought this little boat we aired up. For the first hour I sat on the bank, two girls in the boat, and our other friend who was keeping them from floating away. I didn't mind being alone. No phone to distract me, but I got to see everything. Sometimes I forget how much I love just watching, just seeing.

One of my biggest passions is photography. I think that passion has offered me insight into seeing beyond the skin of things. To really appreciate something, you have to look beyond its outward appearance. Life is about more than skin, it's about what's underneath, what's inside a person, or a thing. Of course I don't mean literally inside. The emotions, the feelings, the thoughts, the ideas. And with buildings, nature, objects, it's about what their story is. The process of making it. Their lives.

Sitting on that bank, I just watched my friends, the water, the sky, and I appreciated every single second of it. It's so liberating just watching. You don't have to think, you don't have to talk. I could spend my whole life just watching and seeing.

Anyway, on to more boring things. I have finals next week. This weekend I get to go see my best friend in Galveston. We're gonna spend the weekend on the beach, tanning and talking. I'm so excited for the rest weekend before all my finals kill me. I'm so not looking forward to this next week. I already know I've failed two classes and I feel like shit about myself because of them. I could have done so much better, tried harder in those classes, and I would've succeeded. Jon is suggesting I do online classes during the summer to retake them. I just might.

The best thing about school ending in a week is that I'll be home. I miss my mom and my family so much. And then after a week and a half, I'll be moving to San Marcos to live with Jon. I'm really excited to see what this summer will bring for us. It'll be our first time really living like adults. I'll also be looking for jobs. I've never had a PAYING job, only volunteer work and working construction for my dad. But that stuff doesn't have a place on an application, so employers won't look at me twice.

Speaking of jobs, if any of you guys know of places that are hiring in San Marcos, Texas, please feel free to email me. I could really use the help, the experience, and I'll need one cause I have to start saving to get a new car and pay off loans when I graduate. You can find my email on the About Me page.

Stay fresh, stay cool,
Kaylee

Pictures

So last week I said I might post some pictures of the most influential places I've ever been. Red Valley, Arizona is where I found my writing voice and where my journey toward a traveler began. So here are some of my favorite pictures of my last visit to the mountain and desert reservation. I hope you enjoy them.

Photo cred to myself.

Kaylee

I Love to Write

Today's Google picture is probably one of my favorite of all time. I love the Eiffel Tower. I've never been to Paris or France (or even out of the country), but I've always wanted to see those places. As a writer (and a photographer) I love traveling, pictures, people, and experiencing different cultures. Though I haven't been many places that are different from my every day life, my passion for writing didn't begin until my first mission trip to a Navajo Reservation. We camped on a mountain for a week and it was gorgeous out there. It was sorta like being in two places at once. We'd go down the mountain and be in the desert, but as soon as the elevation began to rise, there were pine trees and green every where. The view from our bluff was unbelievable. Maybe I'll upload a picture some other time.

This post may already seem haywire and like I'm telling five different different stories at once, but I promise I'm not. My point is to touch on the fact that my life goal is to see the world. But not only to travel and eat and meet people, but I want to write about it. I love writing, I love talking and I love eating (my thighs can attest to that). My dream come true would be to travel and write about my experiences.

The reason I mentioned the Google homepage picture is because Paris is the one place I've ALWAYS wanted to see. I know the French tend to hate the Americans and I don't know a bit of French, but it's always been beautiful to me. The day I get to set foot into Paris, the day I can climb to the top of the Eiffel Tower, that day I would be able to die beyond happy and content.

My point in all this is just to highlight my love of writing and traveling. Again, my life goal is to the world, the cultures, the food, the people, and all the amazing sights that are in this world. I want to write about them, document them, put my stamp in magazines and journals and show people what is out there. Instead of reading about people's adventures, I want to write them, I want to live them.

I want to be all I've ever wanted. And that's fresh. Just like you.

Google Homepage, March 31, 2015