one year anniversary!

Hey everyone, it's been a while! 

It's officially been one year since I started this blog, and I can't believe it's been that long. I will say even though it's been a year, I've really only been active on here for like six months. 

Things have changed in my life, most definitely. I thought I would post some highlights of the past year and share some of my favorite memories! 

I met the sweetest cat in my neighborhood, I think she was a kitten when I first met her. She was just so sweet and made me think about how special her features were! Siamese colors are my soft spot in cats, and she was quite literally that. 

This was taken in January of this year, when I was feeling pretty down about myself. I found a lot of solace in visiting these stray cats when I needed some time to myself, it was very therapeutic

. 

This photo was taken by my beautiful best friend, Megan. She took a photography class, and got really into taking photos wherever we journeyed to. 

I go to school in Northern California, and I feel like I am always blown away by how beautiful it is. This is literally just off the side of the road. 

I remember thinking this photo was one of my favorites of myself. I just feel like I look like a nomad, so different to the person I actually am. This was also taken in January, but I just had to include this because it's just too good! 

At this point, I decided I needed to do more in my community, because I was feeling pretty isolated and lonely. This is the first time I lived away from home, and I was unsure of my surroundings. 

This is a photo of our dear friend, BW, the apartment complex cat. We have a complicated relationship with her, starting with the name we bestowed upon her: She is simply called BW because it stands for Bitch Warlock. She's honestly evil sometimes, it's so confusing.

Coincidentally, the name is a double entendre because she also looks like a bat, hence why she could also be called Batwoman (BW). 

Basically every time we sit out on our balcony, she'll pay us a visit -- some happier than others. She's really sweet when she wants to be, but when she's mean she's mean...such a complex girl. 

Wow, moving into April it was so hard for me to choose a picture to describe it. This is really when things start turning around, and I'm starting to feel more secure about living up here. 

At this point, I've finally made some good friends, and I'm spending much more time on campus. 

This baby goat was some sort of therapy goat, not sure why but my friends and I all had an opportunity to hold one and we couldn't pass that up. Spring is so beautiful here.

Surprise! We went to California's capitol building. This is right after spring semester ended, and one of our best friends from home came to visit us! We also ended up going to San Francisco, which you will also be seeing a photo from. 

Sacramento was honestly so beautiful, but it felt so empty and, dare I say, almost soulless. It felt like a ghost town -- the streets were completely emptied and basically every corner. Almost a little eerie. 

This is my San Francisco photo, mostly because I don't have as many as I may have initially thought. I've been many times before, but I had never visited the Painted Ladies until this trip! 

One of our dear friends lives in SF, and she very graciously lets us stay at her house when we come to visit. We've also had the best gluten free fried chicken here, just so good. 

I always have such a fun time when I'm here, I feel like such a city girl! I would love to go back soon. 

Moving into the summer, I went back home to spend it with my family and friends. Almost all of our friends went home for the summer too, and the weather can get extremely hot where I go to school. I'd rather not deal with that mess.

I taught myself how to play the drums this summer because I felt like I needed a hobby, and because I mainly just find them to be so fascinating. 

My dad also plays the bass, and I was able to play some songs with a real band -- even if they were a bunch of dads, I didn't mind. I also (reluctantly) got a job at a cafe, making coffee and selling pastries and whatnot...it was fine.

I also turned 21 (yay!!) and spent a lot of time outdoors. My best friend turned 22, and we partied hard, naturally. I'm just kidding, we're really not the partying type, but it was still a great time. 

Moving into September, we're back in school and back with our lovely friends. To celebrate, we decided to make paper portraits of ourselves (maybe not realistic, but more of an artistic representation). 

And let me tell you, I had such a fun time doing this. Every time I look at photos like this, I'm just reminded of how wonderful of friends I have, and how lucky I am to have found them. 

My first semester in college was really hard for me, mainly because I just wasn't putting myself out there in social situations and then I was wondering why I was feeling so depressed and lonely. I'm also naturally very introverted, which definitely didn't play to my advantage

That brings us to right now, November 2025! I'm really grateful for everything that has happened this semester, even when there has been hardships.

I've tried my best to expand my circle, which is working. 

Finally being surrounded with people who care about me is something I do not plan on taking for granted. 

That pretty much sums it up for me right now, but I hope this post was able to bring some context into the year I've been having. See you very soon, hopefully. Until next time, cheers!