Lake Todd Photo Diary

This past weekend, my family and I rented a little lake cabin up in New Hampshire for a couple days. It was a nice little getaway for us all  before this eventful upcoming year (me applying to colleges and my brother graduating from college). There was no internet, TV or cell phone coverage, so it was literally 2 days in nature, away from the rest of the world. We barbecued and fished and rowed around the lake. Oh my, the lake was absolutely beautiful and the air was so fresh and clean. I didn't want to leave at all. But of course, c'est la vie. I'll let pictures do the rest of the talking.

It was such a lovely weekend and I thoroughly enjoyed the whole experience. I would definitely recommend any of you to take a little getaway once in a while, away from technology and society. Just you, your family, your loved ones, and nature.

Don't Let Go

Before my summer internship becomes an irrelevant topic on this blog, I wanted to share the design I created for my program. The purpose was to create a design that speaks out about a certain societal issue or charitable cause. There was a competition for best design, and though I did not win, I really really enjoyed this project and what it did for myself personally.

The topic I chose was something really close to me, depression.

Don’t Let Go: In a day and age where so much is at our fingertips, there are still millions of people suffering from depression. And thousands of people who commit suicide every year. Whether it is because of bullying, societal pressures, failure or love, it is all such an agonizing feeling. People are put down by societal pressure, familial pressure, and above all, internal pressure. We have come so far, and yet we are so fragile. I am trying to speak to these people and tell them, Don’t let go. Don’t let go of your life. Don’t let go of your love. Don’t let go of everything you’ve worked for. Don’t let go of your dreams. Don’t let go.

This was such great therapy for myself. I've come such a long way, struggled so much, and I don't want to waste all that I've done for myself. This surprised me because it helped me think about so many things.

I pulled images I found online and did this all on Photoshop over the span of a few days. It was actually my first time using Photoshop too. It was such a learning experience both personally and technically. Despite my whole description, what does this design say to you? I would really love to know.

An Outfit at Sundown

Okay, first. Stop what you're doing. And click play on this video..

 

Think about the world. Think about your life. Think about your friends. Your family. Think about all the sweet memories you've made. And all the sweet memories you're going to make. Go out, stare at the sky for a few minutes. Listen to the bustling city. Listen to the trees swaying in the wind. Listen to each breath you take. Take in all the sights and sounds of your life, your neighborhood, your town, your city...and cherish it. It's quite beautiful, isn't it?

Now proceed and have that playing in the background while you read this post. :)

The sun was about to set, so I thought it would be nice to take some pictures of my outfit. The pictures would have this nice romantic glow to them because of the setting sun. And for once, I was wearing an outfit that looked decent...although I kind of just slapped it all together. It seems the best outfits are always an accident for me?

My hair is getting quite long!

A nice Boston sunset.

Shadows of the jungle gym -- I took these pictures in a playground.

Sorry about the naked face.

You can see my TOMS tan line!

I tried to pose, but ended up just looking quite awkward. // The clouds are perfectly wispy.

Cardigan - American Eagle, T-shirt - H&M, Floral skirt - Forever 21, Flats - Old Navy, Satchel - H&M.

I hope you're having a great weekend! Yesterday was the last day of my internship and it was quite sad. I'm not very good with goodbyes and I just didn't know what to say when I parted with my co-workers. I really can't believe this summer is already over. It’s a peculiar thing getting to know other people for this short period of time, starting to like them, and then having to leave at a designated time. You knew that last day would come eventually, but you really didn’t want it to come. There’s this fixation that you don’t really want to let go of just yet. It was only 7 weeks and yet I grew attached to this place and the people in it. Handshakes and hugs and thank you e-mails…it’s all over now. And I’m just thinking, was it all a dream?

Recently

Hey y'all! 

I can't believe summer's almost over. I don't want to go back to school and go through the dreaded college process yet! This summer has definitely been one of the most different summers for me yet. It's been such a new experience for me. And it's gone by SO fast. Excuse me while I go grasp onto as much of the summer I have left as possible. Here are some recent happenings in my (sadly ending) summer.

Recently listening to:

Passion Pit's new album Gossamer; this album is just amazing. Period. I've been listening to it on repeat for the past two weeks. Above is one of my favorites from the album (though they're all basically my favorite).

Recently purchased:

Dunnies; I collect mini toys (mostly Domo), and my friend was selling his repeat Dunnies so I decided to get some of his. They're so adorably small and intricate at the same time.

Recently read:

The Stranger by Albert Camus; this was one of my summer reading books for school. It was surprisingly a really really good, "short and sweet" read. The story progressed quickly and the whole mood of the book was quite...unsettling. It made me think and made me not want to think at the same time, yet I really enjoyed it a lot. I would definitely recommend this book to anyone looking for a quick, but intense/involved read.

Recently been enjoying:

Painting!!! I found this untouched set of watercolors from one of those kiddy artist sets lying around my house. They actually aren't half bad! Blasting music while painting has been such a great escape for me lately.

So that's what I've been up to this past week. What have you been up to recently?

Remember when I went to Puerto Rico?

Remember me? Yeah, I don't either.

Hi! Hey! Hello! Howdy! I'm aliiiiiive! Sorry for the sudden disappearance, everyone. Things started picking up really quickly at my internship and well, the Olympics started so...there was no blogging for me! I'm loving it at my internship, though. I'm soaking in SOOO much. I've definitely gotten a taste of the work world and (hopefully) what my future will be like.

Anyway, back to the post...the long-awaited Puerto Rico travel diary post!!! (Note the multiple exclamation marks. Hence, you should be very excited.)

It's your lucky day because you're in for a bunch of photos!

The gorgeous beach.

Garlic chicken and chili, I believe?

 

I fell in love with their narrow streets and colorful houses.

Old Fort San Juan.

Inside one of the dark halls...it was oh so ominous and spooky (not my cup of tea).

For some reason, there was an iguana roaming around the fort!

Crashing waves are gorgeous, no?

Old men socialize at a cafe during lunch.

An authentic Puerto Rican dish: Mofungo (it was very yummy).

FLAAAAAN!

Gift shops are always so overpriced. I thought these were pretty cool.

And these masks too.

Their water system is quite interesting.

"The Cloud Forest" was eerily beautiful.

L: these newts were everywhere! R: The waterfall was absolutely breathtaking.

Our hike to the waterfall was well worth it!

I just love this shot...not even edited at all! The water lookit lookit!

Had a layover in NYC...no wonder it's called the city that never sleeps.

And looky looky, I made a video too! Experience 5 minutes of my 5 days in Puerto Rico (yeah, I totally planned that). Kind of like a vlog but not really because I don't speak in it, still do watch! Puerto Rico's definitely a beautiful place: full of character and friendly people.

 

I hope you got a gist of my experience in Puerto Rico through this post. If you ever get the chance to, definitely definitely visit it one day. It may be rough around the edges in some areas, but well, any place is.