On Observing

As the shy, typically quiet girl, I've learned a lot about being observant. This doesn't necessarily mean that I see everything, and I do sometimes miss the most obvious of things. Often when I am I a situation, though, I try to find the subtleties, the things others might not notice. I have a knack for forgetting specific turns of events but remembering dates and times and phrases.

The other day, I went to the Van Gogh museum in Amsterdam. This was a weird situation for me because I was in a room full of people trying to see the small details; the brushstrokes, the textures, the techniques used by Vincent Van Gogh himself. In this situation, I decided to do something that I don't always remember to do. I tried looking at the big picture. Literally. Instead of trying to pick out blending techniques and colour schemes, I enjoyed some amazing pieces of art. I even took some photos that I might post on here later, but that's not important right now.

The point is, even if you enjoy picking out the small things and seeing what few else do, sometimes it's good to look at the big picture, be it in an art museum or on the walk to the grocery store or in that movie you saw with your friends. You never know what you might notice when you stop looking for something else.

On Autumn

Call me a typical late-teens/early twenties girl, but I absolutely adore fall. How can you not? The leaves are changing, the air feels fresh and crisp, the temperatures are starting to cool down, and, of course, it's the season for Thanksgiving and Halloween (at least in Canada, where I come from)! I have to admit, October is one of my favorite months - there's something to be said about a month that is apparently dedicated to giving you excuses to eat way too much!

I'm pretty easy to please when it comes to season changes - after winter, I love when the temperature rises, and of course, after summer, I love when the temperature falls. As pretty much every girl around my age has tweeted, it's about time for hoodies and boots and Pumpkin Spice Lattes (though I've honestly never tried that last one). There's something about the crispness and the smell of wood fires in the air that just feels refreshing and comfortable.

I think my favorite thing about fall, though, would have to be the leaves changing colors and falling to the ground. Me being the person I am, I find it kind of poetic. As human beings who are generally afraid of change and death and decay, we look at the season changing, the leaves dying and falling to the ground to decay, and we call it beauty. It makes you wonder what else could be seen as beautiful, given a different perspective or circumstance.

On Things I am Good At

Okay guys. I ended the title with a preposition. I'm glad that's out in the open.

I have not been paying much attention to this blog lately, but I was going through the notes on my iPod and I found something. One day I decided to make a list of things that I am good at as I went through the day. Here is what I came up with:

- Not taking up the whole sidewalk. That's right, I can walk to one side of the sidewalk, which is something that a surprising amount of people seem to be incapable of doing.

- Crossing the road very efficiently. I don't mean to brag but I hardly ever have to stop before I cross the road, and this is only sometimes because I don't realize I'm walking into the street.

- Lip syncing to the songs on my iPod that no one else can hear so people think I'm talking to myself. Judge me all you want, people. I don't even care, I nailed that last verse.

- Accidentally singing out loud in grocery stores. Ever catch yourself singing along to the radio while you're trying to find the best orange pepper? Story of my life.

- Binge-watching television shows on Netflix. When I start a series, I just really want to finish it. Like as soon as possible.

- Binge-watching videos on YouTube. Similar to finding a good series, when I find a YouTube channel that I like, I want to watch all of it. And then I want to find all the other channels that are associated with that good channel and watch all of those videos too.

- Procrastinating anything productive. There are a lot of shows on Netflix and also a lot of videos on YouTube, so it's pretty easy to not do anything productive for an entire day.

So there you go, a short list of things that I am good at.

Maybe I can get back into this blog again. It's something that I'd definitely like to put more effort into (along with a lot of other things in my life) so I'll work on that.

As a final note, I just want to say thank you, to my amazing boyfriend Dylan, for sticking with me for five months! I know this distance sucks, but this relationship is such an amazing part of my life, and I'm so glad we still have each other. It's been an amazing five months, and I know there are many more to come. I love you! <3