Tuesday, December 1, 2015

Wrap-Up | November 2015 ~ NaNoWriMo, My Birthday, Friendship, Black Friday & Writing


IMAGE FROM THIS MONTH

FUN/NOTEWORTHY THINGS THAT HAPPENED
1. An Impromptu Birthday Celebration | I went up to Rochester on the third weekend of November for a visit to my aunt but without my knowledge, she and her best friend turned it into a surprise celebration. My birthday is actually on the 11th of December, but who says we can't start early? We went to one of my favorite restaurants in Rochester called the French Quarter and when I came back to the table from the bathroom, there was this glorious cake [pictured above]. The night before, I told my aunt that some of my friends had taken to calling me "Letters" and she actually wrote "Happy Birthday Letters" on my cake.

2. I went CRAZY in Barnes and Noble... What's new? | Black Friday | I pretty much flee and cower in sight of Black Friday and most definitely don't approach it with the mindset of "Buy! Buy! Buy!" except on the internet, which we all know that we're guilty of it. I spent my Black Friday with one of my best friends Ella and her younger sister Sarah. We took advantage of the wonderful sales/deals and even though I did get a lot of my holiday shopping accomplished as well as purchased a couple of books for myself - don't judge me, you should be used to this by now. However what made it such a memorable and enjoyable day was spending it with my friends who genuinely accept me for my booknerd self and we completely fangirled and recommended books to each other and generally annoyed the heck out of everyone else in Barnes and Noble.


3. I have friends!!! o_o | I know it's shocking, the girl who spends the majority of her free time on her laptop or ensconced in the world of books actually crawled out of her nest to interact with people. I've been in Syracuse for a year at this point and it has been the happiest year of my life. It has also taken a year for me to fully acclimate into the way life here is and to truly feel accepted in my high school. I mention friends specifically this month because of the person who has been my friend since I met her in Spanish 1 but this was the month we really bonded and got a lot closer. *whispers* In case you hadn't figured it out, we're the cute girls to the right of this text. I love Ailin <3 comment-3--="">



4. I drove myself to the brink of insanity aka I won NaNoWriMo | If you are subscribed to my YouTube Channel, you may have seen the series of videos, I made in honor of NaNoWriMo 2015 and you can go there to hear all about my work in progress Countdowns. The funny thing is, I may have won on the 22nd of November but in actuality, I only wrote 17 of those days. I've come to realize stepping back completely to take a break works so much better for me and then just shooting to write more words on a daily basis. Anyways, this is a selfie I posted to Snapchat that is basically the anthem / image for this year's NaNoWriMo. While I accomplished everything I set out to do... I procrastinated and protested myself the entire time :) 

5. More Writerly Things! | Editor in Chief and Creative Writing Connoisseur | My high school has a literary publication twice a year and on a rotating leadership schedule, I have been put in charge during crunch time for the Fall edition of the magazine which pretty much means I'm going crazy... but what's new? We're a bit behind schedule (no surprise there) but as always under a stressful situation, we'll find some way to get it all done. The first marking period portfolio was due this month as well and I scrambled to get all the prose / poetry I've worked on this year into something presentable. I will transfer a lot of the work from there onto the blog so you can read my writing. 

WHAT AM I LOOKING FORWARD TO?
I do not own this image or claim to
I'm looking forward to many things to look forward to in December so I shall proceed with a long rambly paragraph. While I myself may not be Jewish, my family is and Hanukkah starts on the 6th of this month and as I type, I still haven't obtained some of the gifts I'm bestowing on various family members so I've gotta get on that. During that window of time, my birthday is on the 11th and we're celebrating on the 10th. Ailin and Ella (both pictured above) are accompanying my family and I to a fancy winery - I know, I'm definitely not 21 - for a nice dinner. In order to stretch myself even thinner, I have decided to post on the blog 3-4 times a week during December as part of a new series eponymously named A Sonderous Denouement. And the reason this series is coming to be is because my family and I are packing up everything and moving to Oxford England for three months. I obviously want to record my thoughts / memories in the time that I am there and I figured I should get into the habit now. Lastly, the end of the year means reminiscing about 2015 as well as concocting all of the resolutions for 2016. You most definitely can expect full blown rambly vlogs pertaining to my Reading, Writing, Living, Blogging, BookTube resolutions for the new year. If you want to see my progress throughout the year on those resolutions, you can watch my First Quarterly Update and my Second Quarterly Update.

WHAT DID I READ?

FAVORITE VIDEOS OF MINE


I invited Ailin over to make a YouTube video with me and she had delightfully appetizing idea to film the Bean Boozled Challenge so that is exactly what we did. Trust me, the video is 10 minutes of us giggling and spitting jelly beans into a trash can :) I'm dying to do more collaborations because I just love the dynamics of filming with someone


In commemoration of the half marathon I ran in October, I decided to make a video comparing NaNoWriMo and running and I love how it turned out. The two are extremely similar in the way they both require a lot of endurance, mental willpower, and leave you absolutely exhausted when you're finished.



FAVORITE YOUTUBE VIDEOS
Emmmabooks created an original tag and I made my own video answering all of her wonderful questions but I will not be releasing it soon because I'm saving it for a rainy day... aka when sh*t hits the fan and I'm too busy to film a video. 

My OTP Piersha - Natasha Polis and Pierce Brown - made an interview video together and I know they're real people, not fictional ones but they're just the cutest not-couple I've ever seen. 

During the month of November with all of her wonderful NaNoWriMo vlogs, Elisabeth Paige has become my favorite BookTuber/YouTuber. Her personality is amazing and utterly honest so it was so much fun watching her journey throughout the month and knowing I'm not the only one who struggled.

Savannah Brown wrote the viral poem What Guys Look For in Girls a year ago and her channel is full of astounding, thought provoking videos that make me want to discover myself and the world while writing poetry in coffeeshops - clichely of course. Hi, I'm a Slut is one of her newer slam poems and I love everything about it.

Claudia Sulewski is in fact a popular Beauty / Lifestyle vlogger and she made her own Stripped Down Challenge. I got so inspired by what she said and by the utter honesty and rawness of her video.


TV/MOVIE OBSESSIONS


Besides my normal appetite of Fresh Off the Boat, Life in Pieces, and Nashville, I saw Mockingjay Part Two, and I know the rest of the world did as well, but what I really want to talk about movie - wise is one my parents dragged me to over Thanksgiving Break which was Brooklynn. It's a historical love story featuring an Irish immigrant who makes a new life for herself in New York. She grows accustomed to the comforts and possibilities 

SONGS THAT WERE ON REPEAT








QUESTION OF THE MONTH
What is your favorite holiday tradition?

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