Howdy Howdy

Yes, I'm still here.

This is exactly how I feel right now.

Junior year is eating. me. alive. Coming from the girl who has three thousand and one to-do lists, color coded binders, a planner that runs my life on paper and a blackberry that runs my life electronically. And I'm still struggling.

I've been a terrible blogger but with so much going on, I haven't had time to sit down and find inspiration. I promise that November 1st I will be back in full force.

I've been needing more and more time to just think. About where I am in my life and where I want to be in a week, a month, a year.  This year has already been nothing I would have ever expected and many new opportunities have presented themselves to be taken, alongside problems to be solved, tasks to be completed and fun to be had.

October has been a very rough, exciting and exhausting month and many events have caused me to take a step back and examine what I really want out of this semester, this year and next year.

I've been listening to this, this and this a lot lately.  There have been times when I just stop and remember that I'm not going to be in high school forever and as much as I want to get out of here sometimes, I need to enjoy it while I can. That it's okay to sit in the comfy chair in the Junior Lounge and pretend to read my 8-10 pages of U.S. History readings that I get every night but really talk about last nights episode of Gossip Girl with my friends. That it's okay to take the long way to school just so I get a few more minutes to myself. That it's okay to get a PSL from Starbucks, just because it's Tuesday and it'll make the crisp fall morning even better. One hard lesson I've already learned this year is that I'm not going to make everyone happy every second of every day. It's been difficult to learn, but sometimes the only person you can make happy is yourself, and that's what it boils down to.

Every morning before I leave for school, I read this hanging on my closet:

It helps put everything in perspective and helps the little things not get to me.

Because sometimes we all need a reminder that life isn't a sprint, it's a marathon. The race is long, but in the end, it's only with yourself.

I've found on my little break over the past week that I actually really miss blogging. I miss my phone blinking with comments from y'all, seeing my new post up at the top and working on my layout. I guess this means I'm really here to stay?

I can't wait to catch y'all up on everything I've been up to in the past few weeks, including my exchange student from France, Homecoming, my new crafts for my room and hopefully some new recipes that I've been able to try! 

xoxo,

Royar

{The Young Southern Prep}