Five Things

I wanted to do something different for this post. Normally I write about one thing that I really love, but I thought it would be fun to share five things that I really love as the last Friday post of the month.

1. Reading. It’s no secret that I love reading, and that I’m always looking for new books to read. Not everything is my cup of tea, but I am willing to give anything a fair try. If you have book recommendations, feel free to share them with me!
2. Coloring. I just wrote a post about coloring a couple of weeks ago. It’s something that I love to do, and I love to unwind by coloring after a long day. It’s a great way to calm my brain down at the end of the day and not worry about everything.
3. Weekend Adventures. Weekend adventures are one of my favorite things ever. I love going out with my family or my friends and going shopping or finding a new place to eat or just finding a fun place to be.
4. Writing. I love writing. Writing helps me shut my brain down. It lets me create entire worlds on paper. It lets me explore my thoughts and my ideas.
5. Blogging. This blog will be 3 years old in May. I haven’t missed a month since I started, and this month has been an especially good month for posting regularly. I love sitting down and deciding what I’m going to share with you and everything else that goes along with it.

BrittanyM

Welcome to 2016

Hello World!

Yesterday I posted about goals and resolutions I have for 2016, and today 2016 is here. I have to admit that I’m off to a slow start with those goals. I didn’t meet my active minutes goal for the day. I haven’t really come close to beginning to meet any of my goals. I did however start a new book which means I’m working towards my goal of reading at least 3 books a month.

The point of this post isn’t to reflect on the barely there progress I’ve made on my goals, especially since the year has barely started. What I wanted to talk about was how people feel about New Year’s and goal setting at this time of year in general.

I am a firm believer in setting New Year’s goals. I am not always able to follow through on them. Sometimes my goals are too lofty. Sometimes I’m just unmotivated. This year I came up with a number of goals that I would like to follow through on, and the ones I thought I would struggle with more I tried to set under reasonable terms (healthy lunches vs healthy meals period, exercise 3 times a week instead of every day.)

So that’s me. Then yesterday I read a lot of HelloGiggles articles. This is nothing new. I generally read at least a couple a day. The ones I read yesterday talked about New Years and resolutions. They were interesting. They stuck with me. And if you aren’t reading HelloGiggles articles I highly recommend them. I learn things. I think about things. They make me smile. They are a bright spot in my daily internet usage.

The first article I read talked about Elizabeth Gilbert and her New Year’s ritual. She writes down everything she wants to leave behind in the old year and welcome into her life in the new year, and then she burns the paper and scatters the ashes in the nearest body of water.

I thought that this was a really interesting tradition and a great way to ring in the new year. I am all about bringing great things into the new year with me and leaving the old behind. I think everyone should have that mindset and implement it however they see best. (I’m klutzy so generally I don’t do things that involve fire. Maybe there can be a ceremonial shredding or sending things off into the world with balloons instead.)

The other article I read talked about why the author doesn’t believe in New Year’s resolutions. She compares it to going on a journey, and how you’re walking on a flat road all year. Then comes January 1 and you decide to tackle a giant hill. Only you aren’t prepared. She argues that it’s better to be on a gentle incline all the time, with smaller highs and lows, than to try to climb this big mountain.

This was a mindset that made a lot of sense to me. I am a firm believer in setting goals come January first, but I also set goals for August. Or November. Or for next week. I look for clean slates to set goals all the time, and I think everyone should. Goals can be set all the time, and people should embrace setting them whenever the time seems right. There is no right or wrong time to set goals, only what’s right for you.

What are your thoughts on resolutions and New Year’s? Let me know in the comments!

BrittanyM

Excited for 2016

I love New Year’s. I love all the possibilities it holds. I love that it’s a clean slate. I love setting goals for the new year. I love that it’s a brand new opportunity to be your best you. I’ve spent the past couple of weeks brainstorming some of the things I hope to be able to accomplish and work toward in 2016, and I thought that the best way to end the year was to share those thoughts with all of you.

I want to get back to journaling every day. I took a break from journaling every day this fall and taking that break was really good for me. It was refreshing and allowed me to reassess my journaling practices. It helped me to realize that I want to be journaling every day. And I want to take the time to really reflect and explore my thoughts rather than just scribble something down and move on.

I want to exercise and hit my active minutes goal at least 3 times a week.

I want to make healthier lunches for myself.

I want to read at least 3 books a month.

I want to work harder to stay in touch with my friends who are scattered across the country, and sometimes even father.

I want to blog regularly and really see this blog, and englishnook, grow.

I want to write regularly and make sure to work on my new secret project.

I want to take a few minutes each day for quiet time.

I’m sure that I could keep babbling and come up with even more goals. I’m feeling very excited and energized about the upcoming year. I also think that these are some of my most important goals. I’m working towards being my best me, because it’s important to always be the best version of yourself you can be.

What are some of your goals for 2016?

BrittanyM

22 Things I’m Thankful For

It’s November, and the big event in everyone’s mind is Thanksgiving. Thanksgiving isn’t as huge a thing at my house as it is in other places, but I wanted to take some time to focus on what Thanksgiving should really be about: being thankful. In honor of that I’ve decided to share 22 things I am thankful for this year.

1. My awesome family. Anyone who knows me knows how much I love my family. They are awesome and amazing and supportive and fun and goofy and just the best.
2. My fantastic friends. I have a group of friends I’ve known since high school, and I am still good friends with them. Plus there are friends from other parts of my life – elementary school and college and grad school – that I hold near and dear and love very very much.
3. My career path. I am done with grad school officially on Tuesday. I’ve been done with my masters degree since August. I’ve interned and student taught. I love teaching, and I can’t wait to secure my first teaching job.
4. My health. I’m in good health, and I’m grateful for that every day.
5. My home. Yes, I still live at home with my parents. And yes, I’m a little bit ready for a place of my own. But, I am so grateful to have a roof over my head. Especially now that the weather is getting progressively colder and wetter, I am grateful that I have a place to call home.
6. Food! Anyone who knows me knows that I love food. A lot. And I’m grateful that I don’t have to worry about where my next meal is coming from.
7. Writing. I love writing. I’ve always loved writing. And I’m grateful that after all this time I’m still writing, that I still love it, and that I’m still pursuing it.
8. Passions. I am grateful that there are things in my life that I love and that I’m pursuing. There are things in the world that interest me. There are things in the world that I want to do.
9. Opportunities. I am grateful that there are opportunities in my life, not just in regards to teaching, but in general. There are opportunities for me to meet people, go places, and do the things I am interested in doing. And that’s pretty awesome.
10. Family Vacations. I love my family, and I love doing things with them. I love when we go on family vacations. I’m grateful that we are able to go on such adventures and that we get along well enough to have a good time when we go on those adventures.
11. Transportation. I am grateful that I have a car that works and that I am able to drive. I don’t have to worry how I’ll get from place to place. I’m really grateful for that.
12. Coloring. I have the maturity level of a small child sometimes, and that’s OK. I love unwinding at the end of a long day by coloring. I’m grateful that that’s something I’m able to do.
13. Reading. Before I have real memories, I know I loved reading. It’s something my mom introduced into my life somewhere around Day 1. Just like I love writing and I love coloring, I love reading. I’m grateful it’s something I’m able to do on a regular basis.
14. My coworkers. Between my internship last year and my student teaching this year, I’ve met and been able to work with some wonderful amazing people. I am so grateful that they have been willing to help me, guide me, support me, and befriend me.
15. Technology. Technology is a huge part of life in today’s world, and I’m grateful that I have ready access to it. I’m grateful that I can use it. It’s a huge advantage in my profession, and I’m grateful I’m able to use and utilize it.
16. Snail Mail. I love snail mail. I’ve always love snail mail. I am a firm believer in snail mail. I’m grateful that it still exists and that I’m able to utilize it on a regular basis.
17. My faith. I am grateful that I believe there are bigger forces at work in the world than simply me. I am grateful that there is a greater force I can voice my concerns to. I’m grateful that I have something to believe in.
18. My students. I am grateful for my students who have taught me so much already, and who I am confident will teach me so much in the future. As much as I teach my students, they teach me, and I am so grateful for that.
19. My education. I am grateful that I’ve received a great education from all the institutions I’ve attended, and I’m grateful for that. Education is important, and I’ve received a solid foundation to work with.
20. Seasonal Weather. I love that I live in New England and that we have seasonal weather. I love that the leaves change colors in the fall, that it snows in the winter, that it gets warm in the summer. I am so grateful that I’ve been able to experience all of that.
21. Quality family time. I love my family, and I love that even when we’re not on vacation we spend quality time together. I think family is so important, and I love spending time with mine.
22. You, my readers. Finally, I am so grateful for you, my readers. The ones who have stuck by this blog when there weren’t a lot of posts, and the ones who pop in and out. This blog wouldn’t exist after all this time if it weren’t for you, so thank you.

BrittanyM

Rediscovering My Love of Fun Reading

For as long as I can remember I have read. Books have been a part of my life almost from Day 1, and long before I could actually remember. My parents are both readers, I’m a reader, my brother’s a reader. Books are a big thing in my life. And that fact has led to the fact that for as long as I can remember I’ve read for pleasure. I’ve read children’s books and mysteries and young adult literature and adult literature. I’ve read articles and blogs. I read. A lot.

But this past fall as grad school began to dominate my life, reading fell to the wayside. I was swamped with schoolwork and getting into the swing of my internship. I stopped writing (another story for another time) and largely stopped reading. And I didn’t realize it until I was well into the habit of not doing these things, but I really really missed them.

Like, I really missed them. My life began to feel really unbalanced, and I was really unhappy. Not in obvious ways, but something was way off kilter in my life. I needed to get things back on track.

As my first full time semester of grad school calmed down, I began writing again. It sucked and it was hard, but I did it. And as reading re-entered my life, so did reading. I began going to the library all the time. I’m still going to the library all the time. And I really love reading. It’s something that allows me to be quiet and tune out the world around me. I get to completely immerse myself in a story, and it’s really a rather nice thing.

Rediscovering that was also a really nice thing. It was like coming back to an old friend and being welcomed with open arms. I’ve read so many wonderful books since falling back into reading, and it’s just been absolutely wonderful. My life feels much more in balance, and I feel much more balanced and more happy.

BrittanyM

One Year Post Graduation

A year ago today I graduated from UConn. The whole day, especially the ceremony itself, is a big blur in my mind. That day I had to move out of my dorm, go to a luncheon, graduate, take a million and one photos, and leave UConn with the knowledge that I wouldn’t be moving back in come August. There were a lot of emotions tangled up in that day. I was so excited to be graduating and moving into the next stage of my life. There was a lot of love going around that day between myself, my family, my friends. There was a lot of stress because I had to move out of my dorm completely before I left UConn that day. And I was sad because for 4 years I had been a student at UConn and I had loved it. I loved so many of my classes, professors, the friends I made. I grew a lot while I was at UConn. I knew that the next stage of my life was going to be great, but at the end of the day, no matter how unexpectedly it was, I was sad to be leaving.

Since graduating so much has happened. I’ve continued to grow and evolve as a person. I’ve started grad school and my fabulous internship. I’ve made new friends, gotten a car that’s new to me, fully acclimated to living at home. I’ve blogged and not blogged, written and not written, exercised and not exercised. There was a very very long winter, a lot of new relationships made, and so much learned from my classes and internship. Here are some of the big things that I’ve learned in the past year.

1. It’s important to surround yourself with good people. I have an amazing family and some of the greatest friends in the whole world. In the past year they’ve loved me and supported me. They’ve helped keep me grounded when life got stressful. They’ve cheered for me when I’ve done well; they’ve told me everything would get better when there were bumps in the road. They provide me with the best support system I could have asked for, and I love them so so much.
2. Everything will work out in the end. My car dying. Submitting the wrong assignments to professors. Group projects. Crazy days at work. Taking my Praxis II. All of these are things that I’ve worried about and stressed over since graduating. And everything has worked out when all was said and done. These experiences have helped me to grow, have helped me to be more self sufficient, have allowed for me to grow and evolve as a person. Try to look at the bumps in the road as learning experiences that you’ll come out of victorious rather than as the be all end all.
3. Do things that you love. There are a lot of things in life that you have to do. You probably have to have a job. Pay bills. Cook. Etc. Etc. Many things in life are not negotiable. And that’s OK. But when there is time to do something you love, run towards that opportunity. For me that’s reading and writing. Lately I’ve been doing a lot of both, and it makes me feel great. Doing the things that make me happy balances out having to do the things that I’m not crazy about. Maybe for you that’s playing a sport or drawing or painting or dancing or playing music or acting or anything else in the world. Chase the things you love because at the end of the day everyone wants to be happy.
4. Chase your dreams. This is similar to #3, do the things that you love. I love to write, and I dream about being really successful at it. So I write a lot. I manage my two blogs. I keep a daily journal. I read a lot so I can learn and absorb information about writing. I’m so excited to be a teacher, but I also have a lot of dreams surrounding writing, and I’m making sure that I don’t forget about them but rather work actively towards them.

These are some of the big things that have really stuck with me over the past year. They’re things that I try to remember and remind myself of every day. I’m sure that in another year I’ll have learned so much more and will have so many more things to share with all of you.

BrittanyM

Emotional Reading

Tonight I finished a book. This isn’t necessarily something that I would normally post about, especially since I’ve been doing a lot of reading lately. It’s something that I’ve been working on steadily since the new year – reading on a more regular basis that is. But tonight was different.

I finished The Storied Life of A.J. Fikry by Gabrielle Zevin. It was a phenomenal book, and one that I highly recommend. The story was original, interesting and full of twists and turns. It had amazing characters that were easy to relate to. I was stunned by the ending which wasn’t at all what I had expected when I started the book.

This still isn’t why I’m writing this post. So the book was good. A lot of books are good. I’ve written about books that are good. I’ll write about more books that are good. Yay for good books. I’m writing this post because this book evoked an emotional reaction.

Emotional reactions aren’t something I have a lot of when reading. Don’t get me wrong. I get invested in my books. I get attached to my characters. I have authors that I love and look for everything they write. I take my reading seriously. But it’s rare that a book makes me want to cry, and even more rare that I actually cry. This book made me want to cry. I didn’t because it rarely happens. Movies and TV are much more likely to make me cry; I think it’s something to do with actually seeing the story play out.

Go find and read a book that makes you feel something. It can be any emotion, but go feel it strongly.

BrittanyM

Some Exciting Things

Lately, life has been exciting. I just finished up a semester of grad school and have a nice break before my next round of classes starts up. Spring break is next week (at my internship), and I am SO excited to have a full week off with no responsibilities. I’ve been reading a lot and writing more. Things are going well at my internship. Overall life is pretty great right now. There are a couple of pretty major things that I want to focus in on though.

1. Spring Break. Did I mention that? A whole week where I don’t have to go to work or school? Instead I can do things on my To Do List, hang out with my mom, and see my friends? Yeah, that’s pretty awesome, and I can’t wait for it.
2. Trip to UConn. I haven’t been to UConn since I graduated in May – almost 1 year ago. Life has just been too crazy and busy to make the trip up. And while sometimes I miss it and sometimes I don’t, I can’t wait to be back. I miss my friends who are there. I miss the vanilla chai tea. I miss the classes and campus. I can’t wait to walk around and just enjoy being back. It’s going to be great, and I can’t wait to tell you some of the details.

To be totally honest, there were more things on the list when it was in my head. And then as I began to write the list I forgot some of them. That happens sometimes, especially if I don’t really think through what I’m going to write. But hey, that lets you see my thought process which has to be interesting sometimes, right?

That’s all for now. I promise to do my best to write more soon and to write more regularly. This blog is, has been, and always will be a work in progress.

BrittanyM

Friday Fun: Lots of Snow

By the time this post gets published, there may or may not still be a lot of snow on the ground. But as I write this post, a few days in advance, there is A LOT of snow on the ground. The first blizzard of 2015 came in on Monday, spent the day yesterday, and has cleared out by today, leaving lots of snow and whatnot in its wake.

Here in Mystic we were lucky. There’s a lot of snow, but no real damage (that I’m aware of) and no power losses (that I’m aware of). We had an early dismissal on Monday and snow days Tuesday and Wednesday. It’s been nice having a break in the middle of the week, nice to not have to be doing something every minute, nice to have some time to be a little lazy. I did do some homework, I did watch a lot of TV, I did read a little, I did write a little. I spent a lot of time with family. I spent a lot of time in comfy clothes. All in all it was a great middle of the week break.

Were you hit by the snow? Let me know what’s going on in your little corner of the world.

BrittanyM

Friday Fun: Books

I know that I’ve written about books before. Sometimes I’ve written about books in general and sometimes I’ve written about specific books that I’ve read and loved. The truth of the matter is, I love books. I love to read and I love to write and I love to spend time in other worlds, even if it’s only for a little bit. And starting this year, 2015, I’m working really hard to be more well read instead of just reading young adult literature because that’s what I like.

One of my goals/resolutions for 2015, besides to be more well read, is to keep track of what I’m reading. So far this year I’ve read roughly 7 books and I’ve read everything from young adult literature to memoirs to Charles Dickens. It’s been really fun to read things that I don’t normally venture into. I’ve been loving reading, and I don’t want to let it slip out of my life again. It definitely slipped out last semester because I was just so busy with grad school and my internship. This semester, what with being more well adjusted to everything, I’m hoping to be able to keep up with reading more.

What are all of you reading? Let me know!

BrittanyM