If I have a favorite social media platform, it's hands-down instagram. I hate how much I enjoy these little square moments, but I draw so much inspiration for most things I do from this social media engine. In case you were ever curious about who's pages I'm seeking out most, look no further- I've rounded them up for you here. 

Bess Pearson.

I've talked about her time and time again, and if you're no stranger to the blog then you have definitely heard me rave about her before. She is honestly my biggest girl crush. Everything down to her style, her values, and her wit is impressive for someone of my age.

3 Books to Read in 2017

Reading is one of my favorite past times, and with a luxuriously long break ahead of me I finally have the time to read again. In the last sixth months I have slowly read some wonderful books that would be great to kick of the new year & now it's time to share them all with you!

Monday Musings

Today's Monday Musing is going to be a little different. I've had a lot of things weighing on my heart recently, and I think it's about time that I start sharing them. I figure this is as good a place as any to start. 

Taken from my most recent Instagram: 

I'm learning that messy is okay. That sticky and complex and flawed and sometimes even confusing are good things to have in your character. That we should seek quality in our relationships, our conversations, and our endeavors. I'm learning to be okay with being limited instead of the faulty belief that I am limitless. To believe I am limitless would be a disservice to myself. Jesus didn't create us to do it all. I was created with weaknesses, natural edits, if you will. And that's okay. More and more I am learning that I need to stop being preoccupied with what I can't change. That staying on an endless hamster wheel of daydreaming of what I wish I had the capabilities for is destructive. Each day I learn more, I grow more, and isn't that the beauty of being limited? That we grow, sometimes slowly, over time. That we learn each lesson meant for us at the time we need it most. That there are constant wonders that reveal themselves to us. If we were limitless, if we could truly do it all, we would never step back in our moments of brokenness to realize the beauty of a world that was created for us.

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It feels like God is calling me to start sharing my story. I'm not sure what story, exactly, or even what bits, but when you've got this feeling... this rattling sensation in your heart... you can't just ignore it. I don't know exactly what the game plan is from here on out but it feels like a change is coming. To myself, to my relationships, to my diction, and to this blog. 

Favorite Songs of 2016

One of my favorite apps ever is Spotify. I never saw myself buying a subscription when it first hit the scene, but three years and here we are. 

Something I've loved about Spotify over the years is how as the year comes to a draw it shows you the music you've listened to the most. While I miss seeing my stats, the playlist that's been generated for me this year has been a favorite. Below are my top six of 2016. 

To hear the rest of my picks from Spotify, listen below! 

For The Girl Who Has It All: A Gift Guide

Ever have a friend who is almost down-right impossible to shop for? Look no further- here are some of my picks for what to give your friend who just seems to have it all. 

personalized journal

felt hat

key fob

manatea

vegan leather bag

lush gift set

s'well bottle

bejeweled frames

eco tools brush kit

Happy shopping! 

On Repeat: Kids by OneRebublic

This song just speaks to me right now. At first listen, I thought it was just another of the band's catchy tunes; some lyrics that are easy to catch onto and a fun beat that you can sway to when driving.

But then I *heard* the lyrics, actually heard them. Several lines struck a cord with me, but in particular this one: I refuse to look back thinking days were better just because they're younger days.

How true is that? How often do we romanticize the past, no matter how awful or gruesome it actually was to endure them?

How frequently do we glorify the past because it was easier? I do this all the time, especially with things as trivial as classes. I come home for weekends or breaks and help my sister with homework that she's struggling and I just think "wow, i wish these were my problems..." but in her reality, these are a huge obstacle for her. At one point, they were for me too. The only thing that's changed between the two are the life experiences that I have and that she has yet to acquire. Those days weren't really better or easier. They were just younger.

By human nature, we compare everything- our past to our present, ourselves to our neighbors, our possessions to our desires. It never ends. We are stuck in one of two states: reminiscing on what we had or dreaming about what we wish we could have.

This song made me very conscious of how I occupy my own thoughts. Why do I focus so much on the past? I can't relive it, so why am I chaining myself to those moments, to the memories that are so tainted with feeling and emotions that are so distant that the memory itself is no longer accurate? Why do any of us do this to ourselves?

Just because something happened in a younger time, it doesn't make it better. This present moment... it holds so much more promise than a fleeting memory from the past could ever hold. I choose to hold onto this moment, this minute, by gosh, even this second.

To put it simply, "I refuse to look back thinking days were better just because they're younger days."