As the start of the new school year is swiftly approaching and the task of packing is becoming increasingly more daunting with every box filled, I am striving to keep calm and soak up the feeling of "home."

I took these few pictures before the chaos, and I'm glad I did. They represent a feeling of home which is peaceful, neat, and comforting, and I could use all of those kinds of feelings I can conjure up right now.

Along with the craziness of packing, I am also looking forward to a fresh start that comes along with a new year. I cannot begin to describe the feeling of gratitude I have to be doing this for the second go-round instead of the first time again. I already feel less intimidated and more confidently prepared for what's ahead. All that being said, I hope to do things better than I did last year in an attempt to constantly improve myself, so I'm making a list of goals for my second year of college:

• Continue to try to eat as cleanly as possible; real food. Stuff that goes bad. Stuff without labels.
• Not freak out so much. More importantly, not freak out and take it out on the people I'm surrounded by.
• Take advantage of free on-campus yoga by going regularly to reduce stress and gain back some flexibility.
• Make Mondays the best day of the week. I know this sounds crazy, but my class schedule on Mondays goes like this: Spanish from 1:45 to 2:35 pm. Annnnd....that's it. Therefore, I am dedicating Mondays to gym time, coffee time, planning time, goal-setting time, catching up time, yoga time. I like the sound of starting my week on that kind of note.
• Really step up my design game. I feel like I know who I am as an artist, but I'm not quite sure who I am as a designer. There is sooo much I want to learn this year obtaining to my major which is New Media, and I feel like I can't get my hands on all of it quick enough.
• Incorporate more art and creative living inspiration into this space. :)

new year.

2013 is crazy to me because I never really thought about it until it was here. This time last year, I had no idea what 2013 would have in store for me. I kinda knew what school I'd be at, but I really had no idea who I'd be rooming with in college or who my friends would be or whether or not I'd be with my boyfriend.

2013 was, and still is, a complete blank page. And for a while, it scared the shit out of me. I'm still not sure what the year will hold, but I guess you can never really be sure. I spent way too much of 2012 looking back and looking forward and never really looking at what was in front of me. I know I've said it before, but 2012 was a year full of change, and looking back, it's easy to feel like I lost more than I gained. But when I really stop to think about it, I've gained a lot and I'm so much better off as a person coming out of 2012 than I was going into it.

I'm now welcoming the blank page that is 2013 with open arms. The idea of having a year that I can do whatever I want with is now so much more exciting to me than it is scary.

I plan to:

• keep up with this blog like I have been
• take more pictures and make sure to print them out (!!!)
• treat my body right by eating less crap and coming up with a solid workout routine (of course)
• keep up good relationships with my family and always appreciate home
• love with all my heart or not at all, none of that half-assed shit
• explore Asheville and exit my comfort zone
• make friends by doing "me" and doing the things I love and allowing things to just fall into place rather than forcing anything
• keep track of good things and eliminate negativity
• make "5 Goals for the Week, 3 Goals for the Day" lists every Monday and "10 Things I'm Thankful For" lists every Friday
• clean out my old bedroom by eliminating clutter and redecorating according to my life now

I also hope that this year, I can keep in mind that opportunities to change, reevaluate my life, and make resolutions are available throughout the year and not just on one single day.