March 2019 was an incredibly formative month for me. While it may have started out a bit sticky and complicated, it ended with newfound happiness and confidence. The amount that I have grown in this month alone is a bit crazy, but so welcomed.

Throughout March, I discovered lots of new music, books, shows, and clothes. More importantly, however, I rediscovered my purpose and meaning in life. After a long time of isolation and anxiety, I finally feel like myself again. It’s a beautiful feeling.

Music

As always, I made a MAR19 playlist filled with my favorite songs from the month! Here’s a list of my favorites that have been on repeat:

1. ’39 — Queen
2. Courtside — Triathalon
3. Star — Bazzi
4. Smile — Leven Kali
5. Don’t Call Me Up — Mabel
6. The Bones — Maren Morris
7. So Am I — Ava Max
8. i’m so tired… — Lauv, Troye Sivan
9. Brown — Kyle Dion
10. You & Me — James TW

Side note: Can you believe that the Jonas Brothers are back together?!?! I am so excited to dig up my old t-shirts from middle school and go to concerts with my girlfriends. (hmu if you wanna join … and no I’m not joking.)

I have also been listening to MARINA a bit extra this month. I have been listening to her music pretty much constantly since I discovered her my Freshman year of high school. Her lyrics really hit close to home recently, so they’ve been blasting on my speakers/headphones almost 24/7.

I actually made a marina playlist — it’s literally just all of her songs and nothing else. Ya know, for increased accessibility and convenience. If you haven’t listened to her before, I definitely recommend it. (Also how did you even make it through high school without the age-defining melodramatic crying sessions in your room while blasting Electra Heart?)

Food/Drinks

Anyone who knows me also knows my strong love (or perhaps addiction?) for coffee. For example, I don’t remember a day that I didn’t start off with my signature iced latte — in a reusable Starbucks cup, of course. #savetheturtles

However!!! One day last week while I was waiting in line to order my coffee at Swemromas, I overheard someone else order a “London Fog.” I am, in fact, studying abroad in London this Summer, so I was… intrigued to say the least. Therefore, impulsively ordered this new ~English beverage ~ instead of my classic latte. Needless to say, I’m a bit obsessed.

I don’t love overly sweet things, so this drink is perfect for me. Basically, it’s an Earl Grey tea with sweet foamed milk. The bitterness from the Early Grey and the sweetness from the milk come together for a sweet taste — but not too much. It’s also perfect, because now I can call my time in Swemromas “Blogging and London Fogging.” (Please don’t tell me if you think that’s terrible, because I love it.)

Clothes

Early this month I went to Tyson’s Corner mall with my mom for some much needed retail therapy. First, we went to Lulu Lemon for some new athletic clothing. I got two pairs of leggings, both high-waisted “wunder under” style. I got a 7/8 length black pair (because I’m a short gal) and a cropped grey pair. I also got two “free to be moved” style sports bras, one forest green and the other light blue. The bras are a little long so that I can wear them as a cropped top when I work out in the gym.

Next, my mom and I stepped into Nordstrom, where they had a Brandy Melville section. I am a bit obsessed with the clothes from Brandy because they 1. flatter my body type 2. are the perfect cross between trendy and preppy and 3. look like British collegiate style — perfect for my summer abroad in London.

I got four pieces that I think will be extremely versatile, both in Virginia and England alike. First, I got a cropped black zip-up hoodie for those chilly nights. Next, I got a green cardigan with big black buttons for layering throughout the day. I also got a simple white henley cropped top with a low, scooped neck. Finally, I got an adorable black and white skirt. Overall, I think these will be lovely layering pieces to wear together for a sweet, put-together look at home and abroad.

I also bought a few more cute pieces from the Brandy store in NYC when I went over Spring Break: a cream knit sweater, a light pink sweatshirt, and a grey cropped quarter zip. We also stopped into Everlane, which was right next door. There, I got a basic boxy white pocket tee and a pair of black carpenter pants.

As Ariana said, “I think retail therapy my new addiction.” Oops.

Beauty

As I mentioned in my last month’s favorites, I have become obsessed with the L’Occitane lip balm. When I was at the store early this month, however, I bought their lip moisturizer and fell in love. For someone with constant dry lips and face (especially in the Winter time!), this lip moisturizer balm is a total life saver.

I’m a huge supporter of using highlighter in the inner corners of your eyes to brighten up your face and appear more awake — especially when you didn’t get much sleep the night before. My mom introduced me to the perfect light pink, shimmery highlight stick from Benefit that helps achieve this sweet look. 10/10 recommend if you want to look like a fairy princess.

Also, I chopped off five inches of my hair over Spring Break! It has been so much fun having my hair short again, because I feel like it matches my personality so well. It’s cute, spunky, and super fun to style!

Academics

March was a big organizational month for the students of William & Mary, because we had to register for housing spots and register for classes in the same week. Luckily, both worked out perfectly for me! (I thank my lucky stars they did, because it was a very stressful process for a lot of my peers.)

I signed up for block housing with some of my sorority sisters and their friends, which means that the 8 of us get to take over an entire hallway in our dorm next year. This also means that we got the earliest time slots out of the entire student body! We got our first choice: Landrum Hall first floor.

Landrum Hall was rebuilt just last year, so it’s overall amazing quality and the amenities are so nice. Our room is right next to a study room, which means I will be spending basically all of my time there. Also, we have a wonderful kitchen, where I will be making lots of healthy meals for my friends and me!

I have already started to plan out our dorm room next year using a Home Planning website and a college-themed Pinterest board. I’m thinking that I’ll keep my pink and white theme, put up lots of pictures of me and my girlfriends, along with some succulents and lots of lights. I find room decoration a lot of fun, so I’m very excited to move in!

In terms of class registration, I woke up in the wee early hours of the morning last Wednesday to groggily paste my CRNs into the ever-crashing Banner website. And… I got all of the classes I wanted! I will be taking Organic Chemistry II for Life Sciences (and lab), Physics I for Life Sciences (and lab), Principles of Sociology, Introduction to History of Jewish Thought, and voice lessons. It will be a true test of my time management skills, but I think it will be a great semester.

Books

With my busy schedule and workload, it can get really difficult to make time for reading. However, I picked up The Sun and Her Flowers by Rupi Kaur a few weeks ago in Target… and instantly fell in love. While typically I’m not the biggest fan of poetry, I have really enjoyed it so far.

With 5 chapters, each titled — wilting, falling, rooting, rising, and blooming — Kaur tackles topics of love, loss, and heartbreak. It’s been getting me through some really hard times and I appreciate the raw nature of it.

Movies/TV

1. Queer Eye — I love, love, LOVE this show with my entire heart.
2. The Great British Baking Show — Watching it makes me hungry and feel inferior, but all the more excited to travel to London this Summer!
3. The Art of Tidying Up with Marie Kondo — Be on the lookout for a blog post dedicated to the KonMari organizational method soon… because I’m obsessed.
4. The Act — This one was recommended to me by my best friend, Kelsey!

Memories

This month was dedicated to finding (and standing up for) my self worth. With the help of my friends, I am rediscovering all the wonderful opportunities that life has to offer.

I packed my schedule with meals and study dates with all of the people that I wanted to reconnect with — or even get to know better. Doing so has helped me remember all that life really has to offer. I’m such a people person and I am so much more myself when I’m around my friends. I’m so glad that I finally pushed myself out of my comfort zone, because that’s the only place I will be able to grow from here on out.

My parents visited me in Williamsburg for a few days at a time a bit earlier this month, which made happier than words can say. AKA lots of yummy food, wonderful conversations, and hugs. Sometimes, all a girl needs is her mom and dad.

I was recently accepted into the Homebrew committee of W&M Alma Mater Productions, AMP! I can’t wait to get involved with this organization and make new friends there too.

I also started going to exercise classes at the W&M Recreation Center with my sorority sisters, which I definitely intend to continue doing! My friend Jeannette also convinced me to start playing raquetball with her, which I think will be the perfect way to get out any stress and anger we have built up over the week.

I’ve also started going to the Willyburg weekly Farmer’s Markets, which was long overdue. It was always something I meant to get around to, but somehow always forgot. Thank goodness I have friends (*cough cough* Jeannette) who will quite literally drag me out of my dorm room on an early Saturday morning for ham and cheese biscuits.

Also, Tri Delta had a sister mixer last weekend, which was Decades themed! Sophomores dressed as the 70’s — so naturally, all of the Donna Sheridan from Mamma Mia that’s inside of me came out to play. I felt the sisterly love and support from all of my girlfriends that night and it was such a wonderful feeling.

To all my lady friends (and non-lady friends) reading this that have been here for me and/or made me smile at all this past week: I. love. you.

March was pretty exhausting and scary in a lot of ways. That said, I also learned so much about myself, friends, and love. I finally learned to take my own advice and rely on my support system when I need it. I am surrounding myself with those who love and support me no matter what — and in doing so, I feel so much more confident and comfortable when I’m alone.

I am so ecstatic to continue my journey of growth and self love with my best friends. The future looks so bright now that I am breaking out of my comfort zone and experiencing life on my own for the first time. I have a feeling it’s gonna be filled with lots of smiles.