(Thanks to the lovely Zeva’s encouragement, on the last day of each month I’ll be posting a recap of what happened in my life that month. It’s not just writing, faith, or school related but all sorts of things I did, what I read, new songs I found, all the good stuff. 🙃 This is the first one, so let’s see what I did!)

What did I do?

So to kick off the month of May, my mom and I got to see Forrest Frank in concert. I’ve been waiting since Christmas for this and let me tell you–it did not disappoint. It was so fun, full of flashing lights, smoke, fire, and the best part, loud.

If you ever get the chance to go to a Forrest Frank concert, then don’t hesitate to buy tickets! It was (almost) worth staying out til 2am while waiting for the ferry back across the water to where I lived.

The next morning, I had a job interview with Chick-fil-A—yes, after I slept for about three hours—and got hired! So that’s something to look forward to in August!

Over the next couple of weeks, I finished all the requirements for drivers ed and was able to get my driver’s licence (watch out, Washington!) and went to the disco-themed formal at my co-op. I’ve also started packing my bedroom for our upcoming move to North Carolina next month—it’s a weird feeling, I haven’t done that in a couple years!

The weather is finally warming up too! As well as enjoying the weather, we’ll be celebrating my mom’s birthday by (if things go according to plan) taking our paddle boards on the water and spending the day outside.

Not too much happened this month activity-wise, but that’s okay with me. June will be a much different story!

What did I read?

This answer…I’m a bit ashamed. I haven’t really read any new books this month that were spectacular.

In the beginning of May I read The Great Gatsby by F. Scott Fitzgerald—a friend had told me to read it after a long conversation that involved a metaphor relating to the Great Gatsby—and while I wasn’t disappointed (I didn’t have high expectations, no offense) it wasn’t a world-shaking read.

I did finish reading The Screwtape Letters by C.S. Lewis and let me tell you—that book is probably one of the best books ever. Like, top 15 for me. I’m not going to get too into it, but I’ll just say this: whether or not you are a Christian, it’s a fascinating classic, it’s thought-provoking, and it’s also pretty humorous.

What did I listen to?

If I were to list every new song that I added in the month of May…there would be over 50 songs. I’m not joking—I counted them all and when I got to 50 I decided that I was done.

But some of my favorites that have been on repeat are these:

~Rejected by John Michael Howell. I love all his songs, but this one is one of my favorites! The lyrics, his voice, the acoustics–all amazing! (All his music is great!)
~SEVENS by Brandon Lake. I always love Brandon Lake but this songs is phenomenal. SEVENS has a loud rock vibe with lots of screaming vocals–it was pretty different from Brandon Lake’s most songs, (if you’re familiar with the band SKILLET, it sounded a lot like their music) but it’s something that he pulls off very well.
~CELEBRATION, DROP, and NO L’s by Forrest Frank. Y’all…these song are just some of my favorites by Forrest. (NO L’s and DROP were really fun to see in person, just so you know.) They’re all pretty different, so I’m gonna let you listen to them all and see how you like them for yourself.
~Men On The Moon by Chelsea Cutler. I recommend all of her music, but this one is easily my number one. Her voice is incredible and she pretty much takes over the bottom half of my ‘season of the sticks’ playlist.

What did I write?

Well, I finished my short story, When The World Abandoned Us with a total wordcount of 18,699 and twenty two chapters, started on April 16 and completed on May 20.

Right now I’m still writing my first draft of my new project–also likely a short story or novella–that I started on May 21 (immediately after I finished WTWAU) and that’s my project for the next few weeks until I finish it! I have a temporary title for it at the moment, Three Death Days, but I’m hoping to change it soon. (If I find a better title…)

I am also still working on my compilation of short stories, essays, and poems titled Soul Stories that is sort of a side project—I don’t write for it consistently since I focus mainly on my full projects instead of a compilation. (Which is why it’s only 2,767 words at the moment.) 🙃

As for my nonfiction: aside from writing here on The Faithful Wanderer, I’ve been writing a couple of devotionals. On June 1st, a website called Devo for Teens is accepting submissions for their upcoming devotionals—one for teen boys and one for teen girls. I’m working on a couple devotionals entries for them to submit when they began accepting submissions!

I’ve also been finishing up my rounds of edits for my poem in the Skillful Pen Press poetry anthology, Through Rays of Light, and getting ready for the preorders to go live! (Is it weird that I’m really excited to buy a copy of it??😆)

As well as those personal writing things, I also got to interview award-winning author, Gordon Korman! If you haven’t checked that out, I highly recommend doing so! Check out the interview with Gordon Korman.

What happens next?

As I’m sure you’ve seen in several of my posts, my family is moving from Washington state to North Carolina. So next month, on June 26, my dad, thirteen year old brother and I are going to drive down to California to begin our two week long cross-country trip. We’ll be making stops in California, Arizona, New Mexico, Texas, Tennessee, and then stop in North Carolina!

What did you do in the month of May?

Thanks for reading! I hope this was relatively interesting.
~Willow