I cannot believe y’all. You didn’t remind me to write a recap post for September and I had a totally different post scheduled for today! (Yes, this post was supposed to be published yesterday but apparently my brain had other plans and was focusing on being a good student. Ugh, the audacity!)

Anywhosies, this month has been pretty okay! Let’s dive right in.

What did I do?

Well first off. In my August recap post, I didn’t mention a super exciting trip I took—and I didn’t mention it because it was a surprise for my bestie’s 18th birthday! So I got to fly up to Boston, Massachusetts and visit my best friend! She had no idea and it was so so fun getting to celebrate with her. (It’s so weird to think about having an adult best friend!!!) She’s growing up so fast…

On the trip, she tried to set me up with her brother who’s my age so that she and I could be sisters. He and I both agreed and apparently we’re going to get married, then separate—but not legally—and he’s going to move to New Zealand so that Liv and I are still sisters but me and her brother (aka my future husband) don’t have to deal with each other.

Sounds like a match made in heaven.

After I came back from that trip, I started up school. And let me tell you…I was really excited for school because it’s something I slightly enjoy and I needed something to do, right? Well…let’s just say that my perspective on school has changed.

Now I want to die.

I’m only kidding, but in all seriousness, my brain is just overflowing with too much stuff unrelated to school so shoving school stuff in there is a bit overwhelming.

Moving on.

A couple weeks ago, my family and I went up to a mountain town called Boone (which happens to be my fourteen year-old brother’s name) and watched my cousin’s soccer game. Then we went to lunch and hung out for a bit before going and getting ice cream.

We also got to go apple picking this past Saturday which was fun…except when it started raining on us twenty minutes in. But it was fun while it lasted and we got to drive through beautiful mountains on the way there! Hopefully I’ll be able to get some more chances of apple picking with less rain. (But I can cross off apple picking on my fall bucket list!)

My mom and I went to this super cute bookshop/cafe that was having a Gilmore Girls-themed day and they had a build-your-own-bouquet set up in the back of an old truck and it was so freaking adorable. (Then we got to take a picture in the VW van they had parked beside it. And I was very jealous of the owners of that van…)

Not much big happened this month aside from my trip to MA and some hanging out with my cousins, but that’s okay—starting school and balancing that with work is big enough for me!

What did I read?

Okay, so y’all should be super proud because I read not zero, not one, but TWO whole books this month!

That’s right folks, your girl has gotten back into reading. The first book I read was something I’ve been meaning to read for literal AGES but then a friend prompted me to and I was like, “Oh yeah, I keep forgetting about that book!” So I read it and it was amazing!!

That book is Adorning the Dark, by the great Andrew Peterson. I’d read his Wingfeather Saga and I absolutely love it (one of my top ten series) but this was a nonfiction book and I loved it so much! If you’re a writer, singer/songwriter, a Christian, a human, or an alien, I highly recommend reading it!

The second book was called Half-Truths by Carol Baldwin who is actually a local author here in Hickory, NC. I enjoyed the book—I read 90% of it in one night before it was like 1:00 am—but it wasn’t a top tier read. There were so many things that I thought would be big key points or parts of the plot point, but they weren’t! And I was looking for them the entire time. It’s kind like the author just decided to drop those subjects over halfway through. But other than that, it was a pretty good read I guess.

Also tell me why I just learned this word: librocubicularist. It means a person who reads in bed. HOW COOL IS THAT?! I used to be a hardcore librocubicularist but it’s been a while since that’s a habit, but I’m starting to get back into it.

What did I listen to?

As always, here are my top ten songs from this month.

1. Friends Don’t by Alexander Stewart feat. Lauren Spencer Smith
2. Sports Car by Tate McRae (I first heard it in a Party Animals’ short for Tanner Thomas’s walk-up and it was such a vibe)
3. DEFENSELESS by JVKE (he keeps releasing music and I’m just waiting for him to drop a tour announcement so I can smack the ‘buy VIP tickets’ button…)
4. doomsday by Lizzy McAlpine
5. Indigo by Sam Barber feat. Avery Anna (y’all, the harmonies and the chorus—chef’s kiss)
6. Living Proof by Bon Jovi feat. Jelly Roll (tell me why this song is amazing, because it’s amazing!!)
7. Let You Down by NF (this song is far from new but I always have it on repeat, it’s just SO freaking good)
8. Dirt Cheap by Cody Johnson (I love the way he tells a story in this song)
9. ALL of Hulvey’s album, CRY, especially Letter 2 The Game, Roses, and Have Me
10. Holy Spirit/The Dove by SEU Worship feat. Chelsea Plank (such a beautiful songgg)

Now, I’m super stoked because on November 16th (only two day’s before my seventeenth, heehee) my family and I are going to a NEEDTOBREATHE concert and I’m unbelievably excited. I love their music and one of the original band members is leaving, so it’s his last tour.

What did I write?

(The dreaded question…)

Kidding, kidding. It’s fine, I think I’ve come to terms with it: I am a nonfiction writer who likes writing fiction when she’s got inspiration and isn’t distracted and isn’t lazy and wants to write and loves her WIP.

So in short: that is not me at the moment.

So my blog has been my priority at the moment, especially with school. I am doing two writing classes—one is a fiction/creative writing class and one is a getting-ready-for-university essay writing class—and so I’m focusing on those two and balancing my blog. At the moment, writing for fun (in my WIP) just feels impossible and I don’t have the brainpower or inspiration to do that, so I am…putting it on hold for another month.

And to be completely honest, I’m fine with that. I don’t feel guilty (I don’t know if that’s good or bad…) but I am taking time to focus on more important things right now.

Something I consider as part of my writing section for this post: I became a mentor on how to start and get your platform and blog running! A girl on the writing program I do (YWW) was looking for a mentor to help her start a blog and (after a month of thinking) I said, “Heyyy I can help!” So once she gets her blog up and running, I’m going to hopefully make post about it! (With her permission of course.)

Another thing I’m excited to share: I’m getting published again! So I’ve actually known about this for the past five-ish months but I haven’t shared because I wasn’t sure how much I was allowed to share. But I’m getting published in two more anthologies.

The first one is a devotional anthology, each writer got to write a single devotional entry, aaaand that’s all I’m sharing.

The second is a mental health anthology written by Gen Z and I submitted two pieces (one essay-type thing and one poem) and both got accepted! Then the guy running the anthology was like, “Hey, would you write a third piece for us? I have a topic I’d think you’d be able to write about.” I was like, “Uhhh heck yeah!” So I’m pretty stoked about that! (If you’re interested in submitting something, you can check that out here! Deadlines are til October 24th.)

So I’m super stoked about those two—I’ll have been accepted in three anthologies within six months of each other!

What happens next?

Well, I celebrate my dad’s birthday, continue helping my friend set up her blog, and keep chugging along at school and work. And hopefully my family will get settled into a new church (nope, we still haven’t found one) and after that, maybe a youth group for me….but I’m not thinking about that.

Welp, that’s about it. Not much going on in my life, but that’s okay.

What have you guys been doing? Any fun fall stuff going on? I’d love to hear about them in the comments!! Thanks for reading and have a great day!
~Willow