back in polston

 

My room is empty, but my heart is full.

This year has been quite different. It took me an hour to unpack my room. Two of my best friends are at different colleges in the Nashville area. My roommate, and one of my dearest friends, is living off campus. My new roommate arrives tomorrow. Will we click? Will she think I'm strange for having a giant Aragorn poster on my wall and a warn quilt on my bed? Will she be opposed to listening to Avett Brothers in the evenings?  I don't know. There are many unknowns that must be faced in the coming days, the coming weeks.

But I'm ready. For the first time in my life, I feel okay with not knowing the answer to anything. Because my plans are short-sighted. They are temporal and petty and imperfect and probably stupid. I'm sure the good Lord looks down on me and my scheming and shakes His holy head. What are my plans compared to His? 
  
Though many of my good friends are gone this year, God is already bringing others into my life to love and cherish. I'm so thankful for that. For them.

The next week or so is going to push my strengths and my energy to the limit. Say a prayer, will ya? I've been sick, but life doesn't stop for that. And pushing through and relying on God's strength will make a better person for it, I hope.

xo,
Katy

P.S. I shoot my first wedding on Saturday! I'm quite nervous and excited!

disconnected thoughts

Oh hey, red hair! It's been a while. I went two months without dyeing my hair. NO BIG DEAL, unless your name is Katherine Victoria and you get bored with a hair color after two weeks. Actually, I've had dark hair since December. I'm going to count that as progress since I switched back and forth between blonde and brunette every few months in high school.



So there was this one time a few weeks ago that my sunglasses matched my shirt and I thought that was pretty cool.

 

Look for the scanned and colored version of this in a few weeks, will ya?

I'm hanging out at Starbucks tonight, bumming their internet because there was a bad storm a few nights ago, and it killed the internet at my house. Oh, and my phone got stolen yesterday. So I've been totally cut off from everyone for a good 24 hours and I don't like it. Just kidding, I spent the night planning society goodness with some Bunyans last night. I'm still going a little crazy, though. I keep thinking "WHAT IF SOMEONE NEEDS ME!?"  (Excuse the caps. They put five pumps of sugar syrup in my iced passion tea.)

So, I move back in the dorm on Tuesday. I'm pretty pumped! I have Student Council training this week, and have to help out with Freshman orientation. It's so weird that I'm an upperclassman now. Thankfully, Junior year is looking up! I'm only taking 6 classes this semester: Daniel and Revelation, Shakespeare, Early American Lit, Math Concepts I, Private Piano, and a foreign language that has yet to be determined (I have to take it through a different university). I'm having trouble fathoming the fact that I'm over halfway done with my undergraduate. Crazy.

xo,
Katy

RELIENT K

Relient K's music defined my formative years. I know that sounds super extreme and cheesy, but it's the truth. Middle school, high school, college...I've always listened to Relient K. When my friend JP and I heard they'd be in Memphis, we knew we had to go!

Some random kid from Belmont played first. He was...uh...interesting. I didn't take any pictures of him because really, his set was kind of bizarre.

William Beckett played second. You probably remember him from The Academy Is...and their one big hit "About a Girl." I thought he did a really fantastic job. I was never an Academy Is fan, but his solo stuff is pretty great. I think artists have to break out on their own to find their musical niche sometimes.

Hellogoodbye was up next. Honestly, the only song I knew was "Here (In Your Arms)." So, I sang along with that one, and tried to get into their new stuff. They've taken a more indie route, and it was rather nice.


 

Finally, after a three hour drive and two hours of standing in a crowded, hot venue, Relient K took the stage. I pretty much turned into a 12-year-old fangirl. But can you blame me, really? This is the second time I've seen Relient K live, and they did not disappoint! They played a ton of old songs, which made me giddy, because their old stuff is my favorite (we're talking Anatomy, Two Lefts, and Mmhmm here). They also played three new songs. Like, new new. Like hasn't been released yet new. Like ohmygosh I'm fangirling new. I died. It was wonderful, and I died.




 Fun Facts:

• I didn't take my camera... because I had to take my purse... because my blood sugar always goes low at concerts... and I couldn't fit a candy bar in my pocket. Hence the Instagrams.
• The unofficial name of the tour was There Are No Tater Tots for You.
• Matty T currently has mutton chops.
• We also sang "Happy Birthday" to Matty T because his 32nd birthday was the next day.
• Matty T references being 23 in "Maintain Consciousness." And I'm still not 23. And that song was released when I was 12. Whatever. 
• We stopped at a Burger King in Memphis. I asked for a Memphis BBQ Sandwich. They don't sell them there. I don't even.
• JP: "Do you want to listen to Mmhmm now?" Me: "Mmhmm."

So yes. If you don't know who Relient K is, listen to them now. If you do, you can appreciate all the fangirling I just did.

xo,
Katy

summer books, in review

Even though this summer has been crazy busy, I did make quite a bit of time for reading. My running total at the moment is 14 books in the past 3 months. I've completed 11, and I'm still currently reading 3. (Unless I can finish them in the next week, chances are the won't get finished before Christmas. Ha!) So here's a brief overview of what I've read, in chronological order.

The Silver Chair- C.S. Lewis.
Okay, so this was a re-read. I don't know how many times I've read the Narnia series. I've honestly lost count at this point. They will always remain my favorite fantasy series. (note: Lord of the Rings is my favorite trilogy, Narnia, my favorite series.) I was going to re-read all seven books, but I got distracted by...

Divergent and Insurgent - Veronica Roth.
Can we agree these are going to be the next big thing? The genres of fantasy and sci-fi are finally becoming more mainstream, which is great, because I don't feel like so much of a nerd for liking them. If you liked The Hunger Games, you'll really like these, though they are not as similar as some people are saying. Ms. Roth does a much better job of exploring the repercussions behind killing and its moral implications than Suzanne Collins did with Hunger Games. The settings are totally different, too. The only real similarities are strong heroines and dystopian, segmented societies. If you hate cliff-hangers, you might want to wait for the third book to come out before starting this series. Just a warning. ;)

The Perks of Being a Wallflower- Stephen Chbosky
 This book was incredible. Incredible. I will preface everything I'm about to say with a warning--this book contains quite a bit of language and drug content. That being said, the way it was written was absolutely beautiful. I saw so much of myself in Charlie. I love having a character to whom I can really relate. I can't recommend this book because of some of the content, but if you're an older, mature reader, you might look in to reading it. 

Harry Potter -J.K. Rowling.
No, I had never read the Harry Potter series. I'm a PK, so it was kind of out of the question when the books first came out and the Christian community had a hissy-fit. I read all seven books over the course of three to four weeks. Don't ask me which one I liked best, because they've all blurred together in my mind as one long narrative, which is kind of cool. I'm glad I finally got around to reading them, for sure. 

I'm currently reading: The Introvert Advantage, Redeeming Love, and Fahrenheit 451. 
So far, The Introvert Advantage is great. It's really giving me a lot of insight into why I'm just so weird sometimes. (More like why I'm not weird; I'm just an introvert. I'm different. My brain is wired differently, and that's okay.) 

I'm having trouble with Redeeming Love just because I'm not a big romance novel fan. Though everyone tells me it's a great book, so I'm going to give it another chance. 

I haven't really read enough of Fahrenheit 451 to give an opinion yet. And by that, I mean I've read one page. ;) 


What have you read this summer? Any thoughts on these books? Any recommendations? 

xo,
Katy

pinterest lately

I go through spells with Pinterest. I either really love it and pin constantly or really just don't give a rip. I think it can be inspiration overload sometimes. Stop dreaming and start doing. Then I just pin pin pin some more and never get up off my tush. Oh well. Here are some things I've been loving on Pinterest lately.

Source: printabledecor.net via Katy on Pinterest

I love Jim Elliot. He's seriously one of my biggest inspirations. And the typography and photography on this are just perfect. 

Source: 500px.com via Katy on Pinterest

 Everything about this photo is just lovely!

Source: flickr.com via Katy on Pinterest

 I've been wanting to try out double exposures for a while. Like, the real kind. I've just been too scared to try it.

Source: thefancy.com via Katy on Pinterest

 This is too awesome for words, amiright?

Source: 25.media.tumblr.com via Katy on Pinterest

Ugh. Love this movie. I love this moment, too. Some of my friends and I had a Jane Austen night a while back. We watched the three hour long production of Emma as well as Northanger Abbey. I really want to watch the six hour long BBC version of Pride and Prejudice. I'll get to it, eventually.

Source: foudre.co via Katy on Pinterest

I just love the 1960s.

Source: aisaicha.tumblr.com via Katy on Pinterest

I have two celebrity crushes: James McAvoy and Elijah Wood. But James McAvoy trumps everyone. EVERYONE. It's not just a looks thing, either. His acting is so incredible. I loved him as Mr. Tumnus, and I think it's great he's been in some really big productions since then. But yes, he is really good looking.

Source: thelittlethingsthatmakelifegreat.tumblr.com via Katy on Pinterest

My life at the moment.

Source: funnypics221.net16.net via Katy on Pinterest

This is super great.

Anyway, just thought I'd share. I know things have been quiet around here lately, and I apologize for that. :)

xo,
Katy

august a little late

August brings school. My junior year of college. Old friends and new ones, alike. A lot of stress. Early mornings, late nights, plenty of homework and coffee. Rush week. Good music. Dorm life. Let's do this, August.




 xo, Katy

what's in my camera bag | vlog

The more vlogs I make, the more awkward I realize I am. So if you can put up with weird lighting and random rambling about the USA Men's Swim Team, you should be able to cope with this video.




I've actually decided to put a hold on saving up for a Mark II. I'm going to go ahead and spend some of the money on Lightroom 4 and VSCO film. I think it will be a worthwhile investment.

What's in your camera bag?

xo,
Katy