A Little Life Update :) // ft. Minimal Reading + Online School, But Also New York City!!

Hi! It’s me again.

So…I’m back? I think? I genuinely can’t believe how long it’s been since I last wrote a blog post- the last one I published was in January, and I’ve only been on WordPress two or three times since then. This was definitely the longest unannounced, accidental hiatus I’ve ever taken??

I didn’t exactly mean to take a blogging break, it just happened. And while one hundred percent of me needed to take it, I also missed you all so, so much! I’m kind of going to be making this post just be a catch up for everything that’s happened in the past few months, essentially since the beginning of 2020. Does anyone else also feel as if this year should most definitely be over by now.

I don’t really know if I have a good explanation for being so absent the past three months, but hopefully this post serves to be some sort of evidence that I was doing things and not just ceasing to exist over the last few months??

Also, I know it is all over the media right now, and I’m guessing over people are, like me, using blogging as an escape, but please know that my whole heart goes out to the everyone right now as the coronavirus impacts all of our lives. I will be referencing it in this post a few times, since it’s greatly impacted my everyday life recently, as it has for everyone. I love you all, please stay safe and aware, practice social distancing as much as you can, wash your hands, and we will get through this together.❤️

Without further ado (because is it an Olivia post if I don’t say that?), here’s what I’ve been doing over the past few months!

I lived and breathed school and dance.

I say that in past tense because, well, things are kind of in an odd limbo period for me right now with school and dance. I don’t exactly know what’s going on, but to be honest, I don’t think anyone does right now.

My school (I attend a public high school in the United States) has been moved indefinitely to eLearning for the time being, and my dance has also been moved to virtual classes. I haven’t done enough of either of these to have fully formed an opinion on them, since I just got off my spring break and nothing has come back full force, but that’s where we are now.

As for the first few months of the year, though, school and dance were all I did. Which I love the dance part. And sometimes the school part. That was a huge factor in my lack of blogging- I’ve never had so little free time before in my entire life, and my weekends were just dance, homework, dance, homework, sleep, and it would be the weekdays again.

I find it interesting that a month ago, I was feeling incredibly overwhelmed and as if I couldn’t handle anything life was throwing at me and was at my lowest point, mentally. Life was a continuous cycle of really high highs and really low lows, and I felt sucked into the whirlpool. Now, everything that was overwhelming me has come to a halt, but I would give anything to have it back.

That aside, things were insanely busy, but now that it’s slowed down (I still have school! but it’s way different not going in real life, and not being able to go anywhere on the weekends or after school), I have time to actually write out this post.

I went to New York City!

I feel like after that, I need a happy thing, so here it is- I was lucky enough to take a trip to New York City with two of my dance teachers and all of my best friends from dance. It was truly something that I know I’ll remember for the rest of my life.

I’m so, so grateful that we got to go, since if it had been scheduled for any week later than the one it was, we wouldn’t have been able to go. (Broadway closed while we were there, unfortunately right before our show, the studios we went to are now closed, and now a lot of restaurants are closed as well.)

But we did get to go (!!), and it was so much fun! I had never been to New York before, and it was amazing. I still can’t believe I actually went, it feels very surreal.

Here are just a few pictures from the trip- first of all, did I compel my friend sitting next to me on the airplane to listen to Welcome to New York by Taylor Swift with me as we descended? Yes, I most definitely did, do not underestimate me on this. 😉

We also got to go to Rockefeller Plaza, which was something we didn’t plan to do, but ended up doing when our Broadway show got canceled! Making lemonade from lemons, because it ended up being a really fun time. The last picture there is of me getting really excited about the road sign saying Alvin Ailey, because we got to take a private class at Ailey (a famous modern dance company!!) and it was so, so cool.

I kept seeing these trash cans everywhere, and I thought it was the coolest thing ever, so I took a picture of one. Such a positive message to see while walking the streets!

Since we were there for dance (we ended up taking one class at Alvin Ailey and six classes at Broadway Dance Center, which was genuinely one of the best experiences I’ve had with personal growth), we didn’t do many Touristy Things, but we did get to walk through Central Park on the first day. We also had a hotel kind of by Times Square, so we went there a few times! It was so cool.

Also, on a complete tangent, I’ve decided that at least once in my life I would want to be in Times Square when the ball drops on New Year’s Eve. I know it’ll be so crowded and you have to get there hours in advance, but it seems like it would be such a magical moment, so I’ve decided to put that on my bucket list.

I didn’t read. Like at all.

One of the biggest consequences of me being so busy the past few months is that I…haven’t read? Like, actually I have read 5 books in all of 2020 and all except for one were rereads.

This is definitely a scary thing to see, but I’m counting on being able to catch up on reading during the summer. I’m also hoping that the current quarantine will give me a bit more free time, and although I can’t go to the library, I do have access to eBook resources, so that’s going to be really helpful.

I think it’s important to note that I did a reread of Foolish Hearts and of My Lady Jane so far this year, both of which are on my very top favorites list and both of which I highly, highly, highly recommend!

I’m currently reading a few books (aka I’ve started a few different ones and I haven’t read in so long I forgot how to focus on a book)- Anna Karenina (will I ever finish? who knows), Sadie, and Lucky in Love, so here’s to hoping I get back into reading soon.

New shows! Because free time!

In other news, I found a new show on Netflix that is genuinely one of the funniest shows I’ve ever watched, and it’s New Girl!!

This is the most random update, but I felt like this post needed more positivity and, at the moment, this show is one of the things that has made me laugh the most, so here is me talking about it. The main girl is the girl who was the love interest in Elf, and she’s hilarious, and so is everyone else, and wow, I don’t think I ever laughed so hard at a sitcom before. It’s on Netflix, so if you also need something to brighten your days, I would recommend!

I’ve also been rewatching Stranger Things, this time with my older sister (who moved back in since her college went online). She’s never seen it, and I haven’t ever rewatched it in order, so it’s pretty fun to see her experience it all for the first time.

One positive of this situation is that there is more time to watch shows, and bond with people over them as well. So, yay for that. 🙂

I want to be a better blogger now.

I have actually been the worst blogger ever the past few months. I don’t even know if you could call me a blogger because I didn’t do anything a blogger is supposed to do.

I have comments from January that I still haven’t replied to. I haven’t looked at any of the posts people have pinged me back on. I haven’t commented on a blog post in at least two months. I stayed off of WordPress for so long that when I opened it up to write this post, it had logged me off of my account. I don’t have my content planned out and I don’t know what the next post I do is going to be, and I don’t know if I can say that I won’t take a random, unannounced break again.

But I do know that it makes me really happy to be here again, writing a post, finding normalcy even in such a confusing time. I want to thank you all for sticking around and being so kind to me even when I haven’t been around.

You’re all the best, and please imagine me hugging you right now.💛

All that to say, I’m unsure about everything to come for blogging with me, but I promise that I will get comments responded to, I will start commenting on posts again, and I will do my very best to stay as active as I can with everything I have going on.

Again, please stay safe, and I’m thinking of you all! Thank you very much for reading this incredibly ramble-y update post. I’ll see you all next time!✨

How are you doing? Are you also seeking normalcy in blogging? Have you watched New Girl? Or read Sadie? I’d love to talk with you in the comments.

Photo by Irina Iriser on Unsplash >> credits for the image used in my featured image