NEW ENGLAND GOTHIC

Oh god, I'm here again after another absence. Someone really needs to teach me how to keep track of time and how to not lose my charging cables. Because I'm so behind, I decided to combine the first two themes of Lelo's and my blogging challenge: back-to-school and early mornings. 

Yesterday was my first day back at school, and it came with the obligatory over-caffination and then anxiety attack. I managed to drink six cups of coffee (five at school and one on the way home) and I had to pause my Aziz Ansari stand-up special at home to go and puke. Classy, right?!

This is my junior year of high school and I'm terrified of what that has to bring. I'm not ready to "get serious" or think about college or set an example for the underclassmen. I just want to listen to my music and scribble in my journal and argue with my teachers like I've always done. 

And to add to all of that, school isn't so much my scene. I'm missing my late summer afternoons and my lazily cooked brunches. Now, everything's about rushed breakfasts and cool morning air; and I suppose there's a magic to that, too, but it's not magic that I know how to work. At least not yet. 

So, to make my rushed post written with shaking hands (I really need to lay off the coffee) seem better, here's some pictures of the end of summer and the beginning of school and everything that represents.

On the last day before Olivia had to go back to school, we took a long walk and explored a few different swimholes in the river. 

Being infinitely more wise than me, Olivia actually brought a bikini..

But I love the tiny rebellion of swimming in your underwear. I guess I'm too much of a "good kid" to really sneak out or do anything wild, but it's good to break even the tiniest of rules. 

The other day, I was stuck inside my house with no plans and no one to drive me anywhere. I was bored out of my mind - and so I decided to go for a walk. I set off with my camera down a trail that enters the woods near my house. I walked for roughly an hour, until I decided it was probably time to start heading home... except I wasn't exactly sure where that was anymore. After the third or fourth wrong turn, I decided to just head toward the sound of cars. I walked through some thick underbrush, two fields, and several backyards until I found myself back on a sidewalk. I was a pile of sweat by that point, so I dropped into the general store and got myself a bottle of water even though I didn't have any money. (Oh, the perks of small town living. Thanks, Janet). Although there were a few minutes where I was sure I was going to die alone and get eaten by chipmunks, I had a pretty amazing afternoon. There's nothing like a late summer sweat to get you going.

I'm also slightly obsessed with just HOW MANY shades of green there are in this world. It shocks me every time I go into the woods.

There's something magical about the way nature creates doorways and entrances, I think. 

This was the field I finally stumbled into; I can't even begin to describe how beautiful it seemed.

Thank you for reading!

Fiona