Me, Part 2

     Hello! Welcome to part 2 of my collaboration:

2. Owl City/Sky Sailing

    Owl City has been one of my favorite bands for such a long time. I feel such a strong, emotional connection to his songs; and upon listening to each of them I feel in the midst of each of the stories they tell. They all make me feel like I'm in a new reality, and yet I feel as though, through distant memories, I've lived through the stories he tells. Anytime I'm feeling upset or like I need to relax, I love listening to this playlist on Pandora. 

Me, Part 1

     Hello everyone, I wanted to make begin making quick posts over the next few days that will include a collaboration of things that I really, really love and that I hope give you a better idea of who I am! I'm not sure how to transition into this (that's my biggest problem when writing papers) so.....BEGIN!

1. Sailor Moon

     I grew up watching this anime as a little kid, and honestly Sailor Moon was and still is my hero. When I was 15, I got all of the seasons of the anime on DVD and watched the original Japanese subbed version of it. Afterwards, I read the manga and watched the live action version, and I am now watching Sailor Moon Crystal (I waited for YEARS for it to come out, so I am just in heaven with the remake right now). Sailor Moon made me feel so empowered as a girl who was not athletic in the slightest, terribly shy, and over-emotional. I really recommend this anime for anyone who wants something lighthearted that will make you feel empowered at the same time. So many of my viewpoints and beliefs I hold started with me watching this anime. It has made a huge impact on my life so I hope anyone who hasn't seen it will give it a try!

Rainy Days

     Black coffee, heavy rain with light thunder, smooth Jazz music, and a hoodie are some of my ultimate favorite things to have when I'm relaxing and today I was blessed enough to have them all. As my girlfriend did yoga and our cat lay beside me purring in her sleep, I was able to take the time to reflect on how happy I am with the journey my life is taking me on. Last year I was at a bit of a dark place in my life as college, the disordered eating from my past, and anxiety began to take a toll on my life. I became very cynical and controlling. Over the past 3-4 months, I've been really focusing on the person I am and on who I am becoming. Was that person really living their lives to the fullest, spreading their happiness and ideas to others around them? No? That was when I knew something needed to change. 

    My girlfriend and I both sought counselling, spoke to our doctor about her depression and my anxiety, and ultimately made the, what seemed at that time crazy, decision to take the Fall semester off of school and spend it in England with my family. 

     After taking time for myself to reflect, I now feel so much more free. I feel like I'm on the right track again. And even though there is still work to do with my anxiety, I feel stronger and more able to handle the stresses of college when I return.

     In celebration of this rediscovered free spirit of mine, I decided it was time to cut my hair short for the first time since last October. My girlfriend gave me a chin length bob that I think makes my facial features stand out so well. It feels messy and free. I love it. Thank you, Eve!

  

Welcome to my blog!

     Hello, everyone and welcome to my  blog. I will be working on decorating it, but I'm a bit of a perfectionist when it comes to things like this so if it looks unfinished for a bit, that's why! I was inspired by one of my favorite bloggers, Sugarpet to make a blog post every day for a month. I've been wanting to make a blog for a while, so I figured this was a good time to start!

     Let me start off my introducing myself! Below are a few pictures of me (right) and my girlfriend, Eve (left):

Some Facts About Me:

1) I'm 19 and a student in Wisconsin. 

2) I'm very passionate about learning Japanese, traveling, the zodiac, learning new philosophical ideas, painting, manga, video games, tea, and making sure I'm living a life that I admire. 

3) The reason for a blog name is a mix of my own name (Katelin) and my girlfriends nickname for me (Sugarplum). It may not be totally original, but hey it's the best I could do! ;)

4) I'm a Sagittarius with a lot of Scorpio in my natal chart and I'm extremely proud of that!

5) I never really stayed in one place for very long during my childhood. For college, I moved out of my house in Kansas, where I was staying with my parents, and moved to the north to live with my girlfriend (I plan on making a future post about how we met in 7th grade in the future).

6) Later this month, Eve and I will be going to England to stay with my newly married mom and stepfather! We will be there from August to December, so you can expect many posts from our adventures there very soon!

7) I have no idea what I want to do with my life, but my top ideas right now are to be a veterinarian, a marine biologist, an online K-12 Japanese teacher, or a yoga instructor.

8) I'm currently learning about Buddhism and working on building up my ability to sit in Zazen meditation. However, it's really difficult for me to get my mind to stop being so distracting.SO if anyone has any pointers for me on any of this, I would really appreciate it!

I hope you all enjoy my blog and look forward to future posts this month! Bye!