August roundup: college, books, and what I've been up to

The past several weeks have been filled with a swirl of emotions, anxieties, and surges of stress and overwhelm. This pandemic has definitely created a lot of challenges we're all facing, especially in our work and school. It has been interesting though: trying to adapt into a new normal, a new reality. It took me a while to get used to the new procedure of checking my temperature, and it sounds weird to hear announcements and see signs reminding everyone to wear masks. 

Although I've been spending most of my time trying to keep up with my classes turning online as well as quarantining at home, I've also squeezed in some time to reflect, develop new hobbies, and read more books from my bookshelf. I recently finished the last book of the To All the Boys book series by Jenny Han and I'm currently reading In Five Years by Rebecca Serle and Little Fires Everywhere by Celeste Ng. I haven't been active in my book club on GoodReads, but I am planning to do Zoom meetings! If you're interested and think I should do it, let me know so I can start some planning! 

As some of you may have seen already, I haven't been active in a while on social media and my blog. If you know me personally, you would probably already know, otherwise I wanted to share exciting news! The reason I've been away for so long is because in the past couple weeks I've been busting my ass and got accepted into The New School University in New York City! Unfortunately, with the pandemic still going on, I'm still in Florida where I'll be taking online classes for now. But I've had my eye on NYC and this school particularly ever since I stepped into the campus 2 years ago for the Teen Vogue Summit (check out my NYC travel journal here)!

Other than reading and taking care of my education, I've also been writing. I've been given the opportunity to be editor and writer for independent creative publications such as Pinnacle of Adolescence and HALOSCOPE! You can check out one of my most recent articles that got published here, that discussed the life and experiences of college during this challenging and vulnerable time. 

What I will be up to this upcoming month...

I feel like September is the signal or the metaphor of a fresh start, a brand new beginning, or perhaps "a new chapter in life" since for most of us students, we will be entering a new academic year, a new college or just starting out high school - all in this new normal. This upcoming month is the opportunity to stay on the trails of this new semester, with the brand new classes, professors, people, and classroom settings. It will definitely be a challenge, since I have not yet been fully accustomed to online classes, but this will help me overcome the long-lasting battle against procrastination. 

Nicole's book club

Thank you to some of my readers who have joined my book club on GoodReads! This upcoming month, I will be posting a new book to read and discuss. As I've mentioned, if you're still interested in a virtual book club meeting then let me know! I'm excited to share next month's book and discuss more, since it's such an interesting read.

The Wallflower Collective

I haven't had the chance to work on my long-awaited passion project of The Wallflower Collective and to look at your talented pieces and submissions due to school and work. This upcoming month, however, I do have plans for this publication to expand, but more of this will be coming soon!

This time in life right now is tough: it has been causing difficulty for most of us, not just emotionally but also mentally, physically, as well as financially. I hope you're all doing well, washing your hands, and wearing masks! If you need a friend, please don't hesitate to reach out to me :)

Stay safe everyone and don't let the new changes caused by this pandemic get to you! Stay strong 💪