Begin Again

This week has been ridiculously crazy! I'm working so much on college supplemental essays, doing homework (obviously), and prepping for our homecoming which is next weekend! The one thing I still really have on my homecoming checklist is to find a really cute necklace to go with my dress. One of my favorite thing about school dances is dressing up for them, so I always put lots of thought into what I wear for these fancier occasions because they are a lot rarer.

In regard to other occurrences from this week, Taylor Swift came out with another amazing song, Begin Again! I love Taylor's music in general, but I've been an especially huge fan of her most recent releases of We Are Never Ever Getting Back Together and Begin Again. I think that WANEGBT is one of my most favorite songs that Taylor has ever put out. There's a fresh feeling to her newer songs and it makes me so excited for the release of her upcoming album, Red, within the next few months.

~OOTD~

dress - Lilly Pulitzer;   sweater - h.i.p.;   scarf - Marley Lilly;   boots - Hunter;   necklace - vintage;   bracelets - Tiffany & Co, Forever 21;   earrings - Forever 21

xoxo,

College Interview

This week I went to my first individual college interview! I was pretty nervous beforehand because I wanted to make the best possible first impression. It turned out to be a wonderful experience and quite a lot of fun! I was interviewed by a recent graduate from the class of 2012 and I also talked with the person in charge of admissions for my area as well as some parents who have children currently enrolled in the school. I was there for about an hour in total and I really enjoyed the whole experience. I'm also ridiculously excited because I'm going to be visiting soon!

Also in regard to the whole college prep process, I've gotten to the point where I'm finalizing my final short list and I've just got to fill out the supplements for certain schools before I can start applying! I can't wait for the whole application process to be done, it will be one less thing to have in my planner and stress about. 

As for now I've just got to keep doing my best in school, get through the whole college application process, try to fit more sleep into my schedule, keep attending dance classes, manage my blog and other social media sites, & (very importantly) spend plenty of time with friends and family. Yep, my planner is pretty packed right now, but that's how I like it! 

~OOTD~

headband - Lacoste;  earrings - Givenchy;  necklace - vintage;  sweater - L.L. Bean;  skirt - J.Crew;  bracelets - Forever 21, Tiffany & Co, and vintage;  boots - B.P.

xoxo,

To Write Love on Her Arms

It's National Suicide Prevention Week and the time of year when you see people walking around with the word "love" written on their arm(s). I'm taking part again this year because I believe in doing absolutely everything you can to prevent self-harm and suicide. It doesn't matter who you are, where you live, what you look like, how many friends you have, etc. 

NONE of that changes your value as a human being 

I believe that every life is equally significant and should be treated with love and respect.

If you ever have the thought cross your mind "Why does it matter if I'm here or not?" or "I wish it could all be over." You need to stop yourself before you do anything drastic and remember that:

YOU are IMPORTANT

YOU are BEAUTIFUL

YOU MATTER

& most importantly

YOU are LOVED

Wether you realize it or not, people truly care about you. Never throw away the amazing and wonderful gift you've been blessed with: a life full of promise and hope. No matter how bad things get, it will ALWAYS get better. Life can be rough, but life can also be rewarding if you face adversity with courage, perseverance, and the knowledge that you are never alone.

If you see someone else who seems to be having a bad day, take the time to reach out to them. All it takes is one word, "Hi," and a smile. Making sure they're okay and showing them that someone cares about them could make all the difference. You have no idea how you can touch a person's life if you do nothing. You may never know that you touched their life, but there is probably at least one person who's life you have touched and made a difference in at some point.

Spread the love, prevent self-harm & suicide

♥ TWLOHA ♥

xoxo,

Lakeshore for Labor Day

Happy Labor Day! 

(Better late than never, right?)

I was lucky to have a four day weekend last week thanks to Labor Day as well as a special football tournament our school was participating in.... in Ireland! As a result of the tournament, a huge portion of our school was in Dublin for the weekend. The Varsity football team, Varsity Poms (my girls ♥), golf, cheer, staff, parents, and lots of alumni flew over. I've heard from everyone who went that they had a wonderful time. It's clear just by looking through all of the fun pictures people have been posting to Facebook and Instagram. I was so proud of our football team and although I was unable to watch the game, I was following a constant twitter feed of the game and constantly refreshing the page on my phone. This was especially the case for the last five minutes of the game because it was so close! We may not have won, but our boys played really well and I'm so ridiculously proud of them for how hard they've been working and the amazing job they did in representing our school.

Here's to a wonderful start to yet another amazing football season!

On Labor Day my mom and I decided to take advantage of the gorgeous weather and go for a long walk by the lakefront. All the beaches were packed, there were people riding bikes and running everywhere, and lots of people were taking out boats to go sailing. The water was such a stunning aquamarine color and there were almost no clouds in the sky. Even though my summer technically ended in mid-August when school started up again, I couldn't imagine a more gorgeous day to officially end such a wonderful senior summer!

~OOTD~

tank - Gap;   shorts - J.Crew;   Murfee scarf - Lilly Pulitzer;   shoes - Sam Edelman;   nail polish - OPI for Sephora "Cover Me in Petals;"   sunglasses - Charlotte Russe;   headband - Lacoste;   bracelet - vintage;   ring - Kate Spade

 Hope everyone enjoyed their Labor Day! What did you do?

xoxo,