Full of Life.

I am full. Full of life. After months of apathy and melodramatic listlessness I have finally found contentment once again. I am making plans to visit Switzerland and Italy this summer on pennies I have earned and saved. I have spent the last week with my family, loving them wholeheartedly and truly appreciating their presence; I realize this is the last year I will be living at home and I want each second to count. I am so blessed to be alive and surrounded by so many amazing people.

I want to travel, exploring every country and continent. I want to live off a terrible waitressing gig and spend my nights in Parisian cafes, reading Plath and Woolf. I want to lay on my back in a wide open field, gazing at the stars through tear-filled eyes because the universe is so inexplicably beautiful. I want to listen to music that blows my mind. I want to choose a college that suits me, spending my four years studying art and politics and poetry. I want to wander, my belongings folded neatly in an old canvas backpack, walking calmly alongside my bicycle. I want to take photographs that push people to the verge of tears. I seek to capture fleeting, organic moments that we all seek to remember, mentally bookmarking the memories with care and constant, overwhelming nostalgia. I want to start each morning with a five mile run, stopping by the florist on the way home. Burning my tongue on black coffee, I will awaken my soul with caffeine and current events scrawled across the daily newspaper in typical editorial typography. I want to eat natural foods that nurture my body. I want to love recklessly and carefully, disregarding outside influence or opinion.

I am alive. I am alive. I am alive.

Merry Christmas, everyone.

xo, Maddie