:: the seasons, they go round and round ::

a lot of things happened this year. obviously, over that many days, plenty is going to happen; for some reason, this seemed like a more momentous year than others. and I think "momentous" is a good word to use -- the things that made this year memorable were many small moments. nothing big in and of themselves, just many little things making up the whole.

life, I guess, is like that.

january
jess and I took a trip with our friend elizabeth up to notre dame to see coriolanus. looking back over my posts from january, I somehow managed to avoid mentioning this (???) -- but we did. it was a fabulous trip: driving for hours, listening to maroon 5 and boys like girls, discussing power couples. and then, of course, seeing a beautiful, intense conglomeration of shakespeare, tom hiddleston, hadley fraser, and mark gatiss (giving rise to the coriofidius hadderston power couple. corio-fidius. get it?). it was amazing, and pretty much made my year, although it broke my heart in the process.

february
I got all my art applications and portfolio and essays finished and submitted. it felt like a huge accomplishment, and it helped me learn a lot about not-immediate gratification. ...it was good preparation for college. ha.

remember this?

march
"thousand-eared night repeats that cry
across the sea shining between us"

april
"only the actions of the just
smell sweet, and blossom in their dust"

may
four words: phantom. of. the opera. two more words: ben. jacoby. (see picture below.) this was another highlight -- I finally got to see phantom live. ...WOW. wow. you know how they have those iconic posters, like, "when was your first time?" well, I'd laughed at those because I couldn't remember hearing the music for the first time; "heck, I've grown up on phantom! pshh" and then had to utterly about-face when I saw it. live theater is so different from everything else. their voices were gorgeous. the set was incredible. and it was absolutely beautiful. I will never forget my first time.

this is my sister, not me. jess; you know, the one who saw phantom
 only two months later. on broadway. with norm lewis and sierra. yes, that one.
I can't believe I let her live this long.

june
so I have this theory that when you turn 13, yeah, you're technically a teenager, but you're not a teenager until really 14. I have the same feeling, opposite-ly, for 19: you're technically a teenager, but you're not really a teenager. I turned not-really-a-teenager this year. the responsibility is a little overwhelming. and now that I'm past the halfway mark, dude, I'm almost 20.
WHAT

july
kelsey and I spent a lovely almost-two-weeks together at the beginning of july. this was possibly my best summer ever -- finally seeing my beautiful friend again and getting to catch up face-to-face was such a wonderful experience. it was so relaxing and a great way to prep for my upcoming first semester of college. (also I started calligraphy this month, so that's another milestone x) )

I mustache you for a pen.

august
college. what else can I say? it was crazy and overwhelming, but I love it. I'm so excited for the spring semester, to tell the truth!

september
"gay bells or sad, they bring you memories
of half-forgotten, innocent old places;
we and our bitterness have left no traces
on munster grass and connemara skies"

october
"for He Himself is our peace
who has made both one
and has broken down the middle wall of separation"

november
"so I gaze and I now know why
it is good to live -- and to die...
trees and the infinite sky"

(c) little lotte photography. ha ha.

december
WINTER BREAK BOOYAH! it's been fantastic. I got to see the nutcracker with some awesome friends (like my BBBFF paige (yeah, it's complicated)), applied for several scholarships, spent some great time with my family totally unstressed about homework, got accepted into the honors program (yayayayayay), saw 'the importance of being earnest' again; overall, I have had a very relaxing, peaceful time and I'm feeling ready for whatever comes next.

which I'm guessing is, like, 2015. har har.