Summer Obsessions: Musicals and Murder

As it's now the hot time of the year and I have lots of down time due to no school and not wanting to go outside and sweat until I die, I've developed a slight - maybe slight isn't the right word - obsession with a few things.

Firstly, the Tony Award winning musical In The Heights. I cannot get enough of this musical. Everything about it makes me so happy. In The Heights follows a neighborhood of people living in Washington Heights in New York City over the course of three days in July, one of them being the Independence Day holiday. So ensues love, lust, lottery, and a whole lot of drama.
I heard about this show on an episode of the YouTube show Sourcefed Table Talk, where one of the hosts, Sam Bashor, talked about his experience seeing the show when it did a run in Los Angeles. Intrigued, I looked it up and fell in love. Thanks, Sam.
The thing about In The Heights is that it's very contemporary compared to other musicals on Broadway. Lots of hip-hop flare fused with classic Hispanic music. Spanish phrases in the show don't take away from the understanding of the story - if anything, they enhance it.
Every character has a unique storyline. That's what's so brilliant about Lin-Manuel Miranda's music and lyrics: every single person can relate to somebody in the show. Nina, who is coming home from college, Vanessa, who is stuck working a low income job with dreams of moving on to bigger and better things, Usnavi, who just wants to get home to the Dominican Republic, Camilla and Kevin, parents who just want what's best for their daughter, Abuela Claudia, who looks at the past with tons of nostalgia. Even Sonny, a young kid who wants to make the ghetto a better place to live. This show brings something for everyone.
And the music is just incredible, so much so that Lin-Manuel Miranda was nominated for a Pulitzer Prize for it. If you don't believe me, have a listen on Spotify. It'll knock your socks off for sure. My favorites: It Won't Be Long Now, Blackout, and Carnaval Del Barrio. I can only hope that there's somebody else out there who loves this show as much as I do.

Alright, my other obsession of the summer is the Serial podcast. Yep, I'm late on the upshot as per usual, since this podcast debuted late last year and immediately became widely popular. I had no idea what it was about before I started listening, but here's a quick briefing: seventeen year old Hae Min Lee disappears after school on January 13th, 1999. Her body is found in a Baltimore park nearly a month later with signs of manual strangulation. A few weeks after, a man named Jay Wildes comes forward and says he knows who killed her. He tells an elaborate story accusing Hae's ex-boyfriend, Adnan Sayed, of the murder. Based on cell phone tower pings, the story seems to line up. Adnan Sayed is charged with murder and ultimately declared guilty and sentenced to life in prison. And did I mention that this is all a true story?
But.... what if he isn't guilty? Serial goes to explore this case more in depth. The clues seem not to be lining up. Jay seems to be changing his story a lot in police interviews. The waters get murkier and murkier as Serial dives deeper into the details.
This podcast is one that truly keeps you on the edge of your seat. Is Adnan guilty? Is he innocent? It's difficult to come up with a concrete answer nearly fifteen years after his conviction.
After I listened to the entirety of the Serial podcast (in about three days, mind you), I needed more. I craved every little minute detail about this case. And thankfully, I wasn't the only one. So I started listening to another podcast based on this case, Undisclosed: The State vs Adnan Sayed. This one goes even further in depth than Serial, spending whole episodes on the autopsy report, the police interviews, and Hae's car. These small things thrust under a microscope actually reveal some very significant issues in this case.
This led me to yet another podcast (told you I'm obsessed), this one called The Serial Dynasty. This one is based more on listener's theories as to what happened to Hae Min Lee. Serial Dynasty also tends to delve into the problems of police interference in this case, suggesting that the Baltimore Police Department has, or had some sort of abuse of power.
No matter how you look at it, no one can deny that this is a very interesting case, and I for one am very excited to see what happens next in this journey to justice for Hae.

So, two obsessions on opposite ends of the spectrum. I can't contain my enthusiasm for either of these. It's like I want to be on Broadway and be a lawyer at the same time. Is that a possible career? Anyway, it's been a good summer so far and I have a lot to keep me preoccupied. Will I develop other obsessions? Stay tuned.

Amy

Brunch at The Mansion

Today, I had the lovely opportunity to go to the Missouri Governor's Mansion for brunch with the First Lady and about sixty mansion docents.

It was a really fun morning, with speaker Bob Pretty talking about the capital city's history and then the mansion's head chef serving us our brunch!

I didn't take any photos during the event, but I did get there a little early and snap a few. 

Special thanks to the Friends of the Missouri Governor's Mansion Association for the invite! I had a great day and am very thankful for the opportunity.

Amy

Rainy Sunday

It rained steadily all day, so I snuggled up by the window with a book (Ghosts Of Ashbury High by Jaclyn Moriarty - one of my all time favorites) and, of course, took a few photos.

Such a relaxing day. I feel calm.

See you soon

Amy

Selfies And Confidence

That's not a photo of me - but if I could jump that high....

Today I had an epiphany, and the epiphany is this: I haven't taken a good selfie in months. I realized this as I opened up Snapchat and regarded myself in the front facing camera. It wasn't a bad realization, just an observation: I haven't been taking many pictures of myself lately.

And, of course, with this came the idea that I NEED to start taking more selfies. I'm changing every day! Soon I will be an old woman! I'm in the prime of my selfie-taking life over here!

Since I'm a psychoanalyst at heart, I had to practice a little introspection. What was the root of all this? My answers:

1. I gained weight in college, as in a LOT. We're talking the Freshman Fifteen - dun dun dunnn. Yep, it claimed yet another victim and, hi hey hello, it's me. So. I've been not nearly as confident in my body lately, and thus haven't taken as many pictures of myself. The solution: I'm working on dropping my extra baggage. Stay tuned.

2. There's this whole mentality going around on the Internet that taking too many pictures of yourself is a BAD thing. Rationally, I'm like, just let people do whatever they want. No judgy! But at the same time, I'm self-conscious as fuck. I'm the kind of girl that never speaks up in class and tends to wear neutrals so as to blend in with the concrete walls and avoid attention. Again: I'm working on it.

To make a long story short, I'm kind of annoyed at myself for not being very confident recently. Why shouldn't I be taking all kinds of selfies?? I'M CUTE!! Anyway. Expect to see a selfie from me very soon.

See you soon!

Amy 

Being Happy.

Late December and early January has been a time of great change for me.  I don't know how exactly this happened, but I decided that I was tired of living my life in a way that wasn't making me happy - so I changed it.

On New Year's Day, I woke up and told myself: "This year, I will be happy," determined to do so after a lackluster 2014 in which I was more depressed, anxious, and afraid than I had ever been.  So I decided to be happy.  And like flipping a switch, my life became a thousand times better.

Things that used to annoy me don't seem to get to me anymore.  I don't know how I was able to overcome that, but I don't miss feeling annoyed at all.

I've found that deciding to be happy has made me more confident.  I can graciously accept compliments, and even post pictures of myself without makeup on - something I never thought I'd be able to do.

Life seems to float by so easily and I can't help but be proud of the person that I am becoming.  I'm sure there will be speed bumps along the way, testing my resolve and making me want to cry, but right now I feel like that Imagine Dragons song: On Top of the World.

Deciding to be happy was best the New Year's Resolution that I've ever made, and hopefully 2015 has some amazing things in store for me!

Amy

Christmas Party Outfit

It's finally that time of year: Christmas party season! I absolutely looove going to Christmas parties, and since I'm planning on going to quite a few this year, I thought I'd show what I'm wearing! 

This first outfit is fairly casual, but still festive.  Obviously the focal point here is my plaid skirt, which I got from Forever 21.  Along with this, I've got on a simple gray shirt with faux leather detail on the shoulder, from Aeropostale.  I decided on simple black tights with this, and minimal jewelry - let the skirt speak for itself!

For shoes, I went with these super cute t-strap heels from Payless.  I looove these shoes and the heel isn't too high, so they're super comfy! By far my favorite casual heels.

And of course, it wouldn't be a festive outfit without a red lip! I'm wearing an ELF Cosmetics lipstick in Red Carpet.  It's more orangey-toned than I'm used to with red lipsticks, but I like it well enough.  It's very pigmented and just needs minimal retouching after an hour of wear.  I kept my eye makeup fairly simple, just a little matte brown eye shadow in the crease and a touch of mascara, so the red lip could pop.

And that's my Christmas party outfit #1! I hope it gave you a little inspiration, and thanks for reading!

Amy

As My First Semester Ends....

The time really and truly is flying.  I cannot believe I've been in college for an entire semester already!  I remember not so long ago, entering the 5th grade and thinking to myself, "I still feel like a fourth grader."  The thought still rings true today.  Being in college definitely feels different than I thought it would.  I thought I would feel grown up and powerful and independent.  And while I do feel those things some of the time, there are also times where I feel like a little kid lost in a world that I don't belong in.  But I think I may be getting the hang of things here.  Here's a quick list of a few things I have learned in my first semester of college.

• Making friends happens all the time - starting on move-in day.
• Parties happen every night.  And while it may seem that everybody cool goes to parties, tons of awesome people don't.
• Making new friends is harder than it seems.
• The friends I had in high school aren't the people I want in my life forever.
• Studying is essential - I can't just squeeze by without studying like in high school.
• Dressing nice isn't necessary, but it does put a good face forward.
• Doing laundry is the worst.
• It's okay to just want to talk with professors.
• Being the best isn't everything.
• Everyone else is growing and changing and as confused as I am.
• Getting enough sleep is important.

So that's just a few little lessons I've learned these past few months. It's definitely been a roller coaster - I've made new friends, lost old ones, learned tons of new stuff, and met people from all over the world.  College has its ups and downs, but the benefits far outweigh the bad stuff.

Amy