These Words

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These last couple of weeks have been rough, to say the least. But, thankfully today marked the beginning of my Thanksgiving break (praise dance), so I decided to leave campus and read at a coffee shop. I got a chai (I know, who am I?) and read for a few hours. Every reader has a few authors or some books that just get them. Sarah Dessen? Yep. Turtles All the Way Down by John Green? (So far, even though I'm only on chapter 10?) Yes indeedy. Now, this may not be the most beneficial thing for my mental health, but I often lose myself in fiction books when I don't particularly want to focus on what's happening in real life. However, this becomes beneficial when a book causes me to think about my own life in a different or new way. For instance, when I first started reading TATWD the other night, I read a passage that made me immediately start crying. I don't cry very often, so for a book to make me cry was really something. Writers can make their readers feel things - really feel things. It takes a good writer to produce something more than just words on a line that become intermingled with all the other thoughts fumbling around in the reader's brain. Good writing consists of words that change the reader's point of view and/or make them feel understood. 

So, as the first few hours of Thanksgiving break began - one that will inevitably be filled with homework - I sipped my chai and read these words: "Your now is not your forever." 

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Reagan Fleming

Rainy Days + Rereading Books

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It's raining, I'm in a coffee shop, and I'm tapping my feet along to a Spotify station. It's a Sunday, post-church, and I'm looking out of the huge window-wall at a Starbucks while I write this, drink and phone to my right. Outside, I can see people hiding under their umbrellas, making a beeline for the coffee shop; they're on a mission to simply find shelter and a warm beverage. Dustin Tebbutt is singing "Plans," in my headphones, and the rain outside along with Dustin's beautiful voice is making me feel so at peace right now. I have been under a little bit of stress lately - self-inflicted as well as the inevitable kind - so to be able to write a new post with this newfound calmness is refreshing.

The reason that things have been a little on the not-so-peaceful side, is because I am making the transition from "taking a semester off" to "going back to the U and finishing up my degree." I'm so stoked that I get to finish my last year and a half with my friends. However, it's kind of stressful getting from point A (home) to point B (at school and enrolled in all the proper classes). There are a lot of processes involved, guys. Who knew. 

Let me update you all on what I've been reading/listening to/coffee beverage I've been drinking this March. I'm really good at focusing on one topic at a time, as you can tell.

  • Current coffee drink: Double shot on ice with 2 pumps of caramel instead of the classic syrup, and a little bit o' soy. Hint: there are three shots of espresso in a grande, so you're welcome. And it's the perfect amount of sweetness.
  • Current album: American Teen by Khalid. Some people say, "I've had this song/album on repeat!" and they've played it maybe three times. But seriously... I've had this album on repeat (minus when I was listening to Dustin Tebbott a few paragraphs earlier). I've listened to this album many many times - PS: it's great to listen to while writing. PPS: "Winter" is my favorite track. 
  • Current read: Saint Anything by Sarah Dessen. It's my 2nd time reading one of my favorite novels, and it's almost better the second time reading it; I'm noticing little things that I didn't before (or at least I'd like to think that I have been), and it reminds me why I love Dessen's books so much. I've been listening to the audiobook while I clean, and last night, I listened to it and read along while drinking a cup of tea - it was a crazy night. Let's take notice that this book is making me drink TEA now. This book changes you in ways you never thought possible. #CoffeeDrinkerTurnedTeaDrinkerSometimes

Below is a picture from when I met Sarah Dessen on her book tour for Saint Anything in 2015. There's something about seeing and being able to talk to an author whose books have played such a big part in your childhood/young-adult-hood and overall development as a writer. It gave me that boost of hope and and comfort, knowing that what I've chosen to do with my life isn't a waste.

Books matter. Words matter. 

I'll leave you with one of my favorite quotes from the book:

“That’s the thing, though. You always think you want to be noticed. Until you are.”
— Sarah Dessen, Saint Anything

Reagan Fleming