Hey What’s Up Hello!

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Ohmygosh! Howdy, my  lovely little ducklings! How are y’all? It honestly feels like it’s been forever and a day since I’ve talked to you! I know it’s only been about two or three weeks but…wow! I’m so sorry for being absent. Why have I been gone? Well here’s the sitch!

I’m back at college!

I’m still technically on medical leave but I’m taking a sixteen week biology 101 level class (with the mandatory extra lab class each week as well) and a fourteen week Arabic 201 level class. I have class for four consecutive days each week and my weekend is three days. The classes are basic and I’ve actually taken both of these classes before, so they’re an “easy” review, but it’s still a lot of work. On top of my classes, each week I meet with an academic success coach for at most an hour and I also have a weekly academic success workshop. I also walk a mile and a half over huge hills each day to get to and from school. This is all packed in with my regular bi-weekly/monthly appointments with doctors and grocery shopping (which, I have to walk a mile to and from the grocery store). All while struggling with chronic fatigue syndrome. So I’m jam packed! I’m positive it’ll seem a little less hectic, overwhelming, and energy sapping as I adjust and get used to my new schedule, but at the moment it’s a lot. But even still I have great news which is…

I love school and my classes!

Why is this big news? Well, for those of you who don’t know, I’ve struggled with major academic performance anxiety for the past four to five years. I got into one of the top schools in the world and basically fell apart–physically, mentally, and emotionally. But in the community college I’m attending now, I feel very at ease and hopeful. First off, I have a ton of accommodations for my disabilities and medical condition. Second off, the classes are much smaller than at my university. So small that the professors actually make an effort to get to know each student one-on-one. And the teachers don’t do research, so all of their energy and interest is in teaching, which makes a huge difference. Finally, the school devotes an entire department to helping students learn the skills they need to succeed in college. They have free academic coaching, free one-on-one tutoring, free group tutoring, free academic success classes, and free writing help for writing all kinds of papers and reports. They offer free rooms to study in which are low distraction spaces as well! It’s just so incredible! It’s exactly what I needed. So if I ever have a problem or my anxiety gets in my way, I can rest assured that I will get  the help I need!
The people at my current school are also incredibly kind and welcoming! I’m making friends fast and the nice thing is they’re sincere friends. The school is the most diverse community college in the country and it’s such a joyous and accepting atmosphere. I just love everything about it! But enough about that. I’ve been even more hectic than usual because…

I Helped My Friend Move

My friend moved out of state last weekend and she lives alone so she needed a lot of help packing up her entire apartment. So for the last two weeks I’ve helped her pack and kept her company. It was nice to spend time with a friend but it sure did suck my energy up as well!

Now Let’s Get To The Books…

What I’m Currently Reading

I started reading A Torch Against The Night by Sabaa Tahir just the other day and so far I’m really enjoying it!  The book starts out fast and really pulls you in so I’m hoping that it keeps up the pace and maybe it’ll help move me out of this horrid reading slump!

What I’ve Been Reading


So if y’all can recall, last time we chit chatted, I was in a reading slump. Well guess what? That slump lasted through the month of August and still has me in its grips. So because of that, I only read two books in August. And one of those was technically a comic bind-up I began in July. I read and loved Ruined by Amy Tintera and I finished Ms. Marvel Vol. 1: No Normal by G. Willow Wilson and Adrian Alphona and, honestly, I waas kinda disappointed with it. So yeah. August wasn’t my best reading month by far. September’s started out slow, but I did finish Stolen Songbird by Danielle L. Jensen and I loved it! It took me ages (three whole weeks!) to finish it, though! So this month has definitely started out slow. I’m hoping, though, that with the release of Empire of Storms by Sarah J. Maas, my reading will speed up!

What I’m Planning On Reading Next

Ohmygosh guys! Just look at this gloriously overambitious TBR! Especially given that I’m still in a slump! But I couldn’t help myself–there were just sooooooo many incredible books for sale and available to borrow at the library! I know it’s optimistic but I really do hope I get to all of these this month because I’m just uber excited for them! I’m not even gonna list the all because there’s waaaaay too many and I’m lazy and tired, but I think the above gives you quite the picture (literally!).

The Haul

I had a great month for buying audiobooks in August, despite the fact that I didn’t actually listen to any of the audibooks I got. Nevertheless, I’m really excited about the audiobooks I got and I can’t wait to listen to them! I nabbed Nevernight by Jay Kristoff, Reliquary by Sarah Fine, A Torch Against The Night by Sabaa Tahir, and Empire of Storms by Sarah J. Maas.

“Recent” Links I’ve Been Lovin’

And Now For Some Recent Obsessions!

Books


Okay. So I’m going to make a big admission here and that is that I am a major idiot. Why? Because I didn’t pick up Stolen Songbird by Danielle L. Jensen sooner, despite the buzz it was getting! I thought, “Nah! I’m not into trolls! Yuck!” BOY WAS I WRONG!!! I can’t account for my past stupidity, all I can say is that I’ve now corrected it. Please. I beg of you. Don’t be as dense as I was. Pick up Stolen Songbird ASAP! It’s got romance, adventure, magic, and, yes, trolls. It’s ridiculously good! So go read it now!

Music


I honestly couldn’t get enough of this song in the past month and yet it’s still going around in my head! “Genghis Khan” has such a great groove and the perfect touch of good ol’ funk. The tenor vocal, which verge on becoming ethereal at points, really add a different flavor to the song. This song is sure to have you bobbing your head for days!

TV & Movies

As a young, African American woman in STEM myself, this is a movie I can seriously get behind! I always love learning about my people’s history and this seems like a wonderful story of strength, intelligence, and overcoming crazy odds! I can’t wait to see Hidden Figures!

Blog/Website

Okay so I may be a tad biased as we’re blogger pals, but Lauren over at Wonderless Reviews runs an absolutely superb blog! Lauren is the biggest sweetheart and her blog is simultaneously honest and fun! Lauren regularly does reviews, tags, and discussions as well as general bookish fun posts, but recently, she also began making book inspired wallpapers and they’re insanely good! So go check her blog out and say hi to her–you definitely won’t regret it!

News

Recently Maggie Stiefvater incited total and complete chaos within the Raven Cycle fandom by tweeting that she’d outlined (outlined–not even written or proposed it to her publisher!) a new trilogy centering around Ronan Lynch!

Quote

“She runs. Not away, but toward.”
—Illuminae by Amie Kaufman and Jay Kristoff
So that’s all for this update, ducklings! I need to say that I’ll probably be posting a little less just because of school and my crazy schedule but I will be posting. I’m sorry for the brief, unannounced hiatus but I’m so happy to be back (and betta than eva)! That’s all for today! Tata for now! (sidenote: does anyone remember when we used to text “ttfn” which stood for “tata for now”?)

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Lila is a 27-year-old college student studying physics and a lover of literature. When she's not busy reading or saving the world through science, Lila can be found singing jazz and blues and obsessing over hedgehogs (a.k.a. the cutest animals in the multiverse!)

6 thoughts on “Hey What’s Up Hello!”

  2. Wow, your school sounds awesome!!! And I’m so glad it’s turning out to be just what you needed 🙂

    Don’t hate me, but I’m still deciding about reading Stolen Songbird? *covers face* I’ve heard such mixed things about. Some people love it, other people hate it. I’ve yet to see anyone in between lol.

    I do love that Genghis Khan song though! It’s so much fun! Thanks for sharing my post, and have a great week 🙂

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  4. I’m so happy you finally found a place you’re comfortable in :D, and you’re taking Arabic classes? That’s cool! If you need someone to practice with, you know where to find me haha, and biology has always been one of my favorite classes !
    I agree, Lauren is such a wonderful person !! I love talking to her ❤

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  6. Ahhh, Lila. You’re the absolute sweetest. Thanks so much for the mention 😘😘 I’m so happy you’ve found a school that you’re comfortable with. I suffered major anxiety during high school and when I left and attended Australia’s kind of community college I felt so much more at ease. The students, lecturers and environment in general was SO much better.

    Nevernight is AMAZING!!! I hope you love it ♥

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