A Rather Random Post, Indeed

Hello, dear readers! My family and I are taking a little "staycation" this week from school and work, just doing different things in our area, and since I have some extra time on my hands I thought I would do a random "life lately" post. :)

That's me in Colonial Williamsburg last summer, snapping a picture of my sisters. :) I decided to use this as my new profile pic!

This past Saturday, I went to a Newsboys United concert in North Carolina with my parents, siblings, and a few other family members. (If you're familiar with contemporary Christian music, then you've likely heard of this group. If you haven't, you need to check them out!) The concert was absolutely amazing!!! Such a wonderful, wonderful night singing joyful praise to the Lord. The current members of the Newboys were there, of course, but for this particular tour, two of the band's original members from the 80s and 90s, Peter Furler and Phil Joel, performed some of the band's older hits as well. It was incredible, and definitely a night that I won't soon forget! 

Zealand Worship, a band that I hadn't heard of before this, opened for the Newsboys, and I LOVED their performance so much!! The lead singer is actually Phil Joel, the aforementioned former member of the Newsboys. I've been listening to their music pretty much non-stop for the past couple of days, and they've quickly become one of my favorite groups, right up there with Rend Collective. I definitely recommend Zealand's music! <3

There has been yet another new development in my college plans! What a surprise, right? ;P As I mentioned on here before, I had been seriously considering pursuing a degree in history. But the more I thought about, I realized that what I really wanted to study in college was something that involved my passion for art and creativity. So a couple of weeks ago, I came across a brand new program offered online through the college I'm currently enrolled in: a Bachelor of Fine Arts in Graphic Arts. As I read through the course descriptions, I was so excited, thinking to myself, "This is exactly what I've been looking for! This is what I need to do." God led me to discover this program at just the right time, when I had been kind of stressed and worried (unnecessarily) about my college plans. With classes like Drawing, Painting, Digital Photography, and Digital Illustration, I'm really looking forward to starting my freshman year of college this fall! 

While I have thought in the past that turning my hobby into a job would make it less enjoyable, I've come to the realization that I truly do want to do something where I can put my passion for creativity to use. And while I won't be able to stay on-campus for this program like I had been planning, I think I'll be alright. I mean, at least I'll be saving thousands of dollars on room and board! ;)

After about three years or so of using Instagram off and on, I have decided once and for all to say goodbye to this social media platform. While I did enjoy using Instagram for keeping up with people and sharing my artwork, photos, and bookish ramblings, the cons far outweighed the pros of using this app. (I actually wrote down a list of pros and cons for using Instagram, and had only 5 positive aspects, with 9 negative ones!)

The biggest reason why I decided to delete my Instagram account was because it became such a huge distraction for me. It took up far too much of my time, and I hated how after I posted something, I would find myself almost obsessively checking my phone to see if anyone had liked or commented on my photo. Even the positive aspect of being able to share my artwork had a negative side, because it could quickly become self-centered.

I also disliked how easily I could fall into the comparison trap by using Instagram. By looking at other people's lives as they appear on social media, I could start feeling like my own life and talents were inadequate. I was just tired of putting too much value and emphasis on my online presentation of myself, and of "living" through Instagram rather than embracing this beautiful life that I've been given.

While I do think that social media can be used for good, I don't believe Instagram was a healthy thing for me personally. And now that I've deleted my account, I already feel freer because I have one less thing vying for my attention!

I am almost done rereading Persuasion for a scholarship being offered through the the Jane Austen Society of North America (the essay prompt is about that particular novel, which is right up my alley!). I don't think I'll ever tire of Austen's beautiful, witty writing. <3

After this, I'm planning to finally start reading the Lord of the Rings trilogy! I've read The Hobbit twice and I love it, but for some reason I have yet to read the actual series. All that is about to change, however, because I plan to start The Fellowship of the Ring as soon as I finish up Persuasion. I've got the whole trilogy borrowed from the library on my Kindle, ready to go! ;)

Well, I think that's about it for this rather random post. Now I'm off to go catch up on reading some blog posts! (Does anyone else feel bad when you write a post but haven't read or commented on anyone else's recent posts? Or is that just me?)

Have a wonderful day!

Much love, 

Molly

P.S. If you're curious, the photos in this post were taken at Colonial Williamsburg and Luray, Virginia, aka two of my favorite places! :)