coming of age

Today, I took one more step towards adulthood: I registered to vote. And what's more, I voted. Growing up, my parents always kept me very politically aware and constantly reminded me that I was extremely lucky to live in a country where the people can vote for their leaders. I also remember my mum's token advice to me at age 8: "Never marry a Republican."
I have a sense of accomplishment now that I'm sporting a flashy "I Voted" sticker which I can sincerely call my own. I had a large collection of "I Voted" stickers which I saved up over the years when I was younger, collecting them from my parents after each election and proudly sticking them to my bedroom wall. I have yet to decide what to do with my brand new spanking sticker from today...maybe stick it in my "diary." Yes, that is what I will do.
I haven't been getting much more than 5 or 6 hours of sleep every night, which I think is more than clear in recent photos of me. I spent the weekend in rural Minnesota at a house party, and then whizzed back to the cities for a late night Sunday and an impromptu movie night on Monday. Phew. I think I'll be going to bed immediately after completing this blog post. I work tomorrow and mustn't be crabby....That being said, I think I might be able to squeeze in some ice cream before then.
When I got home this morning, I was in desperate need of a shower and some clean clothes. Since I've been feeling so sleepy and blaaahh lately, I decided to add some pep and colour to my outfit with pink and blue. Earlier today, I was browsing the Rookie Tumblr and saw this photo and immediately had sock envy. Sure, I like to boast about my immense sock collection but seriously...nothing can compare to those Frida Kahlo socks. So anyways, that inspired me to wear socks with flats and the best I could pull together were these little floral Keds (which I scored for only $6, but that's another story) paired with these chevron patterned socks. The true charm of the socks comes when I'm shoe-less and Snoopy is visible peaking up from my toes.
I'm also sporting a Hello Kitty Band-Aid. You can imagine my surprise when I pulled a bandage out from my Disney Princess box, only to find that it was Sanrio instead of Belle, Ariel, or even Cinderella! Oh well, I can't complain. I had a horrible mess of bedhead and decided to put my hair up in little buns and put bows in my hair (always a hit on the boy front). I also thought to add extra kitsch to the look by pairing these button earrings which were gifted to me in middle school by a girl in my advisory. Come to think of it, just yesterday I deleted her from Facebook because I hadn't spoken to her in years. Ah, the irony.
I am also wearing this top from my aunt. It has a charming sweetheart neckline and has become a new favourite. I'm also wearing Levi's cut-offs and a leopard print belt for some extra pattern mixing. A few days ago, I needed to look "professional" and decided to finally take my Guatemala bracelets off. Since then, I've been missing them greatly - they were a wonderful token of the great journey I went on and a constant reminder of the beautiful community of faith in San Lucas Toliman. To fill this gap in my heart, I threw on the tape measure bow bracelet and this kitschy charm bracelet from my kiddie years. This bracelet always brings me joy...it's probably the unicorn charm. In fact, there's about a 98% chance that it's the unicorn charm. The rainbows-kitties-and-cupcakes girl in me really comes out whenever I see unicorns and pink.
Anyways, it's really off to bed for me now! Well, ice cream first of course. I'm tired as all get out and am in desperate need of my beauty rest. Being out late every night really isn't worth it if your body is accustomed to waking up at 7am everyday. It's time to get my pep and perk back!