My 13 Reasons Why

Let me preface this by saying the title is based off my lucky number, not the TV show. Now let's get into it.

1. "My favorite color is orange" said no one ever. I'm not kidding though. Not gonna lie, I started liking orange way back when I was into Scooby-Doo as a kid; I was Velma for Halloween one year. And to expose myself a little bit, I like having different favorites than other people. It's the same with my lucky number. I like being different. I don't think I have to tell you how easy it is to stand out in bright neon orange. I don't do it a lot, but when I can pull it off, you bet I wear it. I'm so passionate in every little like I have that as a joke my friends will buy me random orange trinkets for my birthday. It's nice. For my thirteenth birthday, my friends made me 13 orange cupcakes. If you ever see someone in a neon orange car and wonder if it's me, it's probably not unless I've somehow won the lottery or magically went back in time to before I was a broke college student.

2. Taylor Swift. A lot of people assume my inspiration as a writer comes from another novelist. But from day one, Taylor Swift has been what has inspired all my romance books and passion to keep going. She's an amazing writer and lyricist and she has positive messages and does a great job conveying emotion. And I love that. When I think of her, I think of lyrics like "casually cruel," and "nightmare dressed like a daydream." Someday I want to inspire and make people feel things with my words like she does all too well.

3. Dots pretzels. No explanation needed.

4. Sad romantic movies with tragic endings. I can't tell you how many people have been concerned with me that I can watch the saddest movies like The Fault in Our Stars (I know every line) and never get sick of them. I cry like a baby every time too. It's not that I want to be sad. I just think so many sad movies show pain in beautiful ways and they teach you a hidden kind of happiness through the sadness. I hope I can do that someday with one of my books.

5. One Tree Hill. I don't know if you know the show, but it's pretty much my Grey's Anatomy. Yeah, it's drama and the entire reason I watched it was to make sure Naley (Haley and Nathan) got together, but it had so many other good themes. Like family betrayal and depression and friendship that goes beyond high school. The show even jumped over college and you got to see them as adults. The lasting friendship is why I watch it so much. I may or may not be making my family keep our Hulu subscription just so I can watch that one show.

6. Writing of course. No words can describe how much it means to me. I can't survive without it. I've tried to give up but I always come back.

7. My friends, family & everyone else who has had a great impact on my life. Us humans are social beings and we need people who are always there. I don't mean people who look like they're there. I mean people who are there no matter what. If there was an Apocalypse, they might not sacrifice themselves over you, but they would stick with you and do everything in their power to avoid you getting sacrificed (obviously if they die or are already zombified they couldn't but I'm sure they'd do it in spirit).

8. God. After my most recent breakup, I've been trying to strengthen my relationship with Him and reestablish my faith for my purpose. He's a constant in my life I'm grateful for and I'm excited to learn more about Him and myself, and figure out what I should and shouldn't change.

9. My best friend for life: Sophie. She gets her own number because she did what I thought no one else could: when I was down and thought nothing could ever get better and when I was negative all the time, she got me to want to get better; she got me to see my life through a different perspective and I have so much more faith, love, and resilient positivity today because of her. And we can be our goofy selves and we like to go on spontaneous adventures. She's the outgoing one who takes me out of my comfort zone. We talk about faith, boys, silly random things, our fears, the future, anything and everything. She's my person.

10. Running. If I have music, I can run four miles straight and not even realize it. Running gives me this peaceful adrenaline rush similar to what writing gives me. I don't want to stop. After I do it, I feel so accomplished. And it helps me sort through my thoughts. I know it's physical exercise, but I'd argue it's a mental exercise for me too.

11. Spring Break. I'm leaving in literally a week from tomorrow to go with a few college friends and I can't wait! I'm going to Florida where it's warm and escaping the blizzard that is Michigan. Warmth, friends, laughs, food, I'm looking forward to all of it. It'll be real fun once they realize I don't know how to rollerblade. Anyone else suck at it like me? Sometimes I struggle to walk. Wheels and skates are a whole other thing.

12. Mint Chocolate Chip. I just really want some right now to be honest. Ever since I've been on campus, it's definitely been a struggle to be away from good food.

13. Me & everything else. I'm always excited to see where life will take me and where I'll take my life.