Perhaps you’re familiar with the above lady. Perhaps you’re not even familiar with Twitter, let alone Angelina L.B. (albinwonderland on social media, or just ALB). While obviously the aforementioned tweet may have more meaning if you were aware of what Angelina had been going through a year ago (reference video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JsC59AXF-pw&list=UU3Ic1DIdHPuC_uY-Ky5rnIw ), I still think the last statement is universal. Because, I mean, it’s funny what a year can do.

Snap back to reality/ Oh, there goes gravity 

Thank you, Eminem circa 2002 ^

I just wanted an interesting transition into my current situation. Was that interesting?

I couldn’t tell you.

So, anyways, uh, snapping back to reality and all, I’ve been having quite the week. Mostly it has just been the stress of a new school year and really weighing the options of my future, but I’ve also been finding myself missing my friends and family at home. A lot. I found myself calling my dad to talk about politics on Tuesday morning. Normally, I might try and avoid the topic with him, as he’s very… passionate. (My dad is actually an awesome dude, just sometimes it’s a bit overwhelming) But no, Tuesday came and I found myself watching the news wishing my dad was there to give me some back story and somehow work Lawrence of Arabia into his explanation of the crisis in the Middle East (I’ve yet to watch the film, sorry Dad). To top it all off, today I found out I have a staph infection, which temporarily scared the pants off of me, but don’t worry, or do (your choice), I saw an awesome doctor and it’s under control.

My week has been hell, and yet I’ve come so far from where I was a year ago. I am in a massively better place. I had just become enamoured with Angelina’s YouTube channel (youtube.com/albinwonderland) basically when that video was released, and while I have never suffered from depression, I was not in that great of a place, either. Angelina’s videos pulled me into a new world. I had never been aware of feminism on that level before, and she conveyed so many critiques of today’s society in such an eloquent fashion, I just couldn’t help but become enthusiastic about feminism and her work. It was one of the few things that brought me a lot of excitement at that time. I didn’t really have a lot of confidence in my self, or the world, a year ago. I struggled with a lot of anxiety, and it started to snowball, but slowly, slowly, over the course of the past year, my life has really been looking up.

This blog of mine is pretty fresh, but I don’t think that takes away from the honesty or realness of what a year can do, has done, for me, and many others. Perhaps this seems like some sort of wonky albinwonderland tribute, and perhaps it partly is, but it’s also to say thank you to all of those have stuck around.

And mostly, it’s to say, man, it’s funny what a year can do.