Happy Halloween! It usually isn't high on my list of favorite holidays, but I've been so excited about it this year. I work nights, so a lot of things like haunted hayrides and zombie pub crawls usually don't work out with my schedule. In fact, this is the first Halloween I'll have plans in three years. (Two of those years I can blame on work. The other one I can blame on my immune system not doing its job.)
I decided this year I wanted to be a normal 20-something and have a normal 20-something Halloween experience, so I took the day off and I'm ready for all the tricks and treats the holiday will bring.
But what is Halloween without costumes? I'm going as an updated version of Princess Peach -- any excuse to wear hot pink and a crown is fine by me. It's a good costume, but probably not my best from recent years.
As a freshman in college, my best friend Tashia and I dressed up as ninjas, complete with real ninja weapons we borrowed from a friend who does martial arts.
My sophomore year, a group of us dressed up as "Mean Girls." At the time, I thought we were the coolest people on the planet. And I still think that. I know there are five people in this photo. We had two Karens. It's fine.
My junior year, I had to work, so I couldn't get too crazy with my costume, but I think I still pulled off a pretty good nerd. I had suspenders and a bowtie and glasses -- that's all you really need. The festivities after work included my first-ever trip to a Waffle House, hence my excitement over a mediocre waffle in the picture.
And this year's costume...
... is unfinished. But it's almost done! I'm planning a post-Halloween post to share my fully accessorized and adorable costume that I pulled off with less than $30. Ya know, in case you need an idea for next year, 360-something days in advance...
I vow to make this the only negative post on this blog.
In fact, the point of this whole project is to share happy things, but the story behind its inception isn't the sunshiniest thing you'll read all day (hopefully).
In college, I thrived. I was happy all the time -- my roommate freshman year told me I even laughed in my sleep (Is that creepy?). I had a life anyone would want, filled with friends and love and support and purpose.
And then I graduated.
I moved 900 miles away from everything I knew and everyone I cared about. I took a job I didn't love with people I didn't know in a city I all but hated. I tried to make the best of it, but it was a rough year to put it politely.
It wasn't all bad, necessarily. I became more independent and self-confident. But I also became more cynical and negative.
Now, my circumstances have changed for the better, but the shadow of that difficult year has been cast over my fresh start in this new place. So, Stephanista is my attempt to shake that.
Everything to follow will be good things -- no exceptions. I'll probably do a lot of fashion posts because that's what I'm passionate about, but this blog will be about more than that. Instead, it will be a learning experience, a scavenger hunt to find and recognize all the beautiful things in life.
I'm hoping this project will hold me accountable to find positive things around me and make the best of not-so-ideal situations.
I'm on a journey to return to being a glass-half-full kind of person -- starting now.
