November

1: putting together & listening to different playlists on Spotify
2: when your family sends you a flashdrive with a playlist of songs played at a concert you couldn't attend
3: constructing a memory palace to remember the molecular intermediates in cellular respiration
4: elders reacting to modern slang
5: leaves suspended, as if frozen, in the still night air
6: Breaking Bad as a conversation starter
7: getting into a steady rhythm at the lab bench
8: commiserating with classmates about election anxiety
9: a chubby lil squirrel eating stolen food on top of a garbage can
10: finding the practice rooms
11: Middlebury College fall orchestra concert
12: looking at land on Craigslist during work
13: stopping at the corner café on a day trip to Rutland with Mom
14: "Landing Cliffs" by Explosions in the Sky
15: after hours in the laboratory
16: when you're reminiscing about old times with a friend and your friend spontaneously texts you
17: wandering the labyrinth of halls in the dorm
18: sneaking into a classroom and sitting at the professor's desk to do homework
19: lying in the grass and enjoying the last of the sun's warmth before winter
20: finding out one of your favorite books is being made into a movie
21: first New England snow
22: airport dinner of an über-spicy savory crêpe
23: trekking through the muddy woods with rambunctious cat 'n' dog hiking pals in tow
24: contributing to my first vegan Thanksgiving feast
25: going out to see a small local theater company production of A Christmas Carol
26: riding a unicycle with the innovative help of ski poles
27: that state of being asleep where you can still hear the music/radio that's playing but it's still a challenge to fully wake up
28: breath freezing in the sunshine
29: updates about the family pets I visited this Thanksgiving
30: learning about personality psychology

October

1: analyzing how my college stories compare to my actual college life
2: first day on the work-study job
3: figure-out-the-family-tree game at ASL club
4: care package of vegan goodies
5: "chatting" at the language table
6: when a classmate gets excited about and praises a mythological description as a metaphor in a poem
7: tattooing myself with the library due date stamp
8: chillin' in PJs and eatin' snack food while doing homework
9: the busy-work of withdrawing DVDs from the library collection
10: fall valley views from the top of the science building
11: the absolute soothing calm of Gregory Alan Isakov
12: lying in the shade of a solar panel
13: strolling through a light drizzle while everyone else ducks under umbrellas & races for cover
14: listening to the full Hamilton soundtrack for the first time
15: being an NYC tourist & crossing things off my bucket list
16: museum tour in ASL
17: tossing crumbs to the birds in Central Park
18: the homey-ness of putting a rug in your dorm room
19: a clicker-training game in psych class
20: a command from a teacher to participate in class in the form of a compliment about my fluency
21: speeding through writing an essay
22: a fellow Hamilton fan telling me about the PBS documentary
23: seeing snow on the mountain after a day of freezing rain
24: casting my first ever vote
25: reading while walking around campus, standing in line, eating, & waiting for class to start
26: when the dining hall cook especially makes vegan pancakes for you
27: a trilingual conversation buddy
28: initiating bike hibernation
29: bustling around the children's room in the library
30: a contemplative walk through the cemetery the day before Halloween
31: the aroma of green tea

September

1: "Join our fight for what's right / Let your heart be your guide" lyric from "Hero" by Pegboard Nerds feat. Elizaveta
2: packing up for college
3: wind turbines in west Texas
4: highway drive-by the St. Louis arch at 4 a.m.
5: unpacking and decorating my dorm room
6: crazy, hectic, ice-breaker square-dancing
7: gray walls, black roofs, and an indigo sky with stars overhead
8: finding common interests with acquaintances and strangers
9: behind-the-scenes tours and info about different renewable energy sources
10: harvesting potatoes
11: first call back home
12: the mesmerizing tumble of clothes in a dryer
13: epiphanies about your major and path of study while doing homework
14: the fleet of movable library shelves
15: curried quinoa with cauliflower
16: free Friday night movie: Finding Dory
17: piercing the bubble of the college dome and biking off-campus
18: obsession with new-to-me Tristam songs
19: checking out the ASL club
20: class dinner with the faculty heads of our commons
21: Balmorhea to do homework by
22: sending a picture of a tiny potato to my dad for his birthday
23: a beautifully mesmerizing tapestry
24: when my spirits lift from dejection into blissful giddiness upon entering a co-op
25: biking and walking the through-the-woods TAM
26: watching a group of people sign and trying to decipher their conversation
27: cranberry anadama bread
28: an unexpected invitation to hang out from an acquaintance
29: ordering food in ASL
30: "Trust in Me" by Direct, Mr FijiWiji, & Holly Drummond

August

1: baking vegan cheezy crackers
2: stories brewing in my head while storms are brewing in the sky
3: a failed attempt at solar cooking vegan cornbread (but an attempt nonetheless)
4: chilling in the garage to reread an old corny favorite novel
5: enjoying dinner and hanging out with a best friend
6: the premiere of Dimension
7: fancy all-cast farewell dinner
8: finally reading Pride and Prejudice ten years after being introduced to the movie
9: sharing sushi in Uptown
10: reverence for old favorites
11: inspiration after more than a year of writer's block
12: the banter between Beatrice and Benedick
13: the simple love between a boy and his robot
14: experimenting with long exposure night shots
15: playing with action figures in a tiny tiny house
16: when you feel so heartbroken for a character you shed a tear onto the page of your book
17: the Masterpiece and BBC mini-series production of Jane Eyre
18: throwback to the first Maná song I ever heard
19: inscribing Sharpie rune tattoos on my skin
20: some new Bad Lip Readings
21: Shakespeare Retold's Much Ado About Nothing
22: being able to read long passages of a Spanish novel without a dictionary
23: dancing and bopping to "Adventure Time" by Rogue
24: an evening ramble around the neighborhood
25: finishing De amor y de sombra
26: the hardcore insults in BBC's Pride and Prejudice
27: tea and a British mini-series
28: Black or White
29: the simple focus and meticulosity of sewing
30: the heartfelt resolution of Persuasion
31: when your mom hears a band for the first time and guesses their hairstyles without ever having seen them

July

1: pedaling fast through a breezy drizzle
2: eating a Taco Bell bean and rice burrito between takes and stashing it in my back pocket during filming
3: the beauty and serenity at evening in a mountain basin
4: sitting on a retired ski slope and viewing the plains below
5: little interactions with each of my cousins
6: playing in the pool and talking with your friend's little brother at a party
7: jumping back into filming the Groovy movie
8: showing Mom Honest Trailers and Cinema Sins videos
9: stalking a friendly stray mama dog that trotted off after some passers-by, and said passers-by finding you and letting you know she's safe and sheltered in their home for the night
10: rewatching old Family Guy episodes and laughing at the jokes like you heard them for the first time
11: Impulse by Ellen Hopkins
12: watching old home videos and vlogs and laughing at your past self and childishness
13: Wuthering Heights by (director) Andrea Arnold
14: adventuring and getting lost in the desert wilderness
15: playing and mixing music for my short film soundtrack
16: when you spill water on the sidewalk and a lizard comes over to lap some up
17: getting hooked on Supernanny
18: recording a rant while riding a bicycle in the rain
19: return to playing driving games
20: filming the sunscreen fight
21: savoring the delectable "Foreigner Suite" in celebration of Cat Stevens' birthday
22: saddling a horse and naming him Heathcliff
23: The House of a Thousand Lanterns by Victoria Holt
24: scavenger house hunting
25: when the courtesy clerk is extra courteous
26: revisiting Rotary Park
27: beginning the boycott of the dishwasher
28: encouraging training at a doggy play-date
29: measuring, cutting, taping, then standing back to see phase one of the solar cooker building
30: spray-painting safety wear: bandanna and goggles
31: massaging a sugar brick into soft, crystalline submission

June

1: wandering through the maze and mystery of Meow Wolf
2: impromptu evening game of darts
3: family movie outing to see Zootopia
4: compiling nine years' worth of poems and rediscovering some of your old ones
5: effectively channeling rage for a scene
6: cocooning myself in the hammock as stormy winds blow
7: bringing an unrealized short film to life as a Groovy Movie
8: waking up at dawn to film a sunrise scene
9: quinoa and kidney beans
10: flashback to the Minecraft Survival Games "Mortal Skies" map
11: Daughter of Fortune by Isabel Allende
12: parents-out-of-the-house chill, laid-back hangout party with friends
13: journeying and finding #ChacoNation
14: all-day blue cloudless sky
15: Tru Love
16: Boy Meets Girl
17: dozing off in the hammock
18: opening up the movie: a filming day with extras
19: car-browsing and test-driving with Dad on Father's Day
20: True Sadness
21: randomly having an Oklahoma! song stuck in my head, then watching the Hugh Jackman stage production
22: riding my bike past the mailbox and dropping a letter in
23: a casual stroll in the pelting rain
24: Brickleberry
25: riding in and driving the new car
26: jamming with the SanDisk Clip Jam
27: vegan oatmeal cookies
28: naming Minecraft pets after characters from Les Liaisons Dangereuses
29: "Bang and Blame"
30: settling down to play some games on the tablet

May

1: a vegan spin on chicken noodle soup
2: vegan chocolate mousse
3: picking through Legos in rubber gloves
4: Mom's intro to vegan baking (and cookie deliciousness)
5: makeshift suspenders
6: vegan shepherd's pie for breakfast
7: building my third tiny house model
8: crafting the little kitchen unit
9: when Jane meets Mr. Rochester
10: when you're reading a book and your friend comes up and asks you what part you're at
11: popsicle-stick lap siding
12: joining the first and original Team Edward
13: painting Peachy, the tinny tiny house
14: friendly chats with neighbors you haven't talked to in years
15: laughing and joking about the polygon with the baez
16: the final scene of the Michael Fassbender and Mia Wasikowska Jane Eyre
17: hitting my knee on the corner of my bed and getting a serpentine, S-shaped scar
18: meandering around in the chilly, overcast afternoon with a recuperating friend
19: a quiet, secluded daisy patch behind the library
20: Bernie Sanders rally
21: visiting, critiquing, and judging a for-sale tiny house
22: confidences, and walking in the desert
23: family time and moments with friends on my birthday
24: birthday-gift suspenders
25: audible-collision, body-slam, charge-across-the-room-and-knock-you-down hugs
26: slideshow covering seven years (from sixth grade onward)
27: tablet-flip Envy laptop
28: my family adorning me with leis after the graduation ceremony
29: making graduation gifts
30: typing up an old manuscript
31: bosque bushwhacking with your bestie