What's Going On?! Where Have You Been?!

       Last we spoke I was happy with my school life and heading off to New Orleans for the Katy Perry Prismatic Tour! Today, I sit in my office with far too much homework and an overwhelming feeling of dread and panic. My "easy" semester took off suddenly when my 8-week math course began. Around the same time I also started a new job and moved into my first apartment. Needless to say, blogging, reading, and writing have been the lowest priority on my agenda for about a month now.

       This doesn't mean I'm gone for good, but I did want to check in with you all. I have 3 weeks left of this semester and then I can begin focusing on other projects, such a life, christmas present crafting, and blogging. But in saying that, a lot is changing. I want to push through and make blogging a priority in my life, once again. So come January there will be some great new things rolling out and all of that will be on a new hosting site! As soon as all this information is nailed down I will let you all know. Expect something new for the New Year from Positively Rae!

Until then, you can keep up with me here:

Twitter: @Positivelyrae

Instagram: @positively_rae

xoxo Rae

The Magic of Taking it Slow // Student Life

This semester, for the first time in my college career, I'm not taking the max number of credit hours I'm allowed to. I'm really enjoying this chance to slow down and figure out what I really want in life. 

Here's the Magic:

1. Time to plan.
   With my smaller course load, I've been able to dedicate real time to planning a strategy for each class I'm enrolled in and I can spend more time on the assignments.
2. Freedom to enjoy life.
   Not having to be in class all the time or studying for classes when not in them, I have more time to go to the library for leisure, take a walk with my partner, and volunteer.
3. Time to dabble.
   I've always been a dabbler, a kind of jack-of-all-trades. I love to pick up hobbies and crafts to find the ones I want to stick with. Now, for the first (non-summer) time since high school, I can pick up watercolors and fashion curating, just for the hell of it.
4. Time to intern.
   This year begins my first full school year with my internship at the Pet Education Project (PEP!) With my smaller workload, I can now really dedicate the time to sit down and work on my intern projects as well as get in the field with my fellow PEPpy People and my buns to make a difference.
5. Freedom to develop.
   Being in classes has always been restricting to me. More so in my own personal and social development than in any other way. Having more time outside of classes to discover new loves, move out of my parent's home, work, etc. is giving me the opportunity to grow in myself and develop a clear sense of what I really want. To me, college is the time to dabble and figure out what you want in life, but how can you do that if you are nailed to six classes fulfilling just one major and/or core curriculum? 

I'm so glad that I've chosen learning and growth over my formal education. I'd never dropout/not get my degree, but I feel, for myself at least, that graduating then growing is defeating the purpose of college. I could have my French or English degree by now but neither would have made me happy. I don't know what my bachelor's degree will be in, but I feel certain I will love the time I have remaining to get it.

Are/were you that "max-out" student or did you enroll in minimum hours? Would you do it differently now if you could?

Taking it easy today and enjoying the holiday! Hope it was a great one for you as well!

What's your labor day traditions?

Bout of Books 11.0 // TBR

I promise I'm just going to just re-post my videos here! This one is actually relevant to a previous post! For those who don't care, check out the other links below the Bout of Books things!

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Books Mentioned:

A Natural History of Dragons by Marie Brennan

The Buddha in the Attick by Julie Otsuka

Legend by Marie Lu

The Night Circus by Erin Morgenstern

Burn this Book edited by Toni Morrison

Stardust by Neil Gaiman

The Indigo Notebook by Laura Resau

~ Links ~

Bout of Books Read-a-thon: http://raegoesaway.blogspot.com/2014/08/bout-of-books-11.html

Jean // BookishThoughts: https://www.youtube.com/user/bookishthoughts

Rosianna: http://youtube.com/rosianna

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• Thanks to Kristin over at My Life as a Teacup I've become a little obsessed with the idea of a capsule wardrobe. 
• Here's some good food for thought as I find myself less and less in the college world and more and more in the "real," "grown-up" world.
• I've loved the YouTube channel Geek & Sundry for a while now, especially Table Top, but the web series Spooked has definitely caught my attention. 

Other than that, the last week has been crazy and this week is looking even crazier!

What are you reading (for Bout of Books or otherwise)? How was the last week in your life?

Let's Do Youtube: Introducing PositivelyRae

Yep, back on the Youtube train. Got derailed but back better than ever. Subscribe if you'd like to see more videos! If not, keep an eye out here for bloggity things :)

Happy Monday all!

Are you on Youtube? What's your channel? And/or who are some of your favorite Youtubers?