HI FRIENDS!!!

It’s LJ – coming to you all the way from Eagle Rock, California!!! It’s move-in season here at Occidental. This week marks the end of winter break for us TIGERS, and everybody is slowly making their way back to the 90041. Technically, classes don’t start again until the 20th, but a lot of us are here a week early because of jobs, internships, and other super fun responsibilities. I’m moving in early because ….. drumroll please….

I GOT A JOB!!!

If any of you stay up to date with my posts, you’d know that last semester was a bit rocky for me. (If you don’t stay up to date with my posts- that’s okay too!! To catch you up: last semester was a bit rocky for me.) ANYWAYS- I decided because of that that I was going to make a change this semester. I applied for a job at my campus coffee shop, The Green Bean, and was hired as a barista! This semester I’ll be working 6 hours a week with shifts on Tuesday, Wednesday, and Thursday. It’s not much, but it’ll be nice having a bit more money rolling in. With this job, and 20 units of classes, my New Year resolution is to stay busy and disciplined. I’m also looking into applying for a couple of different internships in L.A. because Mondays, Wednesdays, and Fridays I’m free most of the day. But don’t worry – I’m not in the business of all work and no play!! I also have one other new year resolution! Are you ready?

This year, I decided that I’m going to do something every day worth taking a photo of. And by photo, I don’t mean some overrated selfie that I post to instagram (although, my selfies are very impressive, if I do say so myself… follow me on insta@thestripe_“). My plan is to do something meaningful – at least one thing – every day! Whether it be grabbing a cup of coffee with a good friend and having a deep conversation, or going with my dad to get his first pair of glasses (if you’re reading this dad, you look very handsome by the way) — I want to be able to look back on 2016 at the end of the year and have tangible proof that I spent my time with people I care about doing the things that make me happy.

My best friend Maggie got me a polaroid camera for Christmas, so what I’ve been doing is collecting the photos I’ve been taking in a miniature scrapbook and writing the date and an explanation of my adventures from that day in the margins. I’m hoping that this project will help to keep me optimistic even when times get hard, because looking at the scrapbook will remind me that life is filled with wonderful moments and wonderful people that I can lean on when I’m feeling stressed out and overwhelmed. So far, it’s been working for me – so if you’re reading this I want to challenge you to do something similar!!! Polaroid cameras and film can get expensive – so it doesn’t have to be that… But I encourage you to keep a record of moments that bring you joy… Keep a journal and fill it with only happy memories and experiences or fill a mason jar with post-its explaining special/serendipitous/exciting moments from throughout your week. Maybe make a folder in your phone specifically for candid photos that you take of your friends laughing and smiling. I promise you, no matter how you decide to do it, you’ll be happy that you have something heartwarming to look at when you’re feeling low and in the slumps.

 

ON THAT NOTE – I should probably get to sleep. It’s currently 1:39 am and I have training tomorrow morning! Before I go, though, I’ve attached some fun pictures that I’d like to share with you!!

HERE’S A SHIRT THAT I DESIGNED MYSELF AND ORDERED TO WEAR ON MY FIRST DAY ON THE JOB AS A BARISTA!!!

Here are pictures of the scrapbook to give you an idea of what I was talking about:

Here’s a picture of my friends and I on our last day of fall semester. This doesn’t have much to do with the blog post but I really like it:

 

So, with these photos I leave you!!! TUNE IN NEXT TIME for more UPDATES from LJ!!!

I hope you all have a fantastic year full of love and happiness! Feel free to reach out to me here or on social media (shameless self promotion) if you want to talk. My insta is listed above.

God bless,

Lazarus Joe Valenzuela (AKA LJ)