Category: Weekly Life Updates

Weekly Life Updates

Happy 4th Anniversary, Victon! ♣️

liz

Happy Anniversary, boys!

It’s insane to think that a year ago around this time, you were completely wrecking my ult group, X1, with your 5th Mini Album, nostalgia, and how fucking personal and beautiful every song on the album was. At first, it wasn’t my cup of tea, but after watching the music video and watching the performances of the title track, “nostalgic night”, something about you boys captivated me.

I was a PDX101 fan; I remember watching the show over the summer and being so mesmerized by Byungchan’s visual and Seungwoo’s vocal and how well put together they were as trainees on the show. They were debuted idols already, getting a second chance at not only redebuting in a new group, but in hopes that if they did not make the final lineup, their fans will come back to them in Victon and fall in love with them as a group. In an industry with a BTS, NCT, and other monster boy groups, Victon’s success was subpar. Many people didn’t know of them despite being a group that debuted in November 2016. Prior to “nostalgic night”, they never had a music show win. Long and behold on 11/12/19, Victon had their first win, and wow – it was an emotional one; one for finally getting that win, for going through a time in their careers where disbandment was being discussed, and because Seungwoo was promoting in the PDX101 project group, X1, at the time.

It was their chemistry that got me during the summer of 2019. Watching their old reality show from 2017, it made me realize that they were more than just a group of 7 guys. They were legitimately a family, and they loved each other like brothers. In an industry where Kpop is heavily scripted and put together artificially, Victon never felt fake. They were honest, and real, and their tears and love for their fans (Alice) never felt like they came from a manufactured place. After having Victon literally destorying my life for the latter half of 2019, I finally came to terms like these boys were my boys, and they were the group that I was meant to ult. That day was 1/9/20, on my birthday, while listening to their song “The Chemistry” on the bus on my way to work.

It’s been one hell of a year for me, and it’s not even over because they are making a comeback in December with a full length album; the first in their discography. But, within the year, they’ve had two concerts, one fanmeeting, two comebacks, and so many amazing things for them as a group and for them individually!

For me, I’ve became a kpop collector; solely a Victon collector. I created a trading account in the kpop community on Instagram and in the process met so many amazing people that finally understood my love for a genre and a group as Victon. I met my best friend solely through our mutual love and utter trash for our boys. I’ve been the happiest I’ve been in a really long time because this is the first time in a really long time I felt like I was owning my damn identity. I have tattoos (3 actually) that are Kpop inspired. I wear pins and buttons and jewelry with Victon on them; I have Seungsik’s name on me in my outfits all the time because that man is my ult and like, wow the love for that man is unreal. TLDR; although there are moments where I feel like I don’t fit in due to my own worries and anxiety, I still can step back and see just how much I finally do belong in a community.

So, in all honestly – thank you, Victon, for being the catalyst for the many things to happen in 2020.

사랑해요 ~~ ❤

Weekly Life Updates

Weekly Update! (12/11 – 12/17)

liz

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Hey guys, welcome back to TNTH!

It’s literally been ages since I wrote a weekly update on TNTH, but ya girl has to fill up some space nevertheless for TNTHmas, so I figured I’d recap my week.

This week has been a really rough one. One of the toughest ones I had in a long time.

If you read Day One of TNTHmas, you guys will know that I’ve been dealing with an immense amount of anxiety and depression that has been building up in me for the last year, and this week I’ve been living in its puddle of shame and guiltiness for everything that’s been happening. Honestly, there’s just a lot of stuff going on that is overwhelming, and it made me shut down a couple of times before. But, I know once I hand in my final papers in a couple of days, I should feel more relaxed and straight-minded.

Speaking of school, my last day of class was on Tuesday and I can’t believe that I made it through another semester. I seriously have one more before I graduate and I am so not ready for the shit-ride next semester is going to put me through. It’s just going to feel good to know that this lifestyle I am living as a grad student will be over soon and I could say that I did that shit.

Lastly, I am wrapping up my papers so that in the break I have from now until the end of January, I can do some revaluation on myself and begin 2018 on a better note. These next couple of weeks I just want to take walks every single day and embrace everything around me. I want to set goals regarding my thesis so that by the end of January, my thesis is intact and just needs to be tweaked and polished up. I want to have my head on so tightly that nothing can bring me down. I am ready to press restart.

Anyway, I hope everyone is enjoying TNTHmas! There’s definitely a lot more to come; we still have an entire week left! See you tomorrow for day five!

 

-Liz. (:

Weekly Life Updates

September Birthday Wishes!

liz

Hey guys, welcome back to TNTH!

I just wanted to wish Happy Birthday to some important people in my life; it just so happens that their birthdays all fall in like a three-day time span.

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Anyway, Happy Birthday to my closest college friend, Tori! (She’s the other bitch in the picture and by bitch I mean dog.) Her birthday was on Thursday, and even though she’s considered a Virgo-Libra cusp (cusp meaning the day of the month where some horoscopes consider that day to be the prior zodiac sign, or the next one), she’s definitely a Virgo. Besides being an English Teacher in Pennsylvania, her true talents shine through in art. Tori showcases her art on her Instagram, as well as her YouTube page currently under construction under the same name, StrangeBird Illustration. I hope you guys show her some love on her platforms and tell her Liz sent you! 😉

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Happy Birthday to my older sister, Megan! Her birthday is actually tomorrow, so here’s an early birthday post! Being a younger sister, my older sister didn’t like me a lot when we were younger. We have some pretty crazy stories about our childhood we always talk about like how she threw a full soda bottle at me while I was using the bathroom, but I guess I grew on her as the years passed. Megan is my best friend; she knows everything that goes on with me whether it’s good or bad, and I’ve come to really value her as we grow older. Being each other’s only sibling, we definitely look out for each other and speak about any issues that affect us both. It’s personally been a rough year for the both of us, but whenever we get together it’s just non-stop jokes and laughter. I love you Meg, have a great birthday!

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Happy Birthday to my mother! My mother’s birthday is also tomorrow, so it’s pretty cool that both my sister and mother share the same birthday. You don’t hear that happening often! I mean, what can I say about this woman? She’s taught me almost everything I know and follow as a woman myself. She’s confident, outspoken, and strong, and I strive to be everything that she is because even if things are going on with her personally, she continues to be the unbelievable funny person she is. Thank you for being an amazing mother to me and Megan; continue being the 29-year-old woman you will forever be! ❤

 

Happy Birthday to all the September babies out there! Go and flaunt your birthday selves! Here’s my gift to you all:

 

 

 

-Liz. (:

Weekly Life Updates

Happy 25th Birthday, Obie!

liz

Just a quick little shout out to my best friend of 8 years whose birthday is today! I met Obie when I was just 15 years old and he was 17, and I can’t believe that he’s now 25 years old. In honor of his birthday, I wanted to share 25 things that randomly pop up in my head about him and our very long friendship, but for the sake of time and my poor fingers that will literally be writing this all day, here are 10 things about it! 😀

  1. The first day of my sophomore year, I had third-period Physics with a bunch of seniors (I was really good in science). Anyway, my teacher had asked the class what “E=mc²” was, and when I raised my hand to answer it, Obie had looked at me and said, “okay, Liz!” At this time, Obie only knew me briefly; we unofficially met in a math class I had my freshman year but after that little encounter…
  2. … We became friends because we sang in the same choir. In my All About 2010 post, I explain that I was in Performing Choir for the first time and it holds a special place in my heart because it’s where Obie and I officially became friends. Our choir was intense; we had after-school rehearsals for shows that we were going to do, and we traveled to a lot of places to perform. You can say we spent a lot of time together, and we just became close because of it.
  3. Back to physics: when we became official friends, I helped him out with physics whenever he didn’t get or understand something. During one test, I allowed Obie to copy some answers on my test and when our teacher caught him, he practically begged him to just penalize him and not me. I found it quite endearing that he would take full blame. That’s when I was like “alright, I fuck with you. You’re cool beans.” On another occasion, I had completed pages and pages of extra credit homework he had to do or else he wouldn’t graduate on time. Let’s just say we had each other’s backs hardbody. (And still do, under other circumstances).
  4. He is a man of many talents. Not only was he a baritone in Performing Choir, but he also ran his own dance group, Bad Intentionz, and created the choreography for it. I told him back then that his true calling was dancing and teaching it. He denied it. 8 years later, and now he teaches dance to middle school kids. I always knew it was his calling.
  5. He once watched me down an entire Big Mac on a coach bus on our way home from a performance. It’s not as dirty as it sounds. Literally, I was eating a Big Mac and he turned around from his seat and watched me eat it. I asked him afterward why would he even want to see me do so, and he responded with “you’re such a little girl with little hands; it was cute seeing you eat.” Eight years later, and he says the same thing whenever we eat together.
  6. In a turn of events, he was my first kiss. I was a 15-year-old girl surrounded by girls with boyfriends and who had their first kiss checked off their bucket lists. Me? I didn’t have anything checked off from mine. I always dreamt about how mine would be like and how special I wanted it to be. When I met Obie and started to get close to him, I became attracted to him (I used to have this thing where if boys used to give me the time of day and be my best friend I would instantly fall for them, hence why I had so many crushed in elementary and middle school). Obie felt different, and something in me was telling me to go for it whenever I had the chance, and I did. Most girls look back at their first kiss and cringe because it was with some boy that they never liked or did it just for the sake of doing it. I still don’t regret mine.
  7. Because I had this little crush on him in high-school, I use to be really eager to leave my English class just so that I saw him leave his government class a few doors down. It’s funny, because one time, I got out of class to go to my next one, and when we both met up in the hallway, he took me to find his boy that kept on bothering me at lunch. In the middle of the hallway, he was telling this boy off and telling him to leave me alone, and one of my friends passed by us and went “is that him?” Man as nervous and anxious I was then, it was cute of him to do so.
  8. So, Obie was actually at my high-school prom, and not as my date. He was dating a girl at the time and came as her date, but I was so excited for him to be there and experience my prom with me. Occasionally we danced (I remember dancing to “Beez in the Trap” by Nicki Minaj with him, which I don’t even know why we chose that song to dance to) but it was insanely fun and possibly one of the “few” highlights of my senior Prom. Spoiler: most of it sucked.
  9. I’m a girl who is constantly evolving. I learn from my mistakes and I try to become better out of them, but in the process, I’ve lost best friends who couldn’t handle my transitions. Obie has been my best friend for 8 years for a reason, and it’s not because I’ve had this strong attraction to him. Obie is a great example of a friend. When you know a person will always have your back whenever you fall down, you know that person is a good friend. I realized that about him when…
  10. … I fell into a major depression 5 years ago. As mentioned in my All About 2012 post, I was not in the right mind space. I’ve lost friends due to rumors and gossip, and despite it all, Obie never really left my side. There was damage made on both sides of our friendship, but he never thought about leaving me. Every year on our friendaversary, I thank him for never giving up on me because everyone in my life has given up on me at one point, and it’s a blessing to have someone who didn’t, and won’t.

Of course, I have 8 years worth of stuff to write about, but some of it is better left for us to laugh and cringe about. I’ve honestly watched him grow up into the man he is today, and the transformation (and glo’ up) have been surreal. There’s still so much left to learn about each other, and so many adventures to have and memories to make, so hey – here’s to 8 years of an amazing friendship, and 25 years of an amazing person.

 

Have a great day, Gemini! >:]

-Liz (:

Weekly Life Updates

♥ Happy Easter! ♥

liz

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Happy Easter, TNTH readers! Whether you celebrate the holiday or not, I just wanted to write a little Sunday post to personally thank the people who came out during Spring Break to hang out with me on Instagram Live before every TNTH post was published. It was really fun to talk to you guys and tell you about some of these TNTH posts and inspiration behind them. I also shared some little surprises coming to the blog in the next couple of months, which I will let you guys know once everything is finalized. 

So yeah, I hope you guys are enjoying the last days of your Spring Break (if you are currently on it), I hope you’re spending time with family on this Easter Sunday (again, if you celebrate it), and again, thank you so much for your support and feedback on TNTH!

I also wanted to give a quick birthday shout out to a fellow blogger and old friend of mine, Nina. Nina is the creator and writer of SparklyWarTanks, a blog whose core message is to empower women in every aspect of their lives whether it be social, spiritual, mental, etc. She is turning 23 today, and you guys should totally wish her a happy birthday and read all of her inspirational stuff on her blog.

See you all on Tuesday; enjoy the last of your weekend and break! 😀

-Liz (:

Weekly Life Updates

Schedule Update for TNTH!

liz

Hey guys.

As I prepare for the tedious Spring semester (which I start tomorrow), I realize that my time for TNTH is going to have to be cut in half for the time being. For the past month since TNTH launched, I’ve been pre-writing blog posts for the upcoming month so that while adjusting to my new school schedule, I won’t have to worry about writing posts for the blog.

With that being said, after doing these posts for almost a month now, I am starting to realize certain content that I am posting is not working for my new school schedule.

The new schedule is up on the Schedule section located in the navigation bar. A basic description will be up there for readers to see, but if you want to personally know what I’m doing from here on out, keep reading!

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Continue reading “Schedule Update for TNTH!” →

Weekly Life Updates

Update: 1/16/17 – 1/22/17.

liz

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These weeks are just flying by already. January is about to end soon.

As I begin to prepare myself for yet another hectic semester of grad school, this week wasn’t that great to report back on. The closer we get back to the beginning of a new semester, the less that we do because we’re all trying to gather ourselves and get ready for our return. I know I certainly have. 

Just like last week, I will be discussing some of my highlights for the week; the good, the bad, and the in between!

  1. I definitely had my fair share of mood swings this week. TMI, but I only feel like distinctive mood swings when the time of the month begins to prepare itself to come. I just finished that part of the month, and the mood swings were real this week. Sometimes I find myself getting very uptight around this time of year because of the things coming my way such as a new semester, and sometimes I have to let myself freak out and get things ready. I don’t know, maybe it’s the Capricorn in me.
  2. My belated birthday present arrived in the mail! I’ve expressed my interest in this Polaroid camera for months; I just missed having physical photos of memories and people in my hands. So, for my birthday gift, I got the Instax Mini 26, which in my opinion looks so much better than the overrated Mini 8 cameras. While this will definitely be a January favorite of mine, I’m just so excited to take pictures of my friends and family, and actually cherish them.
  3. My post on the Importance of Mental Health received some of the greatest feedback I’ve gotten as a writer. That post holds a lot of sentimental value to me because it was the first time I ever wrote about it and made it public. It’s something I still am afraid to publicize because, well, people are always watching you whether you know it or not. My mental health story was the aftermath of what real people help caused, and I write about real people in there. Once I got the feedback that I did after posting it, I seriously felt so fearless. It really showed me that I shouldn’t apologize for telling my story and sharing it out with you guys and possibly to the world. This stuff happens to real people every single day, and I know that I can help those who are currently living it by writing down my story. Again, thank you so much for believing in me, and for listening to what I have to say.
  4. Like usual, I spend a day of the weekend with the one and only. Fun fact about me: I’ve been seeing Obie every weekend for the past 5 years. My body does this thing where if I miss seeing him one weekend (like if mother nature is just too powerful to bare), the rest of my upcoming week is just serious trash. Something about seeing him helps me put that extra shimmer in my week ahead, and to this day it never fails to work.
  5. My family and I had our annual “Christmas in January” celebration with out extended family. Due to the fact that we all live pretty far from each other, we decide to do a haul of things in January: we celebrate Christmas, we celebrate my birthday, we celebrate my cousin’s birthday, and we celebrate the new and upcoming year. Weekends in Jersey are always fun for me to go to, because something always tends to happen (we have a very dramatic Italian side of the family and I can only imagine how bringing around a guy would be in the future). Either way, my highlight most of time during these family gatherings is playing with my grandparent’s dog, Foxy, and eating a busload of food and goodies.

Here’s to the official last week of winter vacation! Let’s make the best of it!

-Liz (:

Weekly Life Updates

Update: 1/9/17 – 1/15/17.

liz

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This had to of been the longest week ever, and I have absolutely no reason why it felt that way.

Despite a little hiccups this week, the outcome of it was really positive and really set the mood for the rest of the month. I want to do these updates about me on a weekly basis by ending my week on a positive note, even if the majority of the week wasn’t. But that’s for future reference; this week was actually a good one!

  • Obviously, my birthday was this week! My birthday was a quiet one this year because it was too cold to go outside and it was on a Monday. Instead of wasting it by shamelessly refreshing my social media accounts for the “HBD” posts, I decided to be positive about it and make this blog my main focus of that day. Because of that, my birthday turned out to be one of the most positive ones I had.
  • TNTH was launched! A little fun fact about this: this blog was very last minute. I didn’t plan anything ahead of time, and this wasn’t something I wanted to do for a long time. I simply started the blog out of fearlessness; I wanted to do something different and instead of letting my anxiety tell me to not do it, I did it because I wanted to do. I’m glad that I did, because creating TNTH has allowed me to share who I am creatively through my own expressive writing. Grad school (especially my MA program) is very more academic-driven and lacks the importance of expressive writing, and my first semester taught me that I wasn’t gonna have time to do anything else but academic writing. I am learning to balance both of them out, and I hope that I can continue doing so when the semester starts. Finally, thank you guys so much who checked out the blog and who keep coming back to check out new posts. I am not only doing this for me, but for you guys too! I hope that we can build a community of readers on here one day.
  • I got my nose pierced. Speaking of fearlessness, I went to get my nose pierced one morning this week and I’m so happy that again, my anxiety didn’t get the best of me. I guess this week had this theme of testing out fearlessness, because I keep doing things spontaneously and I hope that I stick with it for the rest of the year.
  • I spent the weekend with Obie. For those of you who may not know Obie, then I guess you really don’t know who the hell I am. I’ve spent my birthday with him for the last 5 years, and although I didn’t get to spend Monday with him, we did a belated birthday celebration Friday night into Saturday. When I tell you that this man can cook… you wish your favorite could. Totally kidding, but it’s one of his many perks that I like about him. He made dinner for us last night, had a couple of drinks and just relaxed. That’s one of my many perks: you don’t need money to razzle dazzle me. Just feed me, obviously.

What’s to come: This next week will probably be a carbon copy of this past week, minus the celebrations and such. Classes start up in two weeks, so this week will probably consist of me pre-planning TNTH posts for the upcoming weeks and brainstorm more ideas. Of course, I’ll probably see Obie during the weekend. I know he’s putting on a talent show on Friday in Harlem. Next Sunday, my family and I will be celebrating “Christmas in January” as I like to call it (More on that during next weekend’s update).

Here’s to a new week, and here’s to making it positive and productive!

-Liz (:

Weekly Life Updates

Hello, 23! (And hello readers!)

liz

Happy Birthday to me, and to the official launch of TNTH!

If you’re here, thank you so much in advance for checking this out. It means the absolute world to me knowing that people are clicking the blog link to come check out what’s this new and spontaneous thing that I kept talking about for days straight. This really was something that came up outta the blue, and I decided to go ahead and try it.

So, here I am. (:

In the near future, I will be developing a schedule of the days that I post and what you can look forward to on those specific days! It might change in a few weeks due to school starting soon (and grad school literally eats up all my free time), but I will try my best to keep up with the schedule that I’m anticipating.

So yeah, I guess that’s pretty much it, and I’ll let you guys check it out! 😀

-Liz (: