Romanticizing my aesthetic academic autumn girl life

I originally had a autumn outfit look book scheduled for today, but unfortunately I have fallen ill and I wasn't able to get those photos taken, but stay tuned hopefully for next week. Instead, I'm going for a more laid back post today, but still providing autumnal vibes to you guys this Monday evening.

On the academic side of school, last year did not go how I had hoped. I have been feeling nervous about falling into that again this fall, but I'm trying to stay hopeful in making the change. I have many more skills in my back pocket this year to keep me on track, but the most fun non-skill aspect of what I've been doing, is romanticizing my life in one of my favorite seasons. For this post, I'll walk through some of my favorite practices.

The most surprising new development in my routine has been studying in the library??? The library hasn't been somewhere I usually gravitate to when it comes to doing homework, typically because when I'm writing or doing other random tasks, working in complete silence is very uncomfortable for me. When it comes to doing reading for class, that silence has actually been beneficial, especially with reading text (like Bible verses for theology) that takes more focus than for example a modern novel would for me. Also, going to the library gets me out of the house and my bedroom (where I'm always distracted by other things I could be doing). So then, I roll up to the library in my cute outfit and a little beverage (coffee, water, Diet Coke, something else of the sort) and get to studying. I imagine everyone thinking "Woah look at this mysterious girl reading over there. She's so academia, Rory Gilmore, Blair Waldorf," and that truly aids in my ability to push through my homework. Because then, not only am I focusing on my studies, but also making life more fun. It has actually led to me feeling more inspired in my career goals as well.

The next thing has been walks with my roommates. I'm actually obsessed with doing this it is not even funny. It serves as so many things for me. 1.) it is a form of mindfulness! Even though I know I have things to do when I get home, every stress falls away for a bit and I get to just enjoy the present moment. 2.) I get fresh air and nature! Even though I go to school in the city, I'm not downtown, so I'm surrounded by walkable neighborhoods and close to nature. Sometimes we go to the Mississippi river. 3.) Lastly, it is social time! I talk so much and have a million things to say, and when I get stressed out and busy, I isolate and then feel like I'm going to explode with all that I want to talk about, so going on walks (or anytime throughout the day in general) I get to talk to my best friends.

Every Thursday, I go to Fashion Association meetings so I take the bus down to my old college. Those afternoons are some of my favorite times because I get to spend an hour with cool people working on fashion, and then after, I typically run errands or get a sweet little coffee treat and I feel so city girl taking the bus, getting coffee, speed walking, having an AirPod in playing All Too Well 10 Min Version etc. etc. etc. It is a feeling even more amplified with crisper weather and falling leaves.

Next, is my beloved bedroom. All my decor is just *chef's kiss* extraordinary, but in the morning, my room is littered with rainbows from the sun-catchers in my windows, and when it gets dark at night, I light my fall scented candles, which I'm struggling to smell right now with my illness clogged sinuses, and turn on my warm lit lamps and string lights making my room feel so cozy, no matter what I'm doing whether it be watching TV, doing homework, reading the September issue of Vogue, or just listening to music doing random things.

This next one is something I don't even have to romanticize: hanging out with friends. My friends are such amazing and beautiful people and hanging out with them makes me feel so appreciated and gives me joyful moments to come back to when things get hard. Coming to school this fall, I've come back to my friendships I've made before, and also have been making new friends which is so exciting.

Lastly, my most favorite piece to romanticizing my aesthetic academic autumn girl life, is FASHION!!!!!!!!!! Getting ready in the morning is my favorite daily ritual. I've been filming "Get Ready With Me" videos on TiKTok because how else would I further the aesthetic. When I do my hair, and my makeup, and put on a cute outfit, I feel so much more awake and motivated for the day. I get to play dress up and once I'm ready, I get to strut down to school and into class looking so fabulous. As I talked about in my post How falling in love with fashion changed my life, dressing in the way I wanted in middle school and high school was something that was difficult for me with self judgement and judgement from my peers. Now, I wore booties with 3 inch heels to class today. Some may argue that is way too much for a 10:55 a.m. class, I however would say who cares. A few weird side eyes is a small price to pay for expressing myself.

Among all my skills being put into action this fall, adding some fun in the sense of romanticizing is bringing me joy. To add even more, I want to start journaling more and also getting back into collaging. They are both things I've really wanted to do, but feel like I don't have time for. I've decided I'm going to make time for it. With all the go go go of life right now, having mindful decompression activities is necessary.

I hope you enjoyed my sick day post about my delusion-rooted aesthetic life, I'll be back for more fall content next week!

<3 Lainey