November was such an exciting month. It was insanely fun and busy. I had two trips for back to back weekends, so I had to schedule my time around that along with all the school work that comes with the week before Thanksgiving Break. I’m so glad that I’ve figured out how to prevent burnout or I’d be exhausted right now.
I’ll start with a recap.
//YALL Fest
I wrote an entire post recapping this trip, so I won’t go into too much detail here. Three of my friends and I went to the Young Adult Literary Lovers Festival (AKA YALL Fest). We met a bunch of our favorite authors and got a ton of free stuff. I had more fun than I expected, but my voice was completely gone by Sunday. I had to cancel work to give my voice a rest (The temperature changed too quickly)
Related – Yall Fest Recap | Charleston, SC Trip 2017
//First Plane Ride
This wasn’t technically my first plane ride, but it’s the first one I’ll remember. I traveled by plane a few times when I was really young, but I don’t remember it (we were a road trip family). So for all intents and purposes, this was my first time on a plane.
I was honestly more worried about the process of getting on the plane. Things like TSA and checking into the flight freaked me out more than the actual flying part. I was completely relaxed once I got on the plane.
//Disney World!!!
Oh my goodness, this trip was a dream. You would’ve gotten a recap by now, but something happened to the memory card I used the first day and I have to pay money to recover the photos. Once I do that, I’ll write a blog post. I went to Wal-Mart and bought another memory card the next day before we headed to Hollywood Studios and Animal Kingdom.
I won’t go into too much detail about this trip either because I plan on writing a whole post about it, but I fit a lot into those 3 full days and two half days. I went to all four Disney parks, Disney Springs, The Orlando Eye, Madame Tussaud’s museum, Sea Life, had dinner with twice with two sets of families, and managed to sleep until noon on one of those days. That’s A LOT. You’ll hear more about it in future posts.
Related:
- Weekend At Walt Disney World Recap | Part 1
- Weekend At Walt Disney World Recap | Part 2
- Disney Trip Debrief | Budget, Planning Process, Etc.
//Family Visiting
A bunch of family visited. They were last-minute visits too. My cousin in Tennessee and her husband decided to visit us one weekend. Unfortunately, it was the weekend I was in Charleston, so I only got to hang out with her on Sunday.
My uncle who lives in Texas came to visit us too. I hadn’t seen him in over a year, so it was exciting. He came to Atlanta while I was in Orlando, but I still got to spend a few days with him when I got back. (He left the morning of Thanksgiving Day to be with his wife and kids for Thanksgiving dinner. He just came down here to visit his side of the family).
He took me and my brother Zidan to the movies to watch Justice League. I really enjoyed it. It was funny and I got to see a bunch of my favorite childhood characters (I like both DC and Marvel. I don’t get why people have to pick) in live action. I probably wouldn’t have watched the movie in theatres if it weren’t for my uncle, but seeing it on the big screen definitely made it better.
My cousins also slept over for 4 straight days and we saw them at Thanksgiving. We haven’t done that in a while.
//Thanksgiving
My second favorite holiday (My favorite is Halloween) happened this month. I think I’m biased to love Thanksgiving because it’s always on my birth week, but no matter. It was fun.
My brother Mysoon was freaking out that morning. I mean full-on nervous breakdown. He has autism and his schedule was completely off because of the break, I was in Orlando, my uncle came from Texas, and our cousins were sleeping over. The last two wouldn’t have been a problem because he’s comfortable with those family members, but the drastic change in his schedule was hard for him.
In order to calm him down, I took him for a drive. He said he wanted to go to Wal-Mart, but I didn’t want to take him on such a crowded day ( the day before Black Friday) so soon after a tantrum.
I got my other brother out of bed (he hadn’t even brushed his teeth yet), so he could help me. Mysoon calmed down immediately when I told him we were going out, but I wanted Zidan to come with us. After we went inside, I let Mysoon choose a snack, but the line for self-checkout was really long, so I gave Zee cash and took Mysoon to the car because I could tell he wasn’t comfortable with so many people around.
After that, we drove to the Mandir, which is a beautiful Hindu Temple in Atlanta. If you’re ever down here, you should go. We’re not even Hindu and we come here just to wander around (it’s public). I would’ve driven home, but I wanted to give my mom a break.
After hanging out there for a while, we headed home. Mysoon had calmed down enough.
When my dad went to drop my uncle off at the airport, my mom and I headed to my friend Stellah’s house for a Thanksgiving party. It was a lot of fun to see all my friends, but I could only stay for two hours because we were having Thanksgiving at my house that evening.
On the drive back home, my dad told my mom to drop me off at Wal-Mart for Black Friday. I thought I’d only be there for thirty minutes, but we were there for three hours. I had to drop Mysoon at home and come back to wait in line. My dad was first in line to get the giant flat screens for like $275 (I think). He bought two. I stood in line to buy a Samsung tablet because there was a really good sale and I don’t own a tablet. I justified spending that money because I’m going to be on a plane for two days next month to get to Bangladesh and I don’t want to waste my phone battery, but I would’ve bought a tablet eventually anyway (just not at that particular moment).
After we loaded everything into the car, we headed home and got ready for Thanksgiving.
The rest of the evening I hung out with my friends and family. It was awesome, but I was so tired by the end of it. After spending the weekend at Disney, coming back on Tuesday, and constantly doing things with family the rest of the time, I was beat.
Needless to say, I slept like a log.
//20th Birthday
I turned 20 this month. I am no longer a teenager. Honestly, it didn’t feel like I was turning 20 until I went to Disney (which was before my birthday) because I was wearing the birthday pin and everyone kept wishing me a Happy Birthday.
My brother Zidan and I went to watch Coco the morning of my birthday. Going to the movies for or around my birthday has always been a tradition of sorts because most of the Christmas releases come out in November, so I associate many movies with my birthdays. I watched Catching Fire for my 16th birthday, Big Hero 6 on my 17th birthday, and Moana for my 19th birthday. (My 18th birthday was on Thanksgiving Day)
Coco was really good. I loved the music and the plotline. There was even a crazy twist at the end, which was great. I personally think it’s the best Pixar release since Inside Out.
After the movie, my family and I went to a Thai Restaurant and ate lunch.
Once we got home, I started studying because I had exams every day for the next four days, so my birthday festivities were all over by 2:30 PM. After such a busy week, I needed to do some studying if I had any hope of passing everything.
//This Was An Unhealthy Month
This was a very unhealthy month. I can probably count how many times I went to the gym on one hand (I went five, maybe six times, which is pretty infrequent for me). I was beating myself about that at first, but then I remembered that I had injured my back at the end of October and took a break, so I had a reason.
Along with not going to the gym, I didn’t eat well at all. Here’s a list of examples for you:
- I ate Chik-Fil-A three times in one day when I went to Charleston.
- Disney Food (Lots of sugar and fried goodness)
- Cousins slept over (pizza, waffles, chocolate, you get the picture)
- I drank more soda than usual because I went out a lot. I rarely drink it.
- I drank more coffee/tea in the last month than I have in the last year. It was actually my first time drinking coffee all semester. (It was my last day in Orlando and I woke up early to pack and get ready)
- Thanksgiving Food. Yummy delicious Thanksgiving food.
- I wasn’t about to eat salad on my birthday weekend.
breakfast at Hollywood Studios.
//I Spent A Lot Of Money
I’m very intentional about the way I spend my money, so I don’t regret any of my purchases, but I spent a lot. I had two trips and one of them was to Disney which is a pricey destination (But I managed to do it quite inexpensively). I also bought some stuff on Black Friday, things to prepare for my trip next month, and some items that will serve me long term (I bought a filterless humidifier, which has been a godsend in these recent dry weeks). I plan on writing a Black Friday Haul + What I Got For My Birthday post, so stay tuned.
Update: That never ended up happening, so sorry.
//I Found Out That I Was Going To Bangladesh
My next post is going to be on the process of finally planning this trip, so stay tuned. I’m so freaking excited!
Related – Announcement: I’m Going To Bangladesh! (December Travel Plans)
//Reflection//
Half this post was basically introducing a bunch of posts I’m going to write. That pretty much summarizes my month. I was hit with so much inspiration to write even though I didn’t have much time. All those trips and fun events gave me so many ideas.
A lot of amazing things came together for me last month and that was a great feeling. But one big thing that will impact my future didn’t which was quite saddening and stressful. I’m not going to talk about it here, but I feel a lot better now (I’m not one to dwell on negative outcomes or disappointments). The good things from November overshadow the bad by miles, but I don’t want to portray everything as perfect.
November also ended with finals week starting (I had an exam every day the last week of that month), so I am very busy right now, which is why my blog posts have been up late. I’m sorry for that, but life as a college student never stops.
I’ll see you on Thursday.
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How was your month? What did you do for Thanksgiving Break?