What a Life I Lead in the Spring

I have begun to notice more and more that although the spring season brings new changes and is a symbol of rebirth and starting "anew", it is also a time when many things come to an end. Semesters wrap up, friends graduate and the "real world" seems all too close for comfort. I'd like to share some advice from advisers/teachers that I can already foresee being valuable for years to come.

1. Cherish your friendships - Over the years I've learned that genuine, lasting friendships only come around once in a while, and they are few and far between. Unconditional friendships are of my most prized, intangible possessions that I hope to maintain and keep for years far, far beyond college.
2. Ask the big questions and take the big risks - Especially during college I have realized that I have only 'gained' from asking questions and taking risks outside of my comfort zone, even if they seemed outlandish at the time. If you don't ask, then you will never know.

Pretty pictures from a wonderful spring- beautiful tapestries from an annual festival in Amherst, and a cabin from the scenic Moses Scout Reservation in Russell, MA.

marketplace inspiration: natural neons

Scarf - BCBG

Blouse - H&M

Rug - Trina Turk

Heels - Blink

Chino Shorts - Jack Wills

Necklace - Kate Spade

Green Jumper - Topshop

Purse - Milly Colette

This spring, I'm looking forward to the abundance of outdoor marketplaces and farmers markets... and the fresh, unique produce that comes with them. I got some color inspiration from a little market in Flushing, NY with an assortment of colorful fruits and veggies. Even though it looks like Western MA will be getting some snow on Thursday, it is uplifting to see some signs of springtime emerging through the bright color palettes in food and fashion.

Welcoming Spring

I thought that the Greater Boston area (and New England in general) was done with all of this snow! I woke up to plows circling the neighborhood and calls from the town announcing parking bans. In spite of this weather, I'm spending my only free day during Spring break by nursing a cold, eating chicken noodle soup, blogging, and online shopping for springtime clothes.

The pink tulips pictured above were from my front yard a few years ago, and they haven't grown back since. It doesn't look like I will be seeing any blooming flowers anytime soon.. But nonetheless, the first day of Spring is tomorrow and I am looking forward to all the wonderful new changes this season will have to bring. I'm trying to distract myself from the heavy snowfall outside, so I will leave you with this:

“What a strange thing!
to be alive
beneath cherry blossoms.”
― Kobayashi Issa

Follow my blog with Bloglovin

Twitterland

I don’t understand why people are so critical about Twitter. Everytime it is brought up in a big conversation, there are always a few people who jump up with their hands flailing in the air screaming:

“I DON’T UNDERSTAND TWITTER. I DON’T WANT EVERYONE KNOWING MY BUSINESS, AND I DON’T WANT TO KNOW ANYONE ELSE’S BUSINESS!!”

As if we didn’t hear them clearly enough, they more often than not feel the need to say it more than once. I think that with any type of social media platform, participation is optional. It is a choice to sign up for sites like Twitter. It is a choice to tweet whenever you feel like it, or not tweet at all. It is a choice to ‘follow’ people, and choose who ‘follows’ you. Nothing beyond your own nosiness and curiosity will compel you to look at other peoples’ tweets and marvel critically at the instantaneous updates of their lives.

So why all the negative hype? What about the saying “Don’t knock it till you try it?” I do admit that before I was involved with Twitter, I was a little skeptical. I thought it was a waste of time being informed by my friends’ lives on the play-by-play. The numerous accounts like “Sorority Girl Problems” and “Shit that (insert person here) says” seemed pointless and less than entertaining.

I signed up for Twitter during my freshman year of college when my communication professor suggested that we follow the comm class’s account for instant updates on projects, exams, papers etc. but he made joining the site completely optional. We still had access to this information through our syllabus, in class and through mass class emails, but Twitter made these updates much more convenient.

Since then, I have become a tweet-a-holic. I probably tweet more than I should, and follow more people than I actually care about. Tweeting lets out a bit of steam that you probably can’t get away with sharing as a status update on Facebook. Your life would be totally incomplete if I didn’t inform you that I was finally awake to witness my first school riot or that I just saw a 6 foot tall soccer ball rolling around campus.


Twitter. It’s a form of entertainment. It’s used to channel anger, excitement, curiosity and boredom. Twitter is it’s own world filled with information that can be as relevant or as random as the people you choose to follow. So give it a try, and tweet away!

Follow me @caitlin_lam for a mixture of informative and nutty tweets!

We have our ups

...And we have our downs. I think one of the best things I have done in my undergraduate years was decide to minor in studio art. This year I have been challenged by the beast that is Advanced Art. Thank goodness I was never an ADHD child, because sitting, observing and drawing a live model (or even worse, my own self-portrait) for close to 3 hours is enough to drive anybody bananas.

I appreciate that this course covers a wide variety of art styles, such as impressionist, fauvist, cubist, Francis Bacon-esque?, surrealist, and collage, just to name a few. As you can tell from this fairly disturbing, but colorful mess pictured above, I missed the mark. By a lot. I was more than frustrated- my hands were glued together and with every sneeze and cough, little bits of paper flew everywhere. When exactly was the last time I had made a collage?

Ashamedly, I tacked up what I had in the class critique. Everybody had interpreted this assignment differently, and not everyone succeeded. From this class, I've learned that being a good art student does not involve getting every style and concept right the first time and every time. In fact, rarely does this ever happen.

Surrounded by brilliant and creative minds, I am constantly inspired by my classmates' individuality and expression through their artwork. It was times like this where I couldn't dwell on this colorful failure any longer, but instead observe the technique and methods of my peers and approach this assignment in a completely different perspective. As this assignment was long due, I begin to piece together a new self-portrait collage to prove to myself that while collages aren't your typical "college student work," conquering an ambitious challenge is, which makes it truly invaluable.