Playlist: July

Okay, so I know July isn't over for a few more days, but for me July ends when the DC Grays' season ends, and that was on Sunday. Also, I'm leaving for New York tomorrow and I figured I should post this before I go. So here it is!

This playlist was inspired by:
- Songs played between innings at the ballpark, including tons of country songs I didn't know existed and some pop songs I knew very well
- Songs my dad likes and therefore played a lot in the car
- The Fourth of July
- Going to an Irish pub on the Fourth of July and seeing some live music, which consisted of both Top 40 and traditional Irish tunes
- Seeing Far From the Madding Crowd and Trainwreck 
- Seeing the trailer for Paper Towns too many times
- Getting introduced to the band Years and Years (thanks Elisabeth)
- Jamming to the most random selection of songs in the car with Alicia
- Songs that I heard on the radio so many times I thought they were following me
- Songs that I didn't hear as many times on the radio but that I listened to and liked anyway

Enjoy!

Finding Paris in Washington, DC

I've been dreaming of France lately. Specifically, I'm having stress dreams where I'm leaving for my teaching assistantship and I haven't packed or I got the wrong visa or the plane crashed. Minor details.

Anyway, I guess I'm kind of on the lookout for French things, since I like to look for symbols in my life and then pretend they appeared spontaneously, and on Monday, I ended up having a mini Parisian experience here in DC. And it didn't even involve going to L'Enfant Plaza.

It involved going here!

Playlist: Post Grad

Post Grad from annamahoneyy on 8tracks Radio.

The idea for this playlist came to me the day after graduation, when I was driving away from Kenyon for the last time. I knew where I was leaving, I had no idea where I was going. I was scared. I was excited. I was ready. This playlist has some songs that I think express those feelings. Listen and enjoy!

How To: Celebrate July Fourth in DC Without Being a Total Tourist

I live in Washington, DC.

Okay, that's a lie, and I promised I wouldn't lie here so here's the truth: I live .3 miles from the DC border. I work in DC. I went to school in DC. I spend a good chunk of my time in DC. But I live in Maryland. And I've lived here long enough to know that it's probably not the best idea to head downtown on the Fourth of July.

Usually, my family and I go see fireworks up in Rockville and watch the Capital Fourth ones on TV. But this year, my friend Hanna was visiting me, and I figured she'd rather see the Nation's Capital than the town that inspired this song.

Throwback Thursday: Paris

Yesterday, I got my assignment for the exact city I will be teaching in this fall. I'll be in Loos, a suburb immediately outside of Lille. I'll be an English teaching assistant at the primary school level in three different schools. Am I excited? Yes. Am I nervous? Also yes.

I tend to make myself more worried about things than I need to be. I know this is going to be one of the best opportunities of my life, but there's still a part of me that keeps asking, "What if I completely fail at this? What if I forget how to speak French? What if the kids don't like me?" I'm trying to let another part of me take control, though. The part that says, "Relax. You've done this before. And you loved it."

That's right. I was here.

Playlist: June

One of my friends told me a while ago how every month or so, he puts the songs he's been listening to a lot into a Spotify playlist. If he goes back to listen to it, he associates the music with memories of that time. I thought it was a neat idea, so I started a version of my own. 

I've been keeping this playlist/music journal/memory thing on Spotify going for about a year, and now that I'm also keeping this blog, I thought I could share the monthly playlists on here! But be aware: it's always a really weird mix of songs. 

This month's playlist was inspired by:
- Of Monsters and Men's new album
- The Tonys
- Songs I jammed to on the radio while washing dishes
- A certain Usher song that I decided to pluck along with on the mandolin as a joke but then it actually sounded kinda good
- Between-inning music at baseball games for the team I intern with
- Baseball players' walk-up songs that I have now heard almost 40 times and will probably hear 40 more times before the season ends.

Shuffle and enjoy!