archiving my first summer in new york city with the music that took my from my homey florida bedroom to a high-rise in manhattan, and now to a tiny residential brooklyn apartment.
listen to the tunes that shaped my excitement upon uprooting from home and kept me company along the cityscapes and sunsets and streets of people (it's pretty good).
see you in the music.
xx, nicole
A playlist featuring PUBLIC, joan, Sundressed, and others
2017's new music sounds fresh, serene, and electrifying.
the xx, colony house, great good fine ok — here for it. grab a seat, let's chat about it music and this feeling.
here's some fresh tunes, coupled by some words that encompass this new, exhilarating feeling of a fresh start. get some coffee and a blanket, press play and let's dive in.
three months ago
my bed was my prison,
the place where i chained myself
when the world got too harsh
too busy
and too full of adversity
three months later
i'm learning to enjoy the stillness
a break from my mind,
a break from life
my mind is constantly busy —
whether driven by anxiety
or the high-volume of busyness
that i willingly choose to mask out depression
(if i'm being honest)
unlike before,
i'm allowed to work at home
i'm allowed to take the extra half hour to hug my dog
to remember to moisturize
take a hot bath
walk outside
feel the brisk air touch my face
laugh like i never could before
and enjoy the stillness,
a place that was so foreign before
life post-graduation
looks like serenity,
but it feels like
training an animal to go against natural instincts —
i'm learning to be still,
a world my anxious mind has never been before
this week
i'm applying for an editing internship.
this year
i'm writing a book of poetry.
for the rest of my life
i'm working on getting on the right medication for mental health
so my bed doesn't become a prison
for me again
and again
-
see you around. cheers to 2017.
nicole, xx
between metro rides, downtown strolls, forest-lined backroads and abandoned towns, tunes guided our two-day, 8-hour destination from florida to virginia and back.
you could catch me waking up from backseat naps and embracing my pillow to these tunes that just felt right on our two-week journey. hope they feel like the windows down, atlantic coast breezes, beachy boardwalks, and everything in between the statelines.
—
xo
A few months back, I stumbled upon a project called Perfect Strangers.
Started by Oh Comely, a magazine based out of the UK, Perfect Strangers is an organization matches you up with an individual either from your country or another, and you get to swap packages and letters, and ultimately find a friend in the end.
Days after registration, I was matched up with sweet Christianne, a young newlywed from Michigan who attended Calvin Seminary. Between emails and getting to know each other, I was beyond excited to swap Christmas gifts. Like a stereotypical liberal arts university student, I made her a mix of fun tunes that make you feel good and inspire you to live happier – you could probably call it an indie music starter pack – and I'd like to share it with you too.
xx, Nicole