Don't Stop Me Now

My darling friend Gabbie Amontree of Solo Tandem Ride was lovely enough to take my senior // graduation photos for me. She sent me the rest of the set yesterday & I wanted to share them on Stellar Piece. As you can see, my favorite pose involved me gripping on to a tree branch for dear life.

In all seriousness, I can't believe that I've graduated from college. It's been two weeks since I walked across the Sun Dome stage & it's still surreal to me. 

When I graduated from high school in 2010, I had legitimately no idea what I wanted to do. I went to community college for two years, which I honestly recommend to anyone. I thought it was going to be the worst place ever, but HCC was pretty cool because I didn't know what I wanted to do anyways. To be honest, I was super lazy while I was at HCC though. I would go to class, eat and sleep. I gained a bunch of weight & didn't feel very passionate about anything.

Everything changed when transferred to the University of South Florida in the fall of 2012. After taking a marketing class during my last semester at HCC, I realized that it was something that I wanted to learn more about. I decided to major in Mass Communications with a concentration in Advertising. Right after school began that fall, I created Stellar Piece. It was just meant to be a random place where I could put my photos and thoughts but it's turned into much more for me.

Then I found CollegeFashionista. I began writing as a Style Guru a year after I was settled in at USF. I've been in love with it ever since. Amy, Melissa & Sammy have taught me so much about fashion, writing and photography. They always give me such great feedback, feature my articles on the homepage & allow me to participate in various brand campaigns. I love it so much that I've decided to write for them during the summer while I'm in NYC. I cannot wait to to be their marketing intern in the city this summer.

I guess the point is that I made fashion, photography & writing the main priorities in my life. They changed everything. They gave me the confidence I was lacking. They kept me busy. They made me want to search for & pursue opportunities. Now I'm less than two weeks away from leaving for NYC where I'll be working with CollegeFashionista & Marie Claire. I'm thrilled to work my ass off, prove my potential & see where my passions take me. 

 "Life isn't about finding yourself. Life is about creating yourself." - George Bernard Shaw

Love,

A

Details: Dress: Zara // Shoes: Nine West 

// Photography: Gabbie Amontree

NO WAVES x STELLAR PIECE

Over this summer, I started up my own little DIY punk / skateboarding culture radio show, NO WAVES RADIO, through the University of South Florida's college radio station. It's basically the talk/music form of my brain. I remember being so nervous before my first show back in July, & if it weren't for A I doubt I ever would've built up the courage to go through with it. 

Through it all, she's been one of my primary creative inspirations for the show. Watching her grow & excel in her creative advertising classes juices me to do the best that I can every day in my own right. 

That aside, I was more than stoked to have A as my very special guest for a pre-Valentine's Day NO WAVES RADIO show. The playlist, content, & cheesiness was almost exclusively curated by Aisha herself. We had such a fun time chatting about our favorite Stellar Piece adventures, shows we've been to, quizzing ourselves on how well we know each other, as well as spinning some of our mutually-favorite tunes. Listen above & enjoy!

PS - feel free to check out my other blog, NOWAVESRADIO.WORDPRESS.COM to check out previous shows I've done, & also to check out some show photos & opinion pieces I have up there.

Thanks for being my little starlet, A. I love our cute banter on this episode. You're adorable.

Love,

J

Panini Palz

There comes a time in every relationship where things get serious. Maybe it's when you introduce each other to your parents, maybe it's when you move in together, or maybe you play it safe & adopt a pet. Well, A & I are virtually inseparable & are already spiritually adopted by each other's families. Oh, & we don't really take too many things very seriously anyway...

So, we went halfsies on a Panini Press & decided it was time to be adults.  We picked out the one we wanted at Target, but they were sold out. Rather than settle, we waited patiently (proud of u, A.) 

Once we brought her home, we unpacked her & A nearly immediately burned her hand while I tried to read the instructions. Once we figured out how to turn it on, we made some grilled cheeses & basked in our newfound glory. After years of eating slimy pressed sandwiches at the USF Dining Halls, ya boy knows how to press a grilled cheese. #peacesign

While I handled the GC, it's still obvious that we're novices with this thing. Word to the wise: don't spread anything on a sandwich before you press it. Hot slimy mayo, yuuuuucckkk.

Same purchase, I bought a big pitcher for making Crystal Light iced tea in, something that was a staple at my parents house growing up. Somewhere in my house is a photo of four-year-old me, standing next to a miniature Christmas tree, smiling in disbelief that I'm taller than a tree. But since I don't have that scanned, just look at the photos of me with a massive mason jar of iced tea for a similar tickled expression. I doubt I'll ever lose the kid in me.

Oh, & we've got big plans for this panini press thing. Cheese & lunch meat is just cracking the surface, friends. We're talking gourmet fruit-enhanced sandwiches, panini pizzas, DESSERT PANINIS (thanks for the cinnamon vanilla sugar powder from New Orleans, mom!!) & any other crazy concoction we can come up with. You're all cordially invited to a panini party at my apartment~~

I'm quite excited to be experimenting with a new toy with my pal, A. Nothing says, "wow, you guys are the most domesticated 20 year olds I've ever met" than being hyped on a sandwich press grill & a beverage pitcher, but we are who we are & I wouldn't change us for anything. 

PS - I'm serious about that panini party.

Love,

J