This will be my last post in this series—I was aiming to write every day in June, and I managed to do so! I’ll keep posting periodically but not every day. There are certain places that contain so many memories that they leap out from every corner whenever you visit. Notre Dame became one of… Read More A Few of My Favorite Things, #30: Notre Dame’s Campus
The Rosary is my lifeline. I don’t always pray it well, and I don’t always give it the attention I should, but when I do, it is an incredible source of grace and peace, and it has helped me to be calm and focus on what truly matters in times when everything seemed uncertain. The way in which… Read More A Few of My Favorite Things, #29: The Rosary
While I have not the slightest bit of athletic skill, I love watching Olympic athletes perform at a high level. It’s exciting to root them on, and often it inspires me to persevere and perform well at my own pursuits. It’s amazing to see what people are capable of with hard work, passion, and dedication. I vividly remember… Read More A Few of My Favorite Things, #28: Watching the Olympics
I’ve realized that a lot of my favorite books are introspective coming-of-age novels that follow a protagonist through different stages of their life. A Tree Grows in Brooklyn is the prime example of this. I also love Richard Llewellyn’s How Green Was My Valley—the use of Welsh phrases in that one gives the prose a lyrical bent, and it’s… Read More A Few of My Favorite Things, #27: A Tree Grows in Brooklyn
I learned watercolor painting in college. I’m not very skilled at drawing or painting people, but I can draw buildings decently well. I like painting from time to time—it’s relaxing, and it exercises a different creative muscle than what I usually use with writing or music.
Okay, so I’m trying to be a little better about this, but I have always been wired to be a night owl. And I have never been a morning person. At all. Consequently, I love sleeping in on the weekends. I like the quiet hours at the end of the day, time that I have… Read More A Few of My Favorite Things, #25: Sleeping In
Like any good Irish-American girl, I love tea and scones¹ and all kinds of potatoes, and I root for Notre Dame. I listen to Irish reels and can play Danny Boy with just the right amount of melancholy. I have a medal with images of St. Patrick and St. Bridget. I wear a Claddagh ring and… Read More A Few of My Favorite Things, #24: Ireland
I keep a small, lined Moleskine journal with me at all times. In college I would carry one between the pages of my sketchbook, and in between drawing buildings and taking notes on lectures I would write out my ideas and daydreams and disconnected thoughts. My Moleskines are private, just for me to look at—which… Read More A Few of My Favorite Things, #23: Moleskines
Astoria Park has become one of my favorite places in the city. It’s more peaceful than Central Park—fewer people around—and has great views of the East River. I was there yesterday at sunset—which was extra late, since it was the solstice—and the views of the river were especially beautiful.
I was born in the suburbs of Philadelphia, and most of my family lives there. It’s always been one of my favorite places in the world. While I was growing up we moved around a lot, but we always came back and stayed at my aunt’s house during the summer. I lived there for a… Read More A Few of My Favorite Things, #21: Philadelphia
work in progress 