Gulls

Taking it all in, day by day, step by step, and apparently post by post. 

(I admire segulls' ability not to care about anything they do. I actually just like birds. That's all.)

Rishita

#FIRST

I haven't seen many legitimate looking trophies in my life before, nor have I ever been able to take a low light picture in one shot so shoutout to the Motivate Award for letting me hit two birds with one stone. 

Manual Overdrive

Reaching the threshold of set molds and going solo is one of the most unique borders a person can encounter. The journey over definitely will be hard, maybe even with a little dash of confusion thrown in with frustration, but believe me, shifting to manual overdrive will always be worth it. 
Besides, the moon looked so pretty that day. 

Rishita

Piper

When we got the absolutely lovely experience to visit the Neuschwanstein Castle this summer, I didn't really know what to expect. All I knew that I was going to spend my sixteenth birthday at this popular tourist destination, which also doubled as the inspiration for the renowned Disneyland castles. 
What I did end up figuring out, however, was that: 

1. Do not visit ANY tourist location in the summer that has very minimal shade, the result of which can be observed in the corner of the picture where hoards of people hide under the shade of the most pathetic trees ever.
2. Do not stand even an inch on the road off the pathway–the bus driver will not hesitate to run you over. 
3. Do not not look at the downward trail path from the castle while walking back–horses also walk back on them. And by walk I mean excrete.

But hats off to you, Mr. Piper, for playing something BESIDES Scotland the Brave, in 100 degree weather, not even under the skimpy shade. And for enjoying it too. 

Rishita

Where the Boats Go

There's only one place on the planet where I've witnessed a winter sunset whose most gorgeous purples and yellows twinkle off of the tranquil water ripples; where the sun blissfully melts into an Elsewhere Jonas probably dreamed about; where the boats go home. 

Here's to you, Sydney, Australia. Even though Finding Nemo is my all time favorite movie, it did absolutely no justice to your natural beauty. 

Transcendant Earth

First things first. I was/am not prepared to do this. I've basically been bamboozled out of time. I've also noticed that's been happening a lot. The bamboozling. 

Anyways, as I was looking for something I came across this one particular picture that I didn't remember taking. I knew it was from a local cove that my friends group had taken a hiking excursion to once, but those successive weekends that we had decided to take up this long and arduous (wow do you see that SAT vocab A+ Rishita 10/10 use) activity all seemed to blur together at the seams. 

But then it hit me. This moment was a blur in the seams. A crack transcending the ocean, or maybe even the same melancholic sky. What was probably once earth now struggled to gasp for air, barely making it through the seemingly tranquil waters. Mother Earth just isn't an entity, it's like a gateway to an entirely different dimension; a dimension that exists not only in tangible space, but also in the mind.   

Who knows. Maybe it's just me going a little crazy. Maybe it's just me bringing a favorite musical piece back to life. I really don't know. 

Rishita

Embracing Fall

Out of all the seasons, fall has always been my least favorite--there's something about the indecisive "sweater" weather and the abundance of pumpkins that drives me insane, but I'd say this picture does great job of convincing me that all those other details are insignificant. It helps me see the bigger picture, basically. 

Rishita

Ode to the Roses

This isn't the first time I'm posting this picture to the internet, but it is the first time I'm telling the story behind it. 

This bike is obviously decorated with roses–way to state the obvious, Rishita. But I actually didn't take a picture of it the first time I walked past it, I mean to be honest the roses looked plastic and half the bicycles were decorated with flowers anyways. But then while I was walking away, an elderly woman approached the bike and began replenishing the bike with new, albiet still plastic, but new nonetheless, roses. I attempted to ask her if I could take a picture of her bike; unforuntaely, I conveniently forgot that Dutch people were willing to reply in every single language except for english. After a few seconds of broken conversation, she finally agreed to let me take a picture of the bike. Not her with the bike. Just the bike. As I began taking the picture, she was able to explain to me that she changed the bike's flowers everyday, and that if I came back the next day I'd probably see it sporting lovely yellow roses. I smiled and thanked her for the lovely few minutes of conversation before I caught up with my friends again. 

I stopped to smell the roses, and the roses delivered. 

Love, Rishita