Today was super cool. I have *~* officially *~* started my thesis writing process. I’m focusing on LGBTQIA* spaces in Philadelphia, so I spent part of my morning in the archives of the William Way LGBT Community Center! I was so happy- John, one of the people running the archives, was so kind and helpful. Honestly, even though writing a thesis is a super daunting process, meeting up with him gave me a renewed sense of vigor that I had thought I had lost. I regret not taking photos of the inside to show you all, but it didn’t seem like the right time.

So instead, I captured a bunch of rainbow flags, and tried to capture the rainbow glass above their bright red front door! I really hope you can see it- it was really quite beautiful. The center itself seems super cool, and I really hope that the more time I spend there, the more time the staff will allow me to explore. They had this really pretty ornate door in the back, and I’ve made it my personal mission to see what’s behind it. Probably nothing special, but I won’t know until I know.

I spent the rest of my morning wandering back to the train station. SEPTA has new trains! They’re so clean! So nice! It was an enjoyable ride back to BMC in solitude, something I feel like everyone needs every once in a while.

I spent the remainder of my day in my carrel in the library. I’m legitimately blessed to have a Carpenter carrel with one of my close friends, Lillian. She and I decorated it with postcards of classical artwork, and it really is a lovely place to sit down and study. Our carrel overlooks the ledge of the library, so we have lots of natural lighting and a physical location that makes it seem like our carrel has more depth than it actually does. I’m super happy to study in it. To any underclassmen- try to get a carrel. It’s fun to decorate and makes leaving textbooks in the library so much easier. I’ve designated it as my thesis spot, because I feel like I need to have my room be more of a relaxing place this year. In addition to housing our textbooks, school supplies, and miscellaneous papers, Lillian and I also have colored pencils and a stuffed animal to make our time spent there a little more enjoyable. Would also highly recommend investing in fun things, as sometimes work overwhelms your thoughts and you just need to relax for a bit.