favorite sad music

If I'm being completely honest, sometimes I enjoy being sad.

('E' indicates explicit content)

~

Oh Wonder // All We Do

Alec Benjamin // Let Me Down Slowly

Novo Amor // State Lines

XXXTENTACION // what are you so afraid of

Billie Eilish // everything i wanted

Julia Michaels // Anxiety (E)

Novo Amor // Anchor

Jeremy Zucker, Chelsea Cutler // you were good to me

NF // Let You Down

Alec Benjamin // Demons

Ruben // Lay By Me

Ben Platt // Grow As We Go

Alessia Cara // Out Of Love

Elaine // Falling

Belle Mt // Hollow (acoustic)

Bring Me The Horizon // Follow You

NF // My Stress

Anson Seabra // Broken (E)

Asking Alexandria // I Won't Give In

Peter Manos // In My Head

Julie Michaels, JP Saxe // If The World Was Ending

LANY // Malibu Nights

Lauv // The Story Never Ends

Matt Maeson // Tribulation

Coldplay // Cry Cry Cry

NF // Time

Alec Benjamin // Mind Is A Prison

Billie Eilish // when the party's over

Logic, Alessia Cara, Khalid // 1-800-273-8255 (E)

Anson Seabra // Trying My Best

Oh Wonder // In And Out Of Love

XXXTENTACION // Changes

NF // If You Want Love

MarMar Oso // Ruthless (E)

Oh Wonder // White Blood

~ Amaris // ☆

The Four Things Tag

Hello, Peeps! It is I. Your old friend. I seem to have neglected this blog for a whole month. Again. *is sorry*
I do still enjoy blogging, but right now it's literally the last thing I think about these days. So much is happening in my life right now. So many changes. Good changes and bad ones. Wasn't it Charles Dickens who said in a book 'it was the best of times, it was the worst of times'? Or something like that. I don't know.
Anywho, here I am with a small tag I stole from Coffee, Classics, and Craziness who posted it quite awhile ago... *shrug* but hey. It's alright.

I hope you enjoy reading!

The Four Things Tag

Four Jobs I've Had:
~An Unnamed Craft Store
~An embroidery/personalization place
~That's it!

Four Things I Don't Eat:
~White Chocolate (... usually because it's too sweet)
~Corn tortillas (ewww)
~Store-bought eggnog (homemade I don't mind..)
~Spicy salsa (the spice overpowers every other flavor)

Four Places I've Lived:
~I lived in the same house for 19 years
~We moved this May to an apartment
~Also I house sat for a week once (it was great. Lots of alone time)
~Hotels during travels

Four of my Favorite Foods:
~Pizza
~Homemade chili
~Pretty much any homemade pasta dish
~Homemade tacos & nachos

Four Movies I've Watched More Than Once:
~Forrest Gump (1994)
~Amazing Grace (2006)
~The Book Thief (2013)
~Any Marvel Spider-Man movie (even though I don't care for the rest of Marvel except Benedict Cumberbatch)

Four TV Shows I Watch:
~Sherlock BBC
~Call the Midwife BBC
~Poldark BBC
~Monk

Four Things I'm Looking Forward To This Coming Year:
~Taking a trip for the first time in 4 years (I know right)
~Getting an iPad so that I can begin drawing digitally! Also more practice in general *thumbs up*!
~Spending time with my best friend & her dude
~Positive lifestyle changes that need to happen in my life.

Four Things I Can't Live Without:

~God (of course)
~My best friend
~Music of all types
~My internet friends... I've made several this past Summer and I love them <3

Four Places I've Visited:
~Niagara Falls (in like 2003 or something)
~The St. Louis Arch (couple of times)
~Garden of the Gods in Colorado (in 2011)
~The movie theater (because why not)

Four Pet Peeves:
~Inappropriate meme accounts on Pinterest and Instagram
~Poorly written characters whose only job is to react to various happenings in the story
~When older people don't give younger people proper instruction/training and then treat the younger person like it's their fault and they're stupid
~Arrogant customers who act like they know more than you about your job

Four Things I Wish I Could Do:
~Jump off the high diving board without hesitating/being terrified
~Fly
~Have a career in art so I can work from home in my bed & pjs (this is a legitimate wish of mine, ok)
~Have more time to read books like I used to :(

Four Subjects I Studied In School:
~British Literature
~WWII
~Astronomy
~Home Economics

Four Things Near Me Right Now:
~Fall decorations
~My water bottle
~My iPhone X
~A Chimney)

Well, that is all! I hope you enjoyed reading. I loved taking time to actually write on this blog for once! Thank you for sticking with me. <3

I hope you are having a good day. :)
-Amaris

All pictures in this post are taken by me from my Instagram.
Please credit if you use! :)

An Interesting Summer

Hello there, people!

This post is a peek into my Summer of 2018. The Summer in which I spent a lot of time NOT blogging. :P In fact, I've not only failed to write my own blog, but I've neglected reading blogs as well. So if I haven't been commenting on your blog posts lately, I apologize. I still love you all!

Not my photo- taken from Pinterest

It's just been really busy and so much has changed in my life. Like, for real. I think I've changed more in the past 8 months or so than I ever have. Except maybe when I was a toddler. Hehe. :)

Anyways. My Summer has been an interesting time. For one, because it's the first Summer that I've owned a smartphone, and (I don't know if you've noticed this, but) smartphones have a way of influencing your every day life.
So, it's just been... I don't know, different. But good.

// Summer of 2018 //

Not my photo- taken from Pinterest

// Movies //

As of August 15th (the day I am originally writing this post), I have watched 42 movies this year! That might not sound like much to some people, but it's certainly a lot for me! In 2017 I literally watched like, 10 movies.
But anyways! Here are just a few of my favorites from this Summer.

July 9th: Big (1988)

 This movie was literally so cute it had me and my sister laughing and crying. It's safe to say this is one of my favorite Tom Hanks movies. There is a bit of content, so I would read a review first. But it's literally, like, 3 things. :) We loved it. 

July 16th: The Terminal (2004)

 It's not surprising that me and my sister loved this Tom Hanks movie as well. We loved it so much we even watched it a second time the next week to show it to Mom! Thankfully, this one is even cleaner than 'Big' and definitely worth the cuss word or two.

July 19th: Big Eyes (2014)

 Oh my goodness, I just adored this movie. It was so sad and heart wrenching, and I just wanted to hug the main character and the story was so FRUSTRATING but it ended up ok which was amazing! I also loved Amy Adams in this movie. I'm pretty sure the only reason it got the PG-13 rating, was because of one really loud f-word. But other than that, I loved this one. 

July 21st: The Good, The Bad, And The Ugly (1966)

Even though Westerns aren't my thing, it was really enjoyable to watch this one because not only is it a timeless and iconic classic, it's also my mom's favorite movie of all time (which I don't really understand because she doesn't even like Westerns...??? Who knew..). It's also the first R-rated movie I've ever seen without a filter. Not sure if that counts for any accomplishment, but. *shrug*

Not my photo- taken from Pinterest

 // I Taught At Vacation Bible School //

...and it was such a good experience. I learned so much and made a really good friend through it! Me and my friend, Maggie, wrote the lessons from scratch to teach the kids each day (we taught the lessons as well as wrote them, me and Maggie), instead of using curriculum lessons!

Maggie and I began meeting about twice a week at her house starting late in April to figure out/write the lessons.
We knew that God was telling us to teach the kids stories that inspired them to fall in love with God, instead the idea of being saved and going to heaven. Heaven, after all, is just a side bonus. The real reward is serving God with your life.

But anyways! After weeks (months...?) of studying and preparing our props and our lessons (we had skits and props and visuals to go along with our custom lessons of course!) the VBS in July went very smoothly.
It was truly so fulfilling to be used by God in such a way!
I know I would rather come up with my own lessons for kids anytime rather than just read from a curriculum script, because then I will be able to teach from what I have already learned about God.

Photo credit: me

// I Dyed My Hair //

... for the first time ever! Unfortunately, it didn't come out according to the picture I showed the salon worker. It doesn't look bad, but definitely different than what I asked her to do. The color that she used is growing on me, however, and I'm able to dress 'the new hair' up to look pretty good.
I also got it cut as well as colored, so it's been fun having low-maintenance hair again!

Photo of me taken by me, taken from my Instagram

// I Started Drawing Again //

...and I also created a Tumblr to post my lil drawings on! It's quite a small ordeal (I have 0 followers right now XD), but I mostly created it to motivate myself to keep drawing! I've been practicing mostly eyes lately, and if you follow my Instagram, you've probably seen a few examples.
I kind of explain the reason for taking up drawing again in the synopsis of my Tumblr blog:

"My whole life, I would be off and on with drawing. Here and there I would get a burning, passionate motivation to draw, so I would. For awhile. The Summer of 2018 I decided to take drawing more seriously and enhance my skills through more consistent practice, and I figured a blog would help motivate me. I hope you enjoy what you see, feel free to comment but please be nice... I am learning. Thank you!"

Drawing by me, photo by me, taken from my Tumblr.

If you like drawings of eyes and have a Tumblr account, go follow me! :)

---

Well, that's about it. I didn't do a whole lot of note-worthy things this Summer, but to wrap things up, here are a few more small things I did that might be interesting.

-I went to an outdoor theater for the first time ever!! It was such a blissful and relaxing experience. The breeze the night we went was absolutely wonderful!

-I have been getting to know the area I live in. You might remember my family moved back in May. I was quite unfamiliar with the area surrounding our new apartment, but the past couple of months I've been discovering more things around here. There are some great restaurants as well as a movie theater almost next door to us!

-I went to our local Science Center to see an exhibit about Apollo 11 and the Moon! They had the entire Apollo 11 Command Module there on display. It was pretty neat, and I learned a lot. The moon is kind of my thing, so it was very fun. :) We also saw a very informative and cute documentary about pandas, because they have a giant IMAX theater at the Science Center.

---

Not my photo - Taken from Pinterest

As you can see, it was a good Summer. I am still working at my job at the embroidery shop, and I'm going to be serving at my local AWANA club as the Sparks Director. I am looking forward to Fall and Winter!

Thank you for reading!

-Amaris

// 2017: A Summary //

First of all, you must allow me to wish you:

HAPPY NEW YEAR! 

YAY 2018!!! 

Ok, on to the post. :)
~*~
Well, will you look at that.
Another year has gone by.
(I feel like I should quote a poem about time passing by right now, but alas; I do not know any poems).

It seems only yesterday I was writing last year's New Year Post.
Overall I have to say that 2017 went pretty well. There were some big changes that happened in my family, but most of them for the better, and I know that God knows what He's doing (thank goodness because I don't).

There were many enjoyable things that I did this year. From going to an old cabin to spend the weekend (and using an outhouse which was #fuuunnn), to SEEING THE MOON PASS OVER THE SUN (sorry I'm still pretty excited that I SAW AN ECLIPSE YA'LL), to getting a brand new job that I just love... with lots and lots of movies and books piled on top.

So here they are, friends. My 2017 'notables'.

// Books //

According to Goodreads, I read 12 whole books in 2017! I know it's not a lot, but it's at least one for each month, eh? And I did make my goal! At the beginning of the year I set my goal to read 11 books (why I picked such a random number I don't know) by the end of the year, and I read 12. Well, well. Good for me.
My favorite out of all of them... well, I have to pick three, actually. It's so hard to pick just ONE favorite (any book lover understands).
~Hidden Places by Lynn Austin
~The Help by Kathryn Stockett
~The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society, by Mary Ann Shaffer and Annie Barrows

All three very good books, all very clean (MOSTLY *glares at The Help*), and all recommended by Yours Truly.

In 2018 I hope to read 13 books. I think that every year I'm going to try to read one more than the last, and we'll see how many years I can keep up with myself. :)

// Movies //

There were some good movies I saw this year! I cannot choose favorites (as you well know), so here is a small list of the best ones I have seen.
~ The Case for Christ : Such a heartfelt, lovable movie. And thankfully not cheesy, as some Christian movies can be. :P
~ Hidden Figures : You guys, this movie was so good. If you like inspiring historical drama films, you will love this movie.
~ The Imitation Game : This movie didn't come out this year, but I saw it for the first time a couple weeks ago, and was very impressed.
~ The Walk : This is just one of those sweet, adorable, sit-down-on-the-couch-with-a-blanket-and-a-dog kinda movies. It's really quite enjoyable.
~ Forrest Gump : Oh, I loved this movie so much. It was so sweet and heart-warming, as well as funny and sad. Unfortunately, it did have quite a significant bit of 'content' in it, including language. I wouldn't watch it again without a filter, but man I enjoyed this one.
~ Beauty and the Beast : A very pretty sort of movie. Controversial? Yes. But, enjoyable? Also yes.
~ All the Star Wars movies : This is a disclaimer; I didn't enjoy the movies so much as I enjoyed the times I had while watching them with friends, which is why they are going on 'movie favorites' for 2017. :)

// TV Shows //

This year didn't involve a lot of 'discovery' shows for me, most were just re-watches. I'd like to try more shows in 2018, to see what other good ones I can find. But here are the ones I most enjoyed this year.
~Sherlock BBC, Series 4 : I know you guys have probably heard enough about this show from me. But still. I absolutely love this show. We watched Series 4 for the first time in January, and then we watched it all through again about a month ago. And it was so good. As usual.
~Call the Midwife, Season 6 : This show makes me so happy. Because there are happy things, sad things, and funny things in it. Heartwarming things, beautiful things, terrible things. All of those together make a good show in my opinion. I really enjoyed Season 6.

Aaaaaaand, that's actually it for shows. Like I said, I'm going to try to find more in 2018! I have a couple of shows in mind, but we'll see if I actually get around to watching them. :)

// Music //

Oh, I missed the Adam Young Scores! But I mustn't be like that, I'm supposed to write about what music I did enjoy in 2017, not what music I missed. You must excuse me.
~Owl City, Cinematic : Which technically isn't 100% released yet, but there are several songs already released as well as previews of the rest which I have been enjoying immensely.
~Owl City, Waving Through a Window : I love this song; it is so sweet, so like Adam.
(and now onto other things besides Owl City...)
~TobyMac, Lights Shine Bright : This is one of those great driving-in-the-car-to-work songs. It's quite fun.
~Hillsong United, What a Beautiful Name : I always like worship songs that are strictly about how great God is.
~Danny Gokey, Comback : This year, I saw this guy in concert. He is pretty good, ya'll!
~MercyMe, Even If : There are a few songs in my life that, whenever I listen to them, make time seem to stop. This is one of them. Every time I hear it, I just have to listen. And somehow, it doesn't get old.

Ok! Now onto some stuff about the blog!

// The Storybook Journal //

~My blog celebrated it's 3rd anniversary (excuse me; I mean blogiversary...) this year! September 3rd, 2015 was the day I got up the nerve to post my very first post. (Here's the link if you're really interested in embarrassing me.) Since then I have had a swell time posting on the 'ol Blog.
~This year I posted 37 posts, the most so far! In comparison, I posted 28 posts in 2016, and 11 posts in 2015 (after I started it in September, of course).
~Also in the blogging world, I won a giveaway for the first time: 2nd Blogiversary & Giveaway!, and won a blog game for the first time: Other Way, Mr. Collins!
~I posted a picture of myself on my blog. After years of not doing so.

// Other Highlights //

~I got a new job, at a place I love to work at (thank heavens for that...)
~I witnessed a Solar Eclipse, which was an amazing experience (truly, truly, truly amazing.) August 21st, 2017 will be forever etched in my memory.
~I bought my first car. Which thankfully didn't cost me a literal arm and leg.
~I got my liscense, so that I can actually drive said car.
~I went to a cabin in May with some friends and had the most amazing time playing cards and walking along riverbeds and drinking soda.
~I got to house sit a house for some friends of mine, and it really opened up some great opportunities for me to be responsible about things that I wasn't able to before, as well as having some great 'alone time', which is quite important for oh-so-introverted me.

There you have it, future-Amaris-who-is-looking-back-at-this-post-because-you-were-feeling-nostalgic!!!
And there you have it too, my blogging friends, who were curious enough to see what kind of things Amaris over at The Storybook Journal did for 2017.
I thank you for reading!  
I hope you dear followers of mine had a lovely year, and even those of you who are not my followers, but who are just stopping in, I hope you had a good year too.

Here is a verse for you; a verse that I thought was appropriate for such a post, in regards to the New Year.

Hebrews 12:1 
Therefore, since we are surrounded by such a great cloud of witnesses, let us throw off everything that hinders and the sin that so easily entangles. And let us run with perseverance the race marked out for us.

Did you see that word? That 'P' word? Perseverance. It means (in my own words, of course) "to keep going".
So if 2018 is going hard, keep going. There is another year around the corner. As long as you're alive, there is always another year. Make sure you're there to see it.

Ah, what could 2018 possibly hold for me?
All I can say is: "God, surprise me!"

~Amaris

Do you have any plans for the New Year? What is the best thing that happened to you in 2017?

Today is Thanksgiving! // 2017

Hello friends! This is just a short post to say:

HAPPY THANKSGIVING!!!

...If you celebrate it!

If not... well... I don't know. Just be thankful for no reason.

Here are a few random things I'm thankful for:

1. The fact that I don't have a sore throat all the time.
2. That there is a working mouse that goes with my computer.
3. A car that has good tires.
4. That I live in a universe where stars exist.
5.The fact that all books smell good, even if it's a 'bad book'.

That is all for now. I hope you are enjoying yourself!
#yay
#so fall
#very pumkin
#many thankfullness

Ok. I know it's getting annoying with the hashtags.
...#sorry

-Amaris

p.s. If you read this the day after Thanksgiving, I HOPE YOU HAD A GOOD ONE!!!

The Book Lover Tag!

How nice, I have been tagged to answer these questions by Rachel from A Girl's Place! Thank you, Rachel!

(Btw, I just found her blog like 2 weeks ago, but I love browsing it! Go check it out for sure. There now! I shall continue).

Here are the Rules:

• Answer the questions
• Have fun (don't worry)
• Tag some book-loving bloggers

Here are the questions, and my answers! I hope you enjoy.

1. If you could rewrite the end of a book, which one would it be?
This question is so hard... (come on, Amaris. It's only the first question. Get it together).
I honestly had a book once where I thought of writing an ending of my own. But I just can't remember what book it was. :P I'm afraid I'm ending up like with a horrid old brain. Tell you what: if I ever remember it,  I will come back and edit this answer on this post some time in the future, k?

2. Which fictional character are you most like?
Allow me to direct you to this tag I did.

3. Do you have any signed books?
I LOVE THIS QUESTION.
I am especially excited to answer this one, because I just got a new signed book! One of my favorite 'old' actors when I was a kid (and nowadays, too), was Charleton Heston. When I saw him in The Ten Commandments for the first time, I just thought he was just the best thing that ever happened to Hollywood.

Long story short, I happened to find his autobiography last time I went to a thrift store in my area. I bought it because 1. I still really like Chuck Heston, and 2. It was only 50 cents and in really good condition.
When I was looking at it later, I happened to turn to the title page and realized it was signed! I looked it up online to make sure, and according to a lot of images I found, it's his true real signature!
And you know that if the Internet says something, you KNOW it must be true, right?
(right? Guys?)
I was so excited. The book is now my precious.

Anyways, after that whole big long story, I also went to a book signing last year and got  my copy of The Book Thief signed by Markus Zusak, which was also a very fun experience.

4. What's the best book you've read so far this year? 
*goes to Goodreads because I'm terrible at remembering these things*
Well, to be honest there haven't been TOO many amazing discoveries in books for me this year (I've only read 11), but a few that stand out are 1. The Help (which I'm reading right now, actually), 2. Rachel's Tears (which was heartbreaking but good), and 3. Hidden Places, which I actually read TWICE this year.
Overall, I have to say the best was Hidden Places.

5. Do you have any bookish pet peeves? 
CAN YOU AUTHOR PEOPLE STOP ITALICIZING SO MANY WORDS. I know some people don't have a problem with it, but I find it quite annoying. It's ok if you're using them while typing a blog post, but in a book? It's just... eegh.
I also hate it when there are a ton of cheesy love scenes in a book that don't exactly do anything to make me love the characters more, nor do they drive the story forward in any way.
Annoying.

6. Out of the books you have read this year, what has had your favorite cover?
(I have exercised my power as the Author Of This Blog and changed the spelling of 'favourite' to 'favorite'. Hah. Haha. Power. Yes.)

That would be Mara, Daughter of the Nile. I had been wanting to read this one for years because I loved the cover and it had such a nice Egyptian aesthetic. Which I love (I loved The Ten Commandments, remember?).


7. Is there a book that releases this year that you cannot wait to read?
Actually, I don't really follow a lot of current authors. I always like it when Lynn Austin comes out with something new, but I don't think she's coming out with anything any time soon. *shrug* I know. Boring answer. :)

8. What is your favorite non-fiction book?
(Again, changed the spelling of favourite. Hah. hah.)
Going back again to 'favorite books of this year so far', I have to say that I really liked 'Rachel's Tears'. I gotta admit, I don't really read a lot of non-fiction. It has to have REALLY good reviews for me to even be tempted. I do think that I will enjoy Charleton Heston's autobiography, but I can't list that here, because I haven't read it yet. :) It looked really interesting, though.
Oh, and when I was in high-school, I read The Hiding Place, by Corrie Ten Boom, which was also a masterpiece of written history.

9. Do you have any favorite location and/or time period to have a book set in?
I looooove medieval settings in books. I enjoyed The False Prince series for that (also because they was a smashing good books, you know).
I usually like Civil War setting books as well, but I've been kind of tired of those lately.
I also usually love WWII books. But some of them can get too morbid. : / 

10. Is there a book that reminds you of something else?  
This is a very broad question, I feel, but I think I have an answer. I've mentioned this before on my blog, but The Blue Castle, by L.M. Montgomery, reminds me of a very relaxing Summer I had once a few years ago, during which I was able to read lots of books, and I loved looking out my window for no reason at all, and I just saw beauty in every little thing because Life was a good time for me.

~*~
Well, look at that! I'm done!
And I wrote this entire post all in one sitting, too! Usually I have to come back to finish a post I'm working on, but I just saw that Rachel tagged me like half an hour ago, and here I am finished with the tag! Hooray for me. :)

Let me think, who do I want to tag?
Let's do:
Natalie
Abbie
Morgan
Cordy

If any of my tagged people have already done these questions, I'm sorry I didn't notice! You don't have to do this tag again in that case... unless you want to. :)
There now! Off you pop!
(Can you tell I've been watching Sherlock BBC again, what with the British phrases?)

 The Questions:
1. If you could rewrite the end of a book, which one would it be?
2. Which fictional character are you most like?
3. Do you have any signed books?
4. What's the best book you've read so far this year?
5. Do you have any bookish pet peeves?
6. Out of the books you have read this year, what has had your favourite cover
7. Is there a book that releases this year that you cannot wait to read?
8. What is your favourite non-fiction book?
9. Do you have any favourite location and/or time period to have a book set in?
10. Is there a book that reminds you of something else? 

I hope you enjoy doing this tag! If you don't have a blog, feel free to answer these in the comments! I would LOVE to read your answers! (*LOOKS DIRECTLY AT BEST FRIEND*)
Ok.
Bye! 

-Amaris 

How to Know if it's a Good Book

If you think about the story at the most random times (for instance: during school, while you're eating, in the middle of a conversation) and wish you were reading it instead.

~

If you feel more alive with the characters in the book than with actual people (certain ones, anyways).

~

If the dialogue makes you feel like you're in the conversation.

~

If you stalk the author on their social media (provided they're still alive and actually on social media).

~

If you read a sentence in the book more than once because you want to fully soak in the beauty and meaning of it. 

~

If when a friend asks you "So what are you reading right now?" and you immediately go into a detailed explanation of why the book is amazing.

 ~

If you begin to daydream about writing fanfic for the book before you've even finished it.

 ~
If you start a storyboard for it on Pinterest (perhaps even before you've finished it).

 ~

If you read the last chapter really... slowly... because.... you don't... want... it.... to end.

 ~

If you begin an online review of the book for your blog (or for Goodreads) before you're finished with it because you know you're going to continue loving it to the end.

~

If the book is in buried in your bed covers somewhere in the morning when you wake up....

...

...

...

...

It's probably a good book. 

A Few Thoughts About My Jobs

 Not that this matters to anyone, but...
September 23rd, 2017 marked the two year anniversary that I got my very first job! 

To say the least, I've learned some things. I've had quite a few experiences. 
I was inspired by a post on Cordy's blog awhile back (sorry I can't find the actual post to link you: you'll just have to settle for a link to her blog), when she talked about working at her job and some of her experiences, and it got me thinking because I've never shared too much about MY job on my blog.
So I thought I would do that.
To give you some context, I'm going to just tell you that my job is one of these three stores: Hobby Lobby, Michael's or JoAnn Fabrics. 
Basically, I work at a craft store. 
(There. Revealed.) But I'm not telling which. :)
Plus, I actually just got a new job as well! But more on that later in this post.

Here are 10 random thoughts about my experiences:
   
~I love it when I get a customer that is sweet as a marshmallow. These are the people who actually take the time to be polite to you (because what do you know! Cashiers are people too!), and when they leave your register, you kind of feel sad and empty and regretful. You miss the person. Because they were so nice, and you don't want the niceness to end! And you remember them even after your shift is over.
I love those customers.

~Speaking of nice customers, one time a customer bought me a frappuccino. She was a regular customer who always comes in to buy the same thing, and we got to talking about Starbucks one time, and she told me she has a lot of Starbucks gift cards because lots of people give them to her.
Long story short, she offered to buy me a coffee.
I told her she didn't have to, but she said was glad to do it, and she went out and brought me back a grande mocha frappuccino (with whipped cream).
Next time I saw her at the store, I gave her a thank you card that I had made for her.

 O ~At a craft store, I see a lot of women customers, but I love it when men come into the store, because usually you can tell that they are completely out of their element (because it is a craft store, after all), and it gives me a chance to be an extra big help to them, because usually they don't know what in the world they're looking for.
All they know is that their wife sent them in for something but they don't know where it is.
I don't know; I guess it just amuses me to see a guy who doesn't know what in the world he's doing.

~Speaking of men customers, I love it when couples come into the store, because usually it's the wife or the girlfriend shopping, and the man is literally just looking around and following her like a lost sheep. Even so, most of them are completely content for their wives or girlfriends even if they're bored, because he knows his girl is enjoying herself shopping. And it's just fun to see that situation.
But most of the time, anyways, they just look kind of confused, like this: 

"C'mon, honey! Time to go."

~I learn a lot about people in general from working as a cashier. It makes things interesting. I can learn about how people react to different things, what sets them off, what irritates them, what gets them going depending on what subject you bring up...
All kinds of things. It's all very interesting.
I'm very into psychology, and retail is a great place to appreciate the way people are, and why they are like that. Like I said, my job has taught me a lot about things like that.
Some of the things I've learned I use for myself in real life- all because of something I saw in a customer one day at the store.

On a more serious note:
The age-old question: Can Customers Make You Cry?
~Well, there were only two times when I was driven to tears because of something at work.
The first time, a customer bought two flower arrangements, and I asked politely what they were for (You know. To make conversation, and all that), and he told me his story (I won't share all of it, it's probably personal). Basically, his wife died of cancer and his son died of an extreme car accident - all within four weeks of one another.
He told me how he used to be bitter toward God about it, but the Lord has taught him a lot since the two deaths, and he's not angry anymore. The flower arrangements were for their graves. I know it sounds like he was putting me on, but I can tell when people are doing that, and he was not.
I told him I would pray for him, and I did.
When I got my break I cried for the guy.

The only other time I was driven to tears was actually not a customer's fault, it was because of a mistake I made. A customer had bought some things, and after she had paid, she wanted to go back into the store to look at another item before leaving. So, she left the bag of paid stuff with me to hold for her at the register, and I set the stuff right next to me while she went to go look at the thing.
Well, she eventually came back up to the register to pick up the stuff she left with me, but when I was going to hand it to her, I realized that it wasn't where I had put it. 
I looked all around my register area, when it finally dawned on me that- (Lord have mercy) I had GIVEN THE BAG OF STUFF SHE BOUGHT TO ANOTHER CUSTOMER BY MISTAKE.
The poor lady was maaadddd. Thankfully, she didn't cuss me out or yell at me or anything, but she was realllyyyy really mad. :/
And of course we didn't have any more of what she had bought.
So she couldn't get a replacement for the stuff that I gave away.
And she needed it all by the next day.
Yeah. I cried later.

​I tell you, though. That's a mistake I'll never make again.​

Let us return to happier subjects.
 ~Our store location is nearby a pet store, so a lot of times people bring their pets in the store, which means I get to pet them. I've seen lots of dogs and cats of all sizes. 
And of course, that makes my own pets at home get jealous when they smell other animals on me. 
(No, I'm serious. One time my dog didn't speak to me for a whole month.) 
 
~Since we're talking about animals, one time, it was a truck day (you know... the day when the 'big ol' truck' comes and they have to put the stuff on the shelves for people to buy, and all that), and somehow or another, through the big truck loading door, a bird flew in. So the poor thing flew around and around the store until she finally flew into the cart area by the front door, and I swished her (or him... ) out to freedom. 
That bird has now got a very interesting story to tell his/her little birdie friends.

 
~Also speaking of animals: there is a customer who comes in sometimes, and she has this very particular key chain. It's a bunch of strings of yarn, and on each string, there is a name spelled out with those black-and-white letter beads. Names like Tommy, Sally, Susan. She's a very friendly woman, and one time we were talking about the key chain, and I asked her "Are those your grandchildren's names?" (For she was that age), and she said no, they are in fact, her cat names. Not just her current cat's names, but her previous cat's names were all on there. 
Every cat she's ever had has a name on her key chain. 
So, she told me all about the cats while pointing out the different name strings. 
"That's Tommy, he was a tomcat."
"This is Pumpkin, he was one of those real orange cats."
"This is Peanut, he's still with me but he's old."
And so on and so forth.   
She was a very interesting woman.     

 And the last thing:
~Ah yes, I told you I had another job, didn't I? I suppose you want to know a little about that too, huh? Especially since some people I know have been asking about it, so they can read this and know these things.

Well, I won't tell you too much (you know... stalkers and such. Got to keep 'em guessing), but I will tell you these things:

• I went in for the interview the day before I got my driver's license (talk about timing).
• I got the job and started work on September 8th, 2017.
• It's not a super long ways from my house (which makes my mom happy).
• It's very different from the kind of work that I'm used to.
• It's an independently owned business.
• The hours are much longer than I'm used to- but I like it (and I have come to terms with the fact that I will have to get up early every single weekday for the rest of my life).
• I really, really like the job.
• Except for the radio, because we're supposed to have a certain station on while we're open.
  And I. Don't. Like. The. Station. At. All.
  #why taylor swift #why

I don't have a specific job title, exactly. I guess you could call me the Storefront Manager. Because I'm 99% in charge (well, kind of. "In charge" sounds pretty powerful, and it's not exactly like that) of all the stuff that happens at the front desk, as well as taking orders and sorting packages that come in the mail, plus lots of other stuff. That kind of sounds like a big deal, but it's all on a rather small scale. Basically I have the storefront all to myself most of the time.

It's very different from what I'm used to, but I really like it.
~~~ 
Well anyways, that about sums it up, folks! 
I think I shall leave you now, because it is quite late and I have to get up early (you can imagine for what).
So I hope you enjoyed this post (you did, didn't you?), and I shall see you later.
Bye!
-Amaris