Updated usually on Mondays and/or Thursdays!


Tuesday, September 13, 2016

An End for a New Beginning Part 2: Dearest Reader, Thank You. THE FINAL POST.

Diana's dress: Emily and Fin

Dearest Reader,

As the sun sets a bit sooner each day, I am reminded that a new season is imminent. My summer break ends in less than a week, which sadly means...this is our final Letrendary post. Concluding Letrendary is bittersweet--bitter to be moving on from something Diana and I have put so much time and care towards but even more sweet to be proud of something we've created entirely on our own. 

I remember Diana texting me in the beginning of December and asking whether I'd be interested in collaborating and creating a fashion blog with her. I'm pretty sure I responded with an immediate YES. Her photography skills plus my enthusiasm for fashion plus both of our passions for writing made it a clear yes. However, I did have my own personal doubts in the beginning. I knew that starting this blog would make me more vulnerable--vulnerable for people to judge me. I was afraid of what people would think about me writing about my style and posting pictures of myself. I was worried about "putting myself out there." But once Diana and I were a few posts in, I realized that our readers could tell that our passion and content were genuine. Judgment became an irrelevant concern because I was doing something I loved. 

I've learned so many little things from this blog--just simple things from formatting a blog post to planning out a creative theme for each post to collaborating on a regular basis with Diana. But aside from many of these kinds of lessons, my greatest takeaway from Letrendary is my realization of this: I love sharing my thoughts and stories. There is something so surreal and meaningful about sharing my passions on a local and global scale. Having readers from countries like Ukraine, Romania, and Israel serves as a reminder that we truly are all interconnected and that our words and actions matter. They matter because every one of us has the capability to make a difference in this world. 

Style, fashion, culture, and writing constantly inspire and captivate my curiosity. It's really got me thinking that if I could do anything in the world, I'd be on a team of culture and travel photojournalists who created their own human rights organization and shares their experiences on a website haha. Wouldn't that be so awesome? I want to experience living alongside people who are in completely different realities and share their stories--especially those in dark places that are so desperate for light in their lives. I'm sharing this because my core passions and this far-fetched idea of mine derives a lot from my love for Letrendary, and that is something I am truly, truly thankful for.

I hope several or even just one of the past 47 posts have inspired or spoke to you in a deeper way. I feel very, very blessed to have been able to write, share, and connect with you these past 21 months. It's been an adventurous experience, and what's so awesome is that this really is an end for a new beginning. We are all just beginning to unravel and understand the millions of wonders in this universe. We are all just starting to recognize and comprehend the profoundness in even the simplicity around us. Wherever your interests or passions may lie, I really encourage you to go after them. Step outside of your comfort zone. I hope that this letter serves as a reminder that the possibilities ahead of you are LITERALLY limitless. And it's okay if you aren't really sure what your interests or passions are yet. All I can say is to keep searching and seeking. An open-mind and hungry heart never fails in guiding you to discover something you love.

With sincere gratitude and joy,

Dorothy


As a sentimental last before I leave, Diana and I went out for dinner in Claremont. Here are some shots from our night out!
Diana got a smoothie at Podge's and that's me waiting for Diana's smoothie to be made LOL.
Grid Tank: Lush // Boyfriend Jeans: American Eagle // Sandals: Birkenstocks
 After having the same 2 bags I featured in alllll the Letrendary posts (technically 1 bag because I lost one of them) for the past 2 years, I FINALLYYY got a new bag. Yay! Isn't the burgundy color so beautiful? It's perfect for all the seasons, but especially Christmas!
Striped Sweater: ZARA
Italian is the way to go, am i right? I came to this restaurant (Aruffo's) after graduation with a bunch of family and friends and we really enjoyed it, so I brought Diana here. Twas a success again!
Diana and I love I Like Pie. So, of course. Pie. Coconut Cream so on point!


Thanks for following us on our adventures, dearest Reader. You're quite literally the best and we love you so much. From the bottom of our hearts, thank you, thank you, thank you.





P.S. Diana here- just wanted to say a few quick sentences. It's been such an exhilarating journey to push myself creatively for every Letrendary post. Long time readers know that I like to add a bit of warmth and magic into all of my photos, so I hope that as you read the blog, you can see the love I stenciled into every pixel--my own version of paragraphs stringed by pigments and glued by shadows. I don't write much on this blog (all of my writings are filed under the Diana tag, so yes, there are only a few posts) but I hope that you can see my journey too, more subtly, through these photos of Dorothy and through her wonderful words. Doro and I will both be doing different blog-esque things soon, and perhaps we'll edit this post later to reflect that. But until then, I refuse to say sayonara. I know we will meet again, one way or another.

I leave you with a quote from my astronomy textbook:
"Honestly, I cannot congratulate you upon it. Detection is, or ought to be, an exact science, and should be treated in the same cold and unemotional manner. You have attempted to tinge it with romanticism, which produces much the same effect as if you worked a love-story or an elopement into the fifth proposition of Euclid.

'But romance was there,' I remonstrated."

-Arthur Conan Doyle, The Sign of the Four, 1890
Find romance in the coldest of corners and heart in the deadliest of places. Chase the sky into the ocean. Sink with the indigo of dawn, then yank down the sky as you rise with the sun. No one can change the world alone, but you alone can change your world. And that's just about as powerful and as mesmerizing as anything out there. Don't be obsessed with happiness--I'd rather you fascinated, choked-up with appreciation, scouring for meaning in your days. Happiness is elusive, but being interested? That you can surely do. So be interested and rock the world.

P.P.S. Thank you to the two random people who took the photo of Doro and me for us. :D