animals in shelters

I recently went to a local (sort of) humane society and got to go into two separate rooms labeled Cat Room 1 and Cat Room 2.

I enter cat room 1, not sure what to expect. They are spacious rooms with plenty of little homemade shelves for the cats to jump on and they even had a screened in outdoor area that they could walk out to through the window. Not a bad place at all, except for the fact these poor cats are there because they were either, neglected, once strays or surrendered because they couldn't be taken care of anymore or simply because they were not wanted.

As soon as i enter the room and shut the door behind me, i notice one cat is lying on a very comfy looking cot covered in blankets, giving me a one eye closed look- obviously sleepy. Then, there's a rather large cat seated on one of the cat jungle gyms that looks more than happy about my presence. 

I give the sleepy small cat a pat on the head before heading over to the bigger one, who immediately rubs its head against my hand profusely. I quickly learn that his name is Dudley. He was so friendly and loving, it was hard to get away from him. Which made me think the obvious, how could this precious creature be stuck here and not in their forever home? I guess that's a big question for all of the animals out there that are stuck in shelters, or just stuck out in the world by themselves.

The next cat i encounter is Maple, and man, the coat on her! Crazy, black and orange and just, you can't even put into words what it looks like but it sure is something. I read her story (there names, stories, etc are posted on the back of the door) and she was a stray but you wouldn't know it. She was very approachable and friendly.

After spending time taking turns petting the three cats, i stick my head through the window to see if there are any cats out in the screened in area. I see an orange tabby and call her until she finally makes her way in. Her name is Jenny and she had this angry little expression on her face that just made her too cute. Luckily her personality doesn't match her face! She's a sweetie too.

I will save the stories of Cat Room 2 for another day.

After spending time in both rooms i left feeling a lot better than i thought i was. I was afraid if i went that it would make me sad, seeing all of those animals there like that. But one plus is that they are there. They have a roof over their heads and they are fed and loved by the wonderful staff. It is a much better outcome than what they could have had. And now they are just in line for their forever homes! Which i really truly hope for, because they are so sweet.

I will be going back there frequently to socialize with them and am going to start posting a weekly spotlight for each cat i encounter (pictures included!) in hopes to get the word out and for them to find their perfect home even sooner!

Thank you for ready.

With love,

Susannah.

How i became a writer.

Hello party people.

I am still pondering about what i want my blog to be about and i can't think of anything. So i have decided to finally post at least something and this is what came to my mind. I hope you like it.

<3

So there's one thing that has been on my mind a lot since this past weekend and it's a television show on Disney Channel called Austin and Ally and I have decided I want to write something about it because it means a lot to me. So here it is.

Here is how I became a writer.

It was a random day in the beginning of December of 2011 and I found myself watching Disney Channel because yeah, I was almost seventeen and still watched a children's channel (no shame.) It's what I grew up watching and frankly it was better than watching some raunchy thing on MTV.

Anyway, I saw previews for this new show that was premiering that night, about a young boy and a young girl who become friends over their bond of music. Ally, the main character was shy and had major stage fright but loved to write songs (which I can definitely relate on the stage fright part). Austin, the other main character loved to perform but couldn't write songs worth crap.

Honestly I thought the show looked dumb, expect for the fact the blonde boy that played on it was cute ;)

Anyways, I thought what the heck and watched it and I thought it wasn't that bad. And that’s what started it all. It became my favorite show and I found myself making sure I caught every new episode. I also found myself googling the actor who played Austin (Ross Lynch) and discovering he had a band with his siblings called R5 and that I really liked their sound. It was before they became pretty famous like they are now. I even went to a concert of theirs but I can save that for a different post.

But I guess the main reason I am telling you this is because that show sparked something in me. I got so into the show I found myself wanting more and for some reason thought of it and googled Austin and Ally fan fiction for the heck of it and I was shocked to discover all these different stories people wrote.

I thought hmm, maybe I should try to write a story but I immediately decided not to. I mean I never really wrote anything before besides stuff for school and I always had trouble in English so I thought that would mean I would be a terrible writer.

But after reading more and more fan fictions I decided what the heck, and starting writing a story, and of course when I look back on it now I cringe. I say things out loud like oh my gosh, did I really write that? Or how could I not have noticed how I spelt that completely wrong, etc?

Well I posted the first chapter on a whim and checked back about ten minutes later and I already had a couple of reviews! I couldn't believe all of the nice things people were saying about it. I think I got a couple hundred reviews by the end of it. I was thrilled.

And so that started a writing frenzy in me and I was coming out with a new Austin and Ally fan fiction story every couple of months, getting 400 reviews on one and about 500 on another. And then I wrote another one, my biggest one yet. Something I was very proud of. And I got over 1,500 reviews and over 100,000 views! I couldn't believe it. Basically Austin and Ally was my inspiration to start writing and I'm so glad that I decided to watch it that night.

But unfortunately all good things come to an end, and here I am this past Sunday night, 21 years old and watching the last episode of the show and naturally, I cried. I mean, I semi grew up with the show and it made me realize how much I love to write. So I am obviously forever thankful for it.

I am so proud of the writers of that show; the ending was one of the best endings to a show I've ever seen. It really did it justice.

Right now I am working on a novel that I want to get published one day and I owe it all to that show. Although it's now over, it will forever be in my heart.

Comment below if you like to write and what inspired you to do so! And even if you don't really write, just comment and tell me what inspires you!

fantasy + snow photo shoot

photo shoot, january || twenty sixteen