So Kita’s outfit is mostly finished. I wanted to give her a tourist/traveler vibe. Her color scheme used to be red and orange but that made her look like a fast-food mascot. But then I learned that bees are attracted to the colors of purple, violet, and blue and I like this color scheme much better.

For all of those who are flying home for the break, but not only! I also discovered I have so many sunset photos that I will make it a separate post. For now though enjoy some of my favorite skies from the past few years 🙂 (some of them you already know but they just fit the category way too well)

I wish you all safe travels and happy holidays! You know where to find me: @akilian.jpg / akilian@umich.edu

– Tola

“I’m sane, but I’m overwhelmed.”

I don’t like to dwell on the past, but this week has been one full of reflection for me. I’ve finally turned in the last of my final papers and taken the last of my exams for this rollercoaster of a semester, so there’s far less to occupy my brain than usual. Even though these past few months have had their fair share of good times and bad, I look back on my third semester of college and feel an overwhelming sense of accomplishment and gratitude.

“I’m lost, but I’m hopeful, baby.”

When I was rejected from what I thought was my dream school two years and one day ago, I didn’t know what my future was going to look like. Turns out, like Alanis Morissette says in her song Hand in My Pocket, “everything is just fine, fine, fine,” – I would argue that it’s even better than fine! That being said, it’s been stranger than I could have ever imagined. With the pandemic severely disrupting the end of my senior year of high school and transition into college, far more happened than I could have ever anticipated. However, even during the pandemic, I have never once regretted my choice to attend the University of Michigan, and that rejection letter that I got a little over two years ago turned out to be one of the best letters I have ever received in my life.

“And what it all comes down to”

I’m learning like I never have before, I’m meeting all kinds of fantastic new people, I’m figuring out who I am at a pace unlike any I’ve ever experienced, and I’m making friends for life. Michigan students aren’t lying when we chant “It’s great to be a Michigan Wolverine!” at the top of our lungs every chance we get. Although it’s been a stressful semester full of highs and lows, the good parts overshadow the bad.

“Is that everything’s gonna be fine, fine, fine.”

I am so overjoyed to have the privilege of attending the University of Michigan, and I am fortunate to be having such a life-changing experience here. While I’m looking forward to a much-needed break, I am looking forward to getting back to school in Ann Arbor even more.

Listen to Hand in My Pocket here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=D3OPJvjnJa0

I’m redesigning a character again! This time I’ve renamed her Nagosta Vo and am actually trying to design all her looks within the span of my series. I’m trying to more accurately capture her air-vent crawling-bad-attitude self more accurately. And that starts with a more practical outfit.