Considering I grew up in a small, rural town, I spent the majority of my time running through tall grass and chasing shadows through the woods right outside my fence line. For me, my free time always came in the form of either exploring, writing or drawing, but now, I’ve begun growing past my old hobbies.

Presently, I spend much of my time exploring new places. For a broke college student, I love to shop and overspend in locally owned businesses.

A perfect Saturday is one where I throw my hair in a low bun, put a pair of entirely-too-long earrings on, and wear some form of high-waisted jeans with a turtle neck.

I like to trek to local farmer’s markets, as I grew up in small town festivals and shopping. My mother owns a soap business, and she was a loyal vendor to the Tahlequah market for years. I spent most of my elementary and middle school years selling people goat milk’s soap and homemade lip balm.

Once I arrive at a local market, I find the vendors with homemade baked goods, like tamales. When I make my bi-weekly weekend trip back to my hometown, I wake up on early Saturdays with my mother and buy from the Tamale Lady, a Spanish speaking mother who has me hooked on everything she cooks.

I like to trade small talk with vendors before I buy fresh tomatoes or vegan cookies. Usually, when I’m in Norman, either my boyfriend or a friend sticks close by, picking at freshly-bought pretzels.

After the market, I venture into a local downtown or mainstreet. I find the first local coffee stop and fuel up with my shopping buddy for the day.

If I’m with my best friend Morgan, we save coffee for last. Instead, we head to close-by bookstores and buy out the poetry section. In the corner of a coffee shop, sipping on iced mochas, we read poetry to one another. Many pictures of us come from our makeshift coffee dates.