What I've Been Consuming: September 2025
- Faith Bolduc
- Oct 3, 2025
- 5 min read
With the highs come the lows, which September definitely brought my way a little bit. Lucky for me, however, I have a phenomenal support system at school and a better handle on my mental capabilities as I grow older, so I have not had as hard a time adjusting to the occasional punches life has to throw at me!
To elaborate, this September I was diagnosed with Salmonella, lyme disease, a sinus infection, and an uptick in my costocondritis symptoms within about a week of each other, leaving me pretty much bedridden in between my six-course load and extracurriculars. It's left me feeling exhausted and a little down as I feel less enthusiastic and motivated in contrast to my normal disposition. Despite that, however, I've only missed two classes total and have been catching up on many movies I have always wanted to watch, in addition to having a pretty epic month nonetheless. I only wish I could go for a run, but I know I will be strong enough soon!
I would like to give a special shoutout to Liv Khoury, Maggie Olsen, and Allie Bamford; through all of this, they have consistently checked in on me and given me the much-needed leniency as I navigate everything. They know I'm a positive person, so they save the positivity for me to find and instead listen. I am so overjoyed to have met such wonderful people at school who know me better than I know myself, and I think they're part of the reason why everything doesn't feel so hard. I fucking love you guys.
That being said, I assure anyone reading this that I am on my UP! This happened during the first week of September, and now in the first week of October, my symptoms are nearly gone; just waiting to feel less tired and a little more energetic, which will definitely come back to me soon. NOW, enough blabbering from me, it's time for everyone's favorite blog post: what I've been reading, watching, listening to, and fueling my body with this month!
SEPTEMBER 2025
MUSIC
Mt. Joy
I got on a kick with Mt. Joy and their new album pretty heavily throughout the summer. I love their seamless transition into more rock-oriented music in Hope We Have Fun. I am absolutely obsessed! So, when Liv put on my radar that they would be in Buffalo, New York, I immediately decided that was a road trip we had to take. Little did I know that would end up being the same week I found out about my Salmonella; however, I was determined to see them live, packing plain pasta to eat on the road alongside many bottles of Gatorade. We saw them live, got up to the front, and somehow I got my shirt signed by Jackie. What a concert!!! A memory I will surely never forget, with one of my best friends in the world.
MOVIES
TIFF!!!!
A memory I will be sure to unpack at a later date on this blog, but what an insane opportunity I had courtesy of my capstone program at school. The best part about this weekend was getting to participate in my favorite hobby: watching movies in movie theaters. I had the opportunity to attend 5 screenings, 3 of which were world premieres of the film, meaning I was amongst the first viewers to ever lay eyes on it aside from the crew. That was a spectacular feeling and one that I will cherish for years to come.
TV
West Wing
"Aaron Sorkin is a genius" is a statement I had heard one too many times not to give this TV show a chance. Anyone who knows me knows I care much more for movies than I do television production, but I have been absorbing West Wing episodes like a sponge. The writing is phenomenal, and the characters are so complex. I appreciate shows with banter and shenanigans (ex, Gilmore Girls) so this is defintely a show I will continue to binge.
Books
Diary of a Young Girl by Anne Frank
In a quite interesting turn of events, I am joining my parents on a trip to Amsterdam for my fall break!!!! I cannot WAIT to return abroad, since I have not been to Europe since the fall of last year and have been yearning for a chance to dress European and walk around cobblestone streets, geeking out at history and art and culture and food and drink. I am so excited UGH! On that note, however, you know me and my history obsession, we are going to the Anne Frank Haus. I have only read excerpts of her diary, and so in preparation for the trip, I am reading all versions of her diary: her original (A), the edited (B), and her father's version (C).
FOOD
...McDonald's..?
During my salmonella situation (take a shot every time I mention the 19th-century illness in this blog post) I was basically bound to an all-carb diet to prioritize the plain foods that would not send my colon into a fit. This included pasta, bagels, bread, rice, and...nope that's about it. Therefore, I declared that when this health concern was sorted once and for all, I would indulge in disgusting, greasy food as a reward. This took form in McDonald's, which I happily ate, finally, about a week ago. I got a quarter-pounder with cheese meal (inspired by my dear friend Aiden) in addition to a vanilla milkshake and some nuggets. It was the best meal I've had in a while (obviously). I am now indulging in fruits and vegetables.
DRINK
Gatorade
All throughout the month of September, I was clutching Gatorade as I struggled to stay on top of hydration.I was forced to intake IV fluids almost daily because of how horribly dehydrated I was, so I resorted to Gatorade and then Gatorade zero, drinking it almost constantly. I am still a bit dehydrated (lol) but hey at least my electrolytes are normal again!
APP
Letterboxd
This is in part due to TIFF and also due to my movie-watching habits as I rest. My Letterboxd has been popping off, and I am enjoying every minute of it! Follow me @faithbolduc3
HOBBY OF THE MONTH
watching movies
I've already delved into this a bit, but, I've been watching a lot of movies this month! It's been fun to check things off of my watchlist. One movie I've been waiting to come out was The Long Walk, based off the book by one of my favorite authors, Stephen King. This movie freaked me out. I have a horrible time with horror movies and have boycotted them. That being said, this wasn't exactly horrot; it's a dystopian story with insane gore. My garmin alerted me that my heart rate was above 115, and guess what, it stayed their the ENTIRE MOVIE. All this is to say you need to see it if you can handle gore, violence, and dystopian tragedy. I got to see it with my friends and it was so much fun!
And this concludes my monthly reflection! I hope you enjoyed, and I will be sure to write soon of things other than a monthly review. For now, have a lovely October <3
Love always,
Faith
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