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September for me feels like one of those months where it feels like it lasted forever yet gone by in a blink of an eye. September was definitely one for the books and filled with so many great memories that I can’t wait to look back on in the future.
Lifestyle: Trips, Trips, and Trips
One of the biggest realizations after post-grad was how much I love traveling. I mean I always knew I loved traveling because I would always plan trips during school vacations and hence why I decided to study abroad twice in college. But, I don’t think I knew exactly HOW much I love traveling. I think it’s more so the planning and excitement for a new trip that just gives me so much serotonin. Also, I don’t think traveling always has to be a big trip overseas (though I love them) but it can literally just be a quick road trip, sleepover, or weekend getaway. September was DEFINITELY filled with lots of adventure and traveling so let me share my favorite three trips that I had this month.
Big Bear
The first weekend of September was labor day, which meant that I had a long weekend. Since my family also were free, we decided to do a last-minute trip to Big Bear. I went to Big Bear a lot growing up but it was usually for camps or trips with friends so I didn’t remember the last time I went with family. We were all looking forward to getting away and getting a big breath of fresh air. That weekend was filled with delicious food, walking in nature, and healing. As much as I love my trips with friends, I realize how much I cherish traveling with my family. The more I grow older, the more I realize how precious and rare these times are.
LA Gals
During this past year, I was lucky enough to find a really good group of friends in LA. I knew most of the girls in college but I think we definitely got closer post-grad. I know how busy everyone can be with working so I cherish any moment that people open up their time for me. I enjoyed our coffee dates, brunch dates, and weekend getaway. This specific weekend in September was luckily filled with all of the three. My friend, Kelsey, recently moved up to LA and had a mini housewarming for the weekend. Our friend from San Diego was also able to make it during that weekend so it was so nice to have a mini-reunion. Hanging out with these girls during the weekend made me realize how lucky I am to have each of these friendships.
Korea
My biggest trip started towards the end of September, which was my flight to Korea. It was lowkey last minute as well but it all started when I realized I still had 2 weeks’ worth of PTO left. It also just happened to work perfectly for our whole family and we all decided it was the perfect time to go again. I used to go to Korea every summer but I thought that it wouldn’t be possible post-grad. However, I know I’m lucky enough to have had everything work out the way it did. I’m still in Korea as I am writing this and only have a week and a half left here and I don’t want to leave yet. However, I also created so many unforgettable memories here in October that I can’t wait to share with you next month.
With that, I wanted to conclude this section with how lucky I am to be able to go on these trips. Lucky that I can support it financially. Lucky that I have friends and family that are willing to go on these trips. Lucky that I have the time to be able to go on these trips. I sometimes think that these trips are the only thing that keeps me going because of how much I can look forward to them. However, I know that sometimes I need to learn to be content and happy where I am exactly without having the next trip to look forward to.
Lows: Charge Your Battery
As much as I love hanging out with friends, I sometimes feel like I need to recharge. I’m so lucky with how much fun I had this month but I seriously did not go a single weekend without seeing someone or being on a trip. Since I was constantly surrounded by people, I feel like I felt pretty socially drained this month. I even had a day this month where I made plans to catch up with a friend that I haven’t seen in years but I was close to canceling because I didn’t get enough sleep and was feeling drained. However, one of my pet peeves is people who bail last minute without a solid reason so I definitely did not want to feel like a hypocrite and pulled myself together. I’m lucky I did because that hang out was a lot of fun but that day definitely made me realize that I need to prioritize some alone time for myself.
Lessons: Living the Best Everyday
I think one lesson I learned this month is that I need to live each day to the fullest. Sometimes life can feel so repetitive and feel like a constant cycle that doesn’t seem to have an ending. I think in a way, it’s the reason why I love these trips so much because it gives me a break from the cycle and adds in the excitement. I think the more it gets repetitive, the more I also want to not try because I begin to realize what even the point of all of this is. However, I think it’s important to reset your goals and your vision for your life and focus each day to have those excitements too.
I'll leave this section with this quote:
"Every part of the journey is of important to the whole." - Saint Teresa of Avila
Songs on Repeat:
Happier Than Ever - Billie EilishRed Lipstick (feat. Yoonmirae) - LeeHi, Yoon MiraeTHESE DAYS - OKAY! KENJI My Pick of the Month: Phone Calls
This is super random but I kind of thought about what was super meaningful to me this month and I had to pick phone calls. This month, I quite literally randomly would call Stephanie to rant or catch her up with my life. I usually dislike unexpected phone calls because I feel uncomfortable or am unsure of what the meaning of the phone call could be. I also feel like I’ve become accustomed to planning out specific days and times for a facetime call. However, this month something unexpected happened in my life that I wanted to rant to Stephanie about on the spot and was too lazy to type it all out of the text. It was really funny because Stephanie was also confused as to why I was calling her out of the blue but we ended up having a great chat that lasted over an hour. Throughout the month, I then would hit her up for a phone chat when I had a long drive back home and we would catch up on our lives. It was also convenient because I would call during my long drive and Stephanie would sometimes be out on a walk alone anyways. Therefore, I have switched from hating to liking phone calls and hope to do more in the future.
That was my month filled with serotonin and I hope that your September was also filled with as much if not more serotonin than me. The start of October has already been so amazing so I can't wait to share my October memories with you next month. Thank you so much if you have read this far and taking the time to learn more about my current life.
Talk to you next month,
-- Jin