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I honestly can't believe how fast this month has flown by. This month was a super fulfilling month for me in all aspects whether that was in my personal life or work life. With all the chaos that life has thrown at me, I was able to make forever memories with all the people that I care about. Keep reading if you want to know more about these moments I'll always cherish!
Lifestyle: Booked and Busy
Work Photoshoot & Happy Hour
This month at work has been a little outside of the ordinary and I think it's helped it be more exciting than the normal routine. I finally got to execute a work photoshoot for our products, which is a project I've been working on for months. The photoshoot was located in Los Angeles, so I brought a few of my coworkers who helped me with executing this project. I'm so glad I over-prepared for the shoot because the shoot ended up being slightly chaotic but well worth it. Without the preparation, I definitely think we would've been completely lost. The shoot was super busy so we barely had time to eat but we luckily squeezed in some yummy food from the local coffee shop nearby while doing the shoot.
We also had a work happy hour for my manager who was leaving our company. It was such a bittersweet time because I was super sad to see her go but super excited for the next step in her career. It was nice catching up with everyone outside of work and really getting to know more about them, though we did still talk about work. With my manager leaving me, I was nervous about having a new boss as a replacement but so far he's been great and I'm actually really excited to see how we work together moving forward.
Friends
This month I was truly a social butterfly and was hanging out with so many different friend groups. Not only did I get to meet new friends through one of my college friend's birthday parties, but I also got to reunite with an old friend that I haven't seen since 2020. Whether they're new or old, I'm always so happy to hear about other people's lives.
Concert
I was also able to go to a concert this month called Head in the Clouds in Pasadena, CA! I was really excited to go to this concert because it would be my last one in a while with Amanda because she was leaving for Korea to study abroad for a year 2 days after the concert. This 2-day concert was so much fun and the weekend was filled with also mixing so many of my friend groups. I used to get nervous mixing friend groups but I realized most of the people I am close with are super friendly and welcoming so there's never really a problem. I was also happy to bump into so many of my old friends at the concert as well!
NOLA
The last weekend of the month was saved for a New Orleans trip with my college friends I met during my study abroad in London. It's been such a long time since I've traveled with them (and my first time traveling with Kelsey!) and this was such a long way coming. We've been talking about going on trips for so long, but as expected it was just a talk for a long time. The trip finally did make it out of the group chat. The weekend was filled with sweat (due to humidity), beignets, hurricanes (the drink), and voodoo dolls. There are so many memories we made during this trip that I cannot put into words. All I can say is that it was definitely a core memory and I can't wait to do some more traveling soon! (Maybe sooner than expected..?! hehe)
Lows: Balancing Family & Friends
As you can see from the previous section, I truly had a fulfilling month. However, having so much fun with friends and being out most of the time, I started to feel guilty for not hanging out with my family more. It's definitely harder because I live with my family, so I feel more guilty when I'm out every weekend. Although I see them during the weekdays, I feel like we're all usually so busy so weekends are the time to really spend quality time. However, we haven't been able to get a lot since I've been busy hanging out with friends. Although I know I should have fun and live my life without guilt, I do want to try to create time for quality family time as well.
Lessons: Surround Yourself with Good Friends
I can't be more grateful for all of the great friends I have in my life. This month could not have been as fulfilling and as memorable had it not been for them. I've always found friendships so hard and fragile because it was hard to find people who would put in the same level of effort. However, most of the friendships I have today really put a lot of effort into keeping the friendship strong. Also, as I mentioned previously, most of my friends are super welcoming and nice. I really appreciate that because it doesn't hold me back from introducing my friends to each other and letting them form their own friendships as well. Becoming an adult and especially coming out of the quarantine phase of the pandemic, I realized how precious relationships are and how lonely it can be without them. I also understand how hard it is to make good friendships post-grad so I'm so happy to have them in my life.
Songs on Repeat:
Top Songs -
Colors (with Eyelar) - Gryffin, Blanke, EyelarSomebody! - Loco, HwasaTV - Billie Eilish Bonus -
I've also been really into listening to this playlist on my drive to work. I think I've literally listened to this playlist at least 50 times this month. Am I going back to my SoundCloud days? Listening to playlists on Spotify (esp. BTO DJs) makes me think of my college days.
My Pick of the Month: Voodoo Dolls
When Calvin, Kelsey, Mish, and I were out and about past midnight in New Orleans, we decided to stumble upon a random local store and spontaneously pick out voodoo dolls for each other (Can you guess whose is whose?) lol. Ever since we started carrying it all over our trip and taking pictures with it. Although we laughed about our stupid overpriced purchase, we had no regrets because it brought us so much joy throughout the trip. I realized it really is the small things that can put a smile on your face.
This month was filled with core memories and ones I'll keep with me forever. With that being said, I'm sooo excited it to be September even though it also means closer to the summer ending. I have a good feeling about September and I hope that it's filled with more core memories. I hope everyone had a great month and is excited for the next one ahead.
Talk to you next month,
-- Jin