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New years are always so exciting, but I think there’s always a great pressure to reinvent yourself, glow up, and drastically change things about yourself. I’m not going to lie, I fell into this trap and even died my hair red to mark the next chapter in my life. But as always, I learn that actual changes don’t happen in a blink of an eye and not everything in life has to change to have this “perfect life.” It’s more about the process of getting to a goal or the routines that you want to implement rather than resolutions that are important for the new year. The new year does not mean you have to be a newer, “better” version of yourself. I like to think of it more as an opportunity to look back at all the progress you’ve made. It’s a great time to reflect on what you can continue to do and what things you can implement to make a healthier or happier lifestyle that fits you.
Lifestyle: New Environment, New Job, & New Routines
At the beginning of this month, my family made a decision that we were going to move back to Orange County. I grew up in Irvine but my family moved the switched to Los Angeles during the end of my freshman year of college. Therefore, that was where I was living post-grad. I’ve loved living in LA as I’ve made a lot of friends nearby, but I wasn’t sad to move back to Orange County either. Coming back to OC was strange because it felt like a familiar yet different environment. Exploring the hometown I’ve known as a teenager now as an adult felt strange. But, I still think there’s something exciting about it. Although I did think about moving out and not living with family, my new job happened to be nearby. Therefore, it didn’t make sense timing-wise to do so and I don’t know if I was necessarily ready for it either. I know I’ll move out one day and I don’t think there’s a reason to put pressure on doing it quickly. I’ll remember to cherish these moments when I can.
As I mentioned earlier and in my last blog, I landed a new job! Although it’s the same Marketing Coordinator role as my last job, it’s in a completely different industry and field of Marketing. In my last role, I was more focused on the social media and advertising sides of Marketing but my current role focuses more on the branding side of Marketing. I admit that getting a new job is not only exciting but can also be super intimidating. I can be stuck in my head about whether I can do a good job and satisfy their expectations on why they hired me, which leads me to my low (which I’ll talk about later). However, as I mentioned, it’s also super exciting! Although saying goodbye to my first job post-grad wasn’t super easy, I was excited to continue growing and learning in my career. I really do think it was a step up in terms of growth and not to mention that I got a pay increase (know your worth friends!).
Since my new role was in the office, it meant that I had to switch my work-from-home routines to fit the schedule. I really put a lot of effort into having solid morning and night routines for myself outside of work so that I could have a good balance of work and life. Morning routines for myself included going to a yoga class, getting ready, and eating a solid breakfast. Believe it or not, I have never been a big breakfast person but having to get up at 5 am for workout classes and going to work in the office made me realize that it was a necessity. Honestly, I think breakfast could now be my favorite meal of the day as the morning is weirdly calming (perhaps a calm before the storm) and I’ve been enjoying my yogurt parfaits or avocado toasts in the morning. My night routines have been slightly different every night but include either catching up with a friend via ft, hanging out with my family, or journaling. However, there have been nights where I just end up scrolling on Youtube or Instagram until it’s time to hit the hay so the routine hasn’t been “perfect” and I don’t think it will ever be. I am trying to incorporate more reading though because I feel like I’m just hopping from a big screen to a small screen to a medium screen and honestly just straining my eyes and feeding my brain unnecessary/ useless facts. Although those are nice to have some days, I do want to do more activities (such as reading) that don’t require me to look at screens.
Lows: Imposter Syndrome & Overconsumption of Caffeine
New jobs will always have a learning curve because no matter how similar a role might have been, there’s no way you can know everything you’re inspected in this new role. However, it’s hard to not feel (for lack of a better word) stupid or like you’re not good enough. I definitely felt a little bit of imposter syndrome kicking in and felt like maybe I did not deserve this new job with the pay increase. I definitely also sat in the first few meetings and just nodded when I really had no idea what was going on or what they were saying. I felt a little bit of pressure trying to figure everything out, especially because I was assigned multiple projects from the start. However, I’m lucky to say that my team members and manager have been super accommodating and inviting to teach me the parts I didn’t understand as well as being able to ask questions. I especially appreciated my manager saying that I shouldn’t worry about whether my question sounded dumb or repetitive because I wasn’t expected to know everything. If anything, he would rather repeat himself and get my questions answered rather than for me to act like I know everything only for me to struggle and not finish my projects. I can also finally say as it’s my third week on the job writing this post that I’m slowly but surely getting the grasp of these projects and sitting in meetings with an understanding of where the direction of the conversation is going. Although it’s been stressful, I like to say it’s good stress or growing pain. I know that the things I’m going through and learning right now will help me in my career, which is why I made the switch to a new job in the first place.
As I started my new job, I started to rely heavily on coffee and energy drinks. My new year goal was to not drink as much caffeine and perhaps stick to one drink a day at most (which I was pretty good about). That definitely did not happen. It also doesn't help that a lot of my coworkers are also coffee addicts. I can't help myself to grab a cup of coffee when they are going on a coffee break. In fact, I have been having at least one caffeinated drink and perhaps more on some days. The overconsumption of caffeine with the addition of stress actually led to my eyes twitching. The twitching wasn’t super noticeable to other people but it was something that I could feel and notice. I was honestly kind of worried and searched up the symptom online and it said that it could be due to caffeine, lack of sleep, and stress (a.k.a. me lol). Therefore, I’m going to try to slowly decrease my caffeine intake and try not to rely on them as much to give me energy.
Lessons: Friendships
As I grow older, I learned to appreciate the value of friendships even more. The start of the New Year started with my Vegas trip with Stephanie. Although there were more L’s than what would be considered “good memories,” I still wouldn’t take it away. The L’s included two canceled flights (and having to re-book overpriced tickets), not being exactly where we wanted for the countdown of New Year, and waiting long hours in the cold for ubers. However, the good was the yummy food at the buffets, playing around in the casinos, and the comfortable stay in our hotel. Although I was sad that 2022 didn’t start off the way I exactly planned it, I learned that it was memories that I can laugh about in the future.
This month, I got to hang out with a few of my friends. However, the most memorable would be hanging out with my friends Sharon, Elizabeth, and Kelsey. We’ve gotten close over the past year by hanging out in different parts of Los Angeles. This hang-out was especially exciting because it was Elizabeth’s surprise birthday. It was also the first time we met altogether after getting new jobs. It was crazy to see that all four of us had gotten new jobs on a similar timeline and it was so exciting to be able to congratulate each other. I’m sad to say that we’re not all going to be living as close to each other anymore distance-wise, but I’m thankful for the memories we’ve created so far. I also don’t think that this means the end of our group friendship but rather a shift. I’m so excited and proud of everyone as I wish nothing but success on their way.
Songs on Repeat: My Throwback Playlist
The album cover is me in elementary school (lol) to capture the "throwback" element.
My Pick of the Month: Corepower Yoga
This was once my pick of the month in 2021 too but I wanted to bring it back since I've really been active in my yoga practice, especially in the month of January. I think in my earlier blog I mentioned I was afraid of going to more yoga classes after a vacation break because I felt like I took a step back. However, I learned that the things I learned weren't gone because of the break and it in fact helped me to develop a better relationship with yoga. I love the healthy relationship I've built with going to these workout classes. I truly learned to love how strong my body feels rather than obsessing over the way my body looks. I used to go to workout classes because I wanted to lose an x amount of weight but yoga made me forget about the weight and love the way my body's been getting stronger. I also used to only do cardio at the gym (partly because I didn't know how to use the machines) but I learned how to build muscles using weights in my yoga sculpt classes. Overall, I learned to go to these classes as a way to de-stress and build a healthy lifestyle instead of going for any other reason that might be toxic.
Thank you for checking up on me in the new year. This month definitely had its ups and downs as it does every month. However, I do think that there are more exciting things happening in my life that I can’t wait to explore even more. I hope that everyone had a good New Year and is excited for their 2022. Even if you didn’t have the most glamorous New Year, 2022 is just starting out and a year is a long time. There’s plenty of time to make goals and implement different routines in your life. Goals are important because you’re not “failing” if you don’t make complete a resolution, but rather focused on the process of how you’re going to achieve them. Anyways, I really hope everyone has a happy, prosperous, and healthy new year! <3
Talk to you next month,
-- Jin