.png)
I'm honestly not even surprised by how fast time passes by anymore but for some reason, this month seemed to have passed by way too quickly. As I sit here writing this blog (later than usual oops), I become so appreciative of our blog that we started back in 2020 because it allows me to pause during my busy life and process everything that has happened. This journal is always so special to me; it will enable me to look back to when it's easy to forget. This month, I got to do many activities that I'm excited to share and I hope I can read back and capture the views of this month.
Lifestyle: Back to Back Festivities
Active Girl Summer
This month, I have truly been living through the active girl summer lifestyle. I still stuck with my yoga post-work because it truly also allows me to be in a better place mentally and log off of work. I continued to explore my love for pickleball by trying to play with friends once a week as well as an upgrade with a better paddle! It's been such a fun activity to do with friends as well as sparks my competitive side to become better and win some games. I also got to do more hiking this month in LA as well as in Hawaii, which I will get into more later! All in all, I truly sweat it out this month with no regrets.
Fun Activities
Concerts
This month, I got to see IU with my boyfriend as it's one of his top artists as well as my long-time favorite artist. She truly was the Korean Taylor Swift and I was so amazed by her performance. Not only did she start the performance at 7:30 pm on the dot (which truly is rare and almost unheard of), but she continued to do several encores ending the night around 11 pm. I honestly think she would've continued to sing and interact with her fans if she knew she wouldn't get fined or in trouble lol. All in all, she sounded so amazing live and I'm so glad I got to share that experience with my boyfriend. It was extra special to me because it was my gift to him for our (late) 6-month anniversary celebration.
I also got to experience Olivia Rodrigo with Mish and Kelsey. I have been wanting to see Olivia Rodrigo since 2021 and I'm so glad that I got to share the experience with my girlies. Not only was Olivia Rodrigo my #1 top artist for Spotify Wrapped last year, but also her SOUR album came out during the time I was going through my breakup so all her songs hit differently for me. I couldn't believe my growth as I was singing her songs at the concert because I remember being so hurt and sad while I used to blast them in my car 3 years ago but how much happier I was with my current relationship. I truly didn't think I could heal from my heart break nor would I open up to another person, so I was incredibly proud of my growth as well. I remember sharing the "Drivers License" song with my ex during the last few times we talked post-breakup so it truly felt full circle screaming the song at the concert.
Disneyland
I got to visit California Adventure for the first time since they added the SanFranTokyo inside. I got to go on a double date with Crystal and her boyfriend who is the one that introduced me and my boyfriend. It was fun to go with another couple as well as share all the food all around the park as we were all foodies. Whenever I'm back at Disneyland, it always brings out the kid in me and I get to enjoy the simple things such as the adrenaline before the roller coaster, the gust of wind during the hot weather, and the fireworks at night.
Hawaii
This month, I got invited to a boy's trip to Hawaii by my boyfriend. Honestly, I went into it without expecting much but I came back with so much more. This was my first big trip with my boyfriend or any boyfriend as a matter of fact so I wasn't sure what to expect. Hawaii itself was so relaxing and so beautiful that it truly healed something inside me. I always forget how beautiful nature is and how we take it for granted. I loved swimming on the beaches and looking at sunset views. My favorite moment has to be going snorkeling for the first time with everyone and exploring the sea beneath me. However, I also have to say the close 2nd was swimming at the beach with my boyfriend to see a double rainbow on one side and the most beautiful sunset on the other side. I tried to capture it best I could on my phone but I honestly don't think I can describe how beautiful it was. I was honestly really tired for most of the trip because I was also working for most days and waking up at 5/6 am each morning and exploring until night time. However, I would not take back anything and it was the most fun I've had in a bit. I also mentioned that this was my first big trip with my boyfriend and that meant that it came with some areas of discussion and situations that we've never had before so there were some hiccups that we had to smooth out together.
Work
We got to celebrate one of my co-worker's first work anniversary in our team and it made us reflect back on the past year together. It was cute because she pulled her journal from her first day of work and it had something along the lines of how she had a 1:1 with me and that I seemed cool, nice, and put-together & that she's excited to work together. I always find it so interesting whenever someone shares their opinions or thoughts of what they think/ thought about me because I won't know how I come off to others. It was so sweet to hear it and I'm so happy about how close we've gotten over the past year.
This was the month of celebrations because we also got to throw a wedding shower for our co-worker. The theme was "Short & Sweet & Married" and it was so much fun decorating the conference room for her. I loved seeing her little slide show of the breakdown of everything that happened at her wedding. I'm so happy for her and times like this make me realize I'm lucky to have the bonds that I do with my co-workers.
I also got a big news dropped while I was on PTO that our VP had decided to pursue a different oppotunity so I'm interested to see how this impacts our organization as a whole.
Lows: Hiking
I don't think this is too much of a low but this was the only thing I can think of and I do think it goes as a good story to remember. While we were in Kona, we were all very eager to do a hike together. The boys were kind enough to wait for us to be done with our work day, which meant that we didn't end up going hiking until 4 pm because we ended up grabbing something to eat after work and getting ready for the hike itself. I was cautious about the sunset so I made an alarm on my phone before the hike even started. I honestly didn't know what we were getting ourselves into but it was by far the most jungle-y hike I've ever done. It also definitely did not help that there was a storm on the island the past few days, but we thought we were lucky enough that it wasn't raining while we were on the hike. The paths were mostly slippery mud or rock so we had to take longer routes to avoid getting our whole feet dipped in the mud. The hike finished with the most beautiful views of the ocean and some sightings of coconuts and sea turtles that truly made it all worth it. The low only happened once we were making our way back because, by the time we were only halfway back, my alarm for the sunset had already gone off and it got dark quickly. It was so much harder to tell which was rock or mud and my white Nike shoes eventually became mostly brown. I started to panic a little once I couldn't see well and all I heard was the bird chirping really loudly and my heart beating really fast. I definitely didn't help that I did not have much to eat throughout the day and plenty of caffeine. I became quite dizzy and almost felt like I was going crazy over the bird noises like they do in the movies. However, I gripped myself together with the help with sips of water. By the time we reached the end, it started to sprinkle so we noted how lucky we were to have still avoided the rain after all and let me tell you the dinner after our deathly hike was by far the best meal I've had in Hawaii lol. Truly an unforgettable memory from Hawaii that I will cherish looking back.
Lessons: Traveling is Hard
Social media only sees the peaks of our lives and trips. As fun as Hawaii was, it was a time of learning for my boyfriend and me as we entered a new territory of traveling together and traveling with his friends. I think we both came in thinking that it would be super chill and easy to do separate couple activities when needed but we quickly learned that it was not the case. I think it made it more difficult as we all shared the car with the 3 other boys. It was especially hard for me at times because I would want to do a different activity but it was harder for me to voice as I was not usually a part of this group and it was still his friends at the end of the day. I got to learn to communicate things through with my boyfriend and I'm so lucky that he was so understanding and played the middle man so well. I know it must have been difficult to be traveling with a girlfriend and his friends while trying to satisfy both parties. I applaud him so much for everything and all in all, I got to have so much fun and I wouldn't have done anything differently. I'm also so lucky and glad that his friends welcomed him with open arms and ultimately made this trip a success in the end.
Songs on Repeat:
Top Songs -
POSE! - LIGHTSUMCRAZY - LE SSERAFIMGood Luck, Babe! - Chappell RoanMy Pick of the Month: Snorkeling
This was hard to choose this month because there were so many favorite activities but I think if I had to choose one -- it has to be snorkeling. I can't believe this was my first time snorkeling and it was so much fun that I got to experience with the others on the trip that was also their first time. I felt so free roaming around with my pool noodles and peaking at the sea life beneath me. Honestly breathing through my mouth under the water took some getting used to but once I got used to it, it was so much fun. It made me pause and reflect on how lucky I am to live my life and be healthy/ functioning enough to experience activities such as these.
This month was one of those months where so much happened that I forgot what exactly they were until I started writing them down for the blog. I know that it would be so much easier to forget if I didn't have this blog to keep me accountable to make notes of my trips so I'm so glad I have this as an outlet to dump all of my memories and feelings in here. I also find trips so crazy because once you're there for a few days, it almost feels like that is your new life now. But, right when you come back to your normal life, it almost feels like the trip never even happened. I'm so grateful for my Hawaii trip as well as all the activities that happened this month and I can't wait to continue to capture all the views in life as the months come.
Talk to you next month,
-- Jin
Comments