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With longer sunny days, I really got to experience each day to the absolute fullest. This month has been filled with so many highs with an unexpected low. I'm so grateful for all of the memories I got to create and each person that was there for the ride.
Lifestyle: Summer Vacation
San Diego
At the beginning of the month, I got to do a short day trip to San Diego. I love visiting San Diego because it's just a few hours away yet it still feels like a little getaway. I had to hit up all my favorite spots in San Diego: picnic at Kate Sessions Park, coffee break at Better Buzz Coffee Shop, walk around Windansea Beach, and dinner at Tacos El Gordo. The trip was quick yet it was so so much fun.
Las Vegas
This month I had the pleasure of doing a four-day family trip to Las Vegas. With crazy luck, I was fortunate enough to bump into Stephanie as well! Just kidding. Stephanie and I's family vacation somehow overlapped by one day in Las Vegas so we got the chance to hang out. It was still pretty cool because it was unexpected and we weren't planning on seeing each other until September. Although we only had a few hours together in Vegas, it was so much fun filled with lots of catching up. It was a full circle moment because the last time I was in Vegas was also with Stephanie but in New Year. It was funny how we had more fun in these few hours than we did in the couple days we had during New Year because of random flight cancellations and just plans not going our way then. If you want to see our hang-out in more detail, feel free to check out my vlog.
I also had a fun time catching up with my family. I always treasure these moments with family and feel lucky that we're all still healthy and well to have these trips together. It's a bittersweet feeling knowing how you're growing up but your parents are aging with you. I hope that my parents continue to be healthy and strong so that we can continue to have these family trips that I treasure.
Birthdays
This month was also Kelsey and Crystal's birthdays. I always love celebrating special moments with the people I care about because I feel really honored to be a part of it. Kelsey and I had a little heart-to-heart conversation during her birthday party. It was honestly kind of funny looking back at it but I treasure the moment since it showed how much we really cared about each other. It's crazy how I only met Kelsey at the end of my college journey during my senior year while studying abroad in London. Although we were close, I didn't think our relationship would go beyond our study abroad relationship. However, we have gotten so close ever since graduating from college and I'm so thankful for this friendship. I truly feel like we're going through this adulting thing together.
It was also my friend, Crystal's birthday. I knew Crystal since I was in 5th grade and we always joke about how we hated each other because we both thought we were annoying. But, the hate instantly turned into a great friendship once we started to get to know each other. Although we haven't really stayed in touch during college, we recently got to hang out more, and I cannot be more thankful. Sometimes it's hard to have close relationships with old friends because the past versions of ourselves are so different from the present ones. I found that some old friendship hangouts turn to just reminiscing about the past but not being able to connect in each other's present lives. However, I'm thankful that Crystal and I are able to laugh at our old memories while also being able to be there for each other in our current lives.
Lows: Covid
This month it finally caught up to me. I really almost thought that I was invincible because it has been now 2 years since Covid hit the world and thankfully it had stayed away from me. I really thought that maybe my triple vaxxed self was safe from Covid. However, on a random July in 2022, Covid finally hit me... and boy, did it hit me. I was fully in bed not being able to move for two days and for the next five days I was just barely surviving. I also had the unlucky chance of losing my smell, which affects my taste. Luckily, as I'm writing this, I have recovered from Covid and doing well! My smell is also now 40% back, which you may think is not that much but if you go from 0% to 40%, you realize how thankful you are! I also think that getting sick was also the universe telling me that I needed to slow down a little because I've been super overwhelmed and truly booked and busy. I hope everyone is still staying safe and healthy whether it's covid, the flu, or.... monkeypox. Honestly, I'm really scared of money pox because I've been hearing how rapidly it's been spreading but we'll just have to see.
Lessons: Loving Myself
I don't know what it is this month, but my confidence really just has been going up. I really have to thank all of the people in my life because they make me feel loved, which I definitely think is a part of it. I think the part of my confidence I love the most is that I'm so satisfied with my life that I truly don't compare my life to someone else. I remember how back in 2020, I struggled with comparisons so I'm so proud of how far I've come along. It's also crazy because I feel like my confidence has been visible to other people since some of my friends have been mentioning it to me as well. I'm also proud of my confidence because I remember writing a few months back that I was struggling with confidence and self-image. My confidence is always a rollercoaster and goes from high to low frequently, but I'm going to enjoy this moment as long as I can.
Songs on Repeat:
Top Songs -
Cruel Summer - Taylor SwiftNever Really Loved Me (with Dean Lewis) - KygoReckless (with MØ) - GriffynMy Pick of the Month: The Summer I Turned Pretty
This month, I binge-read and binge-watched the new show "The Summer I Turned Pretty." The book was an easy read and I loved reading through the young teenage love. I felt like I was living through Belly because I actually have never experienced teenage romance. Although I felt old as I was reading the book and watching the show, I thought it was a classic teenage romance journey. I will say that the show was indeed slightly cringey, but it indeed was also partly why it made the show entertaining? IDK. I think if you enjoyed watching To All the Boys I've Loved Before, then you'll also enjoy watching this. Also, I have to say that I love the more Asian representation I'm seeing in media.
This month was truly a month I won't forget because of all the memories I made with family and friends, but also because it was the month I finally got Covid lol. Cheers to July and I can't wait to see what's in store for me in August.
Talk to you next month,
-- Jin
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