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This month was filled with summer festivities, but all of this would not have been so much fun without the friends who joined me. Thankful for all the memories that were made and I'm not ready for summer to be over yet!
Lifestyle: Life is So Much More Fun When Shared
Cancun
This month I got to reunite with Emily and Steph in Cancun and I couldn't be happier. It's been too long since our girls trip together and I was so glad I was able to reunite with my college besties. It was so much fun to catch up with their lives today and how much we've grown since college. This trip was also many of my firsts: first time in Mexico & first time at an all-inclusive resort. We TRULY lived it up by eating 10 meals a day (I didn't realize how much I could eat) and drinking all the fun cocktails every hour. Cancun was truly a dream and I hope that this sparked us to do more trips together.
Concerts
I continued living my concert era by going to 3 different concerts this month!
Bruno Major
This was my first time going to the Wiltern and it was so much fun. I realized how much I enjoyed a chill concert and I especially appreciated it because it was in the middle of the week. Everyone sat down in their seats and was just truly enjoying his music.
Kiana Lede
My friend had asked me to go see her because she had been her all-time favorite artist for a long time and I was super down to go because I had loved a few of her songs. I was surprised to see how small and cozy the concert venue was (Novo)! This concert was all standing but I truly didn't mind because I enjoyed singing her songs and bonding with my friends. I also bumped into random girls that ended up being super cool! One of the girls even ended up buying me a drink and I thought that was super sweet. I love sparking up a friendship with random strangers at concerts.
Alina Baraz
I first stumbled upon Alina Baraz from listening to Khalid and have loved her songs ever since. We were back at the Wiltern for this concert and I got to enjoy yet another chill concert. Her voice was truly like a dream and I'm blessed to have been able to hear her live.
Khalid has been my all-time favorite artist for a long time and it felt so surreal that he came on as a surprise artist for both Kiana Lede and Alina Baraz! Truly was screaming, crying, throwing up.
Birthdays
This month was truly a month of celebrations as it was filled with many birthdays. I'm always so thankful for people who invite me to celebrate their special day with me. Although birthdays can get expensive and time-consuming, I will always try to make time for important people in my life as well as put in effort. I think it's also because I always found my birthdays to be bittersweet so I always try to make it special for other people. Anyway, had so much fun celebrating with my friends.
Summer Romance
When one door closes, another door opens. Last month I talked about a date that didn't end up going as great as it could've but this month, I ended up going on a couple of good dates. It's way too early to say and as I've learned this month (tbh I already knew this but was reiterated) I have a fearful avoidant attachment style, it's hard for me to truly be open to a relationship. But, I'm trying to work on being truly more open to new romantic opportunities whatever that means!
Work
Work has still been a bit stressful and having had to adjust with my manager leaving was a bit tough because I had a really good relationship with my manager. However, I'm tackling it day by day and it helps that I've been getting really close to some of my coworkers and we're able to lean on each other, even if it's through funny memes. There was also a nice surprise at work where they had put a five-hour long meeting, which all of us were complaining about but it turns out it was a surprise to go to top golf. It was my first time at top golf and it was so sweet to have some bonding time with my coworkers. I even won first place in one of the games, which my dad would be proud of lol. We were also able to end work early afterward so it felt like a nice treat, especially after being sort of burnt out.
Lows: Not Prioritizing Myself
As much fun these past two months have been, it's been a bit overwhelming to be this social. I feel like I haven't been spending true alone time to relax by myself as well as spending quality time with family. I feel like I've been losing my routines and losing energy quite easily. I don't have regrets because I do think it helped me distract from my stressful or busy days at work, but I also want to work on this more actively. I want to go back to having the power of saying no to some hangouts and prioritizing myself when I can. I also miss spending time with my family and I'm so bad at calling them (which I'm trying to work on). Hopefully more opportunities for this next month!
Lessons: Growth
This month, I met up with my ex whom I haven't seen in over 2 years. It was truly a bittersweet moment. He hadn't changed since the last time we talked and I felt like I changed so much. It was funny because he had mentioned that he felt the change when he talked to me as well. To be honest, the last 2 years have been truly tough for me and I think I actively chose to grow and work on myself. It was really hard but I felt like talking to him, I could see a visible work that's been done. It was also weird to see how the same he was because a part of me missed who I was when I was with him as well as was glad someone knew who I was back then. But, I was more truly proud of who I am and who I've become today. Not to say that I'm perfect and done growing, but it showed how much I want to continue to work on self-growth. To be fair, I feel like we were still really kids when we were together and I truly became more of an adult over the last few years. Such a bittersweet moment. I'm not sure when the next time we'll see each other, but I hope nothing but the best for him, always.
Songs on Repeat:
Top Songs -
get him back - Olivia Rodrigoblind - ROLE MODELAlone With You - Alina BarazMy Pick of the Month: Pumpkin Decoration
This month for our book club hangout, we decided to have a wine & charcuterie night but also do some pumpkin decorating party. It's been quite a while since I've done something crafty like this and it brought me back to Covid times when all I'd do was paint and do crafts. Hopefully, this sparks me to carve out more time to do some arts & crafts!
The summer vibes did end up carrying over to September but I can't believe it's already going to be fall. However, there are already some exciting events (perhaps a reunion with someone) next month so I can't wait for it to come so soon. Until then, I'll be soaking up all the sun left and cherishing all the summer festivities that happened this month.
Talk to you next month,
-- Jin
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