I was talking to someone earlier this week about how I miss the “blogging” days. I loved seeing how different bloggers would curate and design their website. I would spend hours scrolling through their content, but I know I’m also at fault for not checking my old favorite blogger’s websites today.

Social media has made it so easy to access information and be constantly overwhelmed with content. Why visit a blog when I can visit someone’s Instagram, Youtube, or podcast? They recycle the same content throughout the different platform anyway… right? Not necessarily.

When you’re putting content up on Instagram or Youtube, it’s all about the visuals. For podcast, it’s all about the narrative. When you blog, you get to sit down and thoughtfully think through your thoughts and dive deep. It’s a place you can be more vulnerable.

Blogging can be terrifying. You’re putting your writing out there for the world to read. If you’re like me and a bit self conscious about your writing skills, then publishing a post can feel a bit intimidating. Blogging helps me practice my writing skills and I enjoy reading old posts to see how cringeworthy or reminisce where I was in my life when I wrote a specific post.

It takes a bit more effort to write out a blog than post a photo on IG, but no matter how much I try to run away from this website of mine, I always seem to come back.

I come back to refresh the design, populate content, and think through what I want to timestamp. For me, I enjoy blogging because I get to sit with my thoughts and reflect. I find it therapeutic printing my thoughts into writing. I’ve been trying to be more vulnerable here and talk about my faith. Whenever I re-read those pots, I think about taking them down, but I don’t because if someone judges me for it, then that’s on them. I’m trying to be more vulnerable and brave in standing for what I believe and who I am.

And so, here’s to blogging, being more vulnerable to challenge myself, and one of the latest selfies I have on my phone because, why not.

I was talking to a few friends and they asked, “if I don’t believe in Christ, does this mean I’ll go to hell?”

This is a question I struggled with for a long time — how do you even answer this? So I did some digging and chatted with a few of my Christian friends to see how they would answer this. 

Christianity isn’t supposed to be something that’s terrifying but it’s supposed to be good news. The whole gospel is amazingly great news! It’s news that God sent his only son, Jesus, to come down to this place we call earth. Jesus had to do the chilling at home, walking to get food, taking a shower, and most importantly, understanding what it means to be human. He died on the cross for our sins, so that we can have this direct line of communication with God and have eternal life. 

We no longer have to be afraid of death, we no longer have sin controlling our lives, we no longer will feel this weight of the world on our shoulders. Instead, we have Christ who took that burden for us because He loves us so much. 

A friend of mine asked me this: “if a ship you were in was sinking and you had no idea, wouldn’t you want to know? Wouldn’t you want someone to knock on your door to help you get out and save your life?” This is Christianity. We’re not trying to scare you, we most definitely shouldn’t be guilt tripping you into believing in Jesus Christ, we’re just here to share this good news with you. 

You don’t have to face this world alone, to carry the weight of heartaches, to be in loneliness. Anyone is allowed to have a relationship with Christ and he always has his door opened, no judgement. You might not hear it but he’s also probably knocking on your door asking if you’d welcome Him, but it’s up to you to decide whether you want to explore that relationship or not. 

So I’m going to leave you with this question - would you ever consider learning about Christianity and Jesus Christ? Why or why not?

I was presenting at an important meeting and the nervous jitters were no joke, so right before the meeting started, I looked out of my window and quickly prayed, “God, I know, I really do know you’re here and I know this is silly and I haven’t done this in a while, but if you’re here, please let me see anything fly. A bird, a plane, a - …”

In that moment, a saw a little yellow leaf flying up in the sky. It was small, but it was visible and I couldn’t help but laugh.

I used to do this all the time.

Whenever I needed a sign for anything, whether it was His existence to making life decisions, I used to always ask God to see a “yellow car”, “let the wind shake me while walking”, or whatever that would pop to mind. Of course when God would give me those “signs” I would immediately think, “wait, that was too easy… no that couldn’t be Him” and immediately ask Him for that same sign again and of course that’s when it felt like I heard nothing.

Looking back at this, it made me realize how much I’ve “grown-up” in my trust in Him. Don’t get me wrong, I still feel like a child with God and to be honest, I love that I can be a child, not have my act together, be as flawed and as annoying as I am with Him. It amazes me how much patience He has.

I think one of my favorite “signs” that God gave me was when I was back in college. I had a lot on my mind and I was asking God if I should move forward with a certain decision. It was raining hard, so I asked him to have the wind push against me if the answer was yes.

He almost immediately let the wind push against me to the point I felt like my umbrella would break and I couldn’t walk properly. After a good 15 seconds of fighting to walk straight, the rain and wind calmed and I got this message from God -

Regardless of the “sign” I give you, I know you’re going to do what you want to do, and that’s okay because I’ll be here for you and I will eventually help direct you to the right path. The question is whether you want to take the hard route where you’ll be pushing through the storm like you were just now or you trust me, not move forward with the decision, and you’ll be here under the sun. It’s up to you and I will be walking with you regardless of your decision and be there to help you find your path if you get lost, so the choice is yours.

I remember getting chills when this happened because when I heard the message of being “under the sun”, the sun shined through the leaves and were hitting the floor and that I had “a choice”?! This felt like it was the first time in my Christian walk that I clearly heard that I have a choice and God was content with whatever decision I made too.

Crazy, right?

I knew I shouldn’t move forward with the decision but my mind was already set, so it was nice to hear from God that He wasn’t mad at me about it. I did end up going through a bigger rollercoaster than I probably would’ve liked but I do not regret my decision in taking the hard route and never once did I feel God’s anger or disappointment too. It was moreso, “I’m not judging you, I’m here for you, let’s get through this together” and that made me feel so loved and thankful to have a God who loves me more than I could ever love anyone or anything.

Have you ever asked for “signs” from God? If so, what’s one of your favorite “signs”?

I absolutely love this song and it’s been my main go to repeat for the last year. The lyrics are repetitive, so you’ll be able to quickly memorize the lyrics, but this song helped me get through those days when I was feeling anxious about work, when I felt dry in my faith to needing a soft but also loud song to pump me up.

I love taking the time to pause and focus on the song and lyrics whenever this song comes up. It always helps remind me that God is really here and no matter the struggles, your battles, He’s gotchu.

Miracle worker, promise keeper
Light in the darkness
My God, that is who You are
Yes it is yeah, it's who You are
Way maker, miracle worker, promise keeper
Light in the darkness (hey)
My God, that is who You are

Hope this song gives you the life and energy it gives me.

Julia

It’s been yet another long day of work. Something I’ve always thought about was - how do I spread light into this world, to my colleagues, reflect God’s presence and love? 

I’m not trying to evangelize everyone I meet, to be honest, I probably don’t even talk about Christ enough with even friends, but I always wanted to be one of those, “there’s something different about Julia. Oh, it’s because she’s a Christian!”  

I will admit that this did get into my head and I definitely tried to play this “I’m always happy and bright” or “I can be a kind person” - person for a while. But do you know what happens when you act “bright” and “nice” because you want people to view you this way? It gets exhausting and you will quickly realize you’re lying to yourself. 

I realized the hard way this “brightness” is a gift from God and you get it by building a relationship with Him. It’s by praying, trusting, reading, listening to Him (and my personal favorite, Christian music) that I can feel His warmth, so I’m easily able to be whoever He set me to be without caring about my reputation, wondering if I’m being genuine, but most importantly, not feeling exhausted. 

I used to be so good at asking God to help me write an email, lead meetings, to even give me wisdom on how I talk to my colleagues, but I’ve been doing this less and less since working from home. I can feel myself feeling more anxious at work, stressed, pressure... this isn’t how it’s supposed to be! 

I miss the days when even during the craziest and most stressful days, I made it alive feeling at peace and stayed calm during a storm. 

I need to challenge myself to listen to Christian music through the day more and give God a, “hello! I’m here, not sure what to say but I need your help to get through today. Is it selfish for me to ask for your help, your wisdom, and for peace in my heart? Okay, I know it’s selfish to ask you to help me succeed and perform well at work today but... I’m going to ask you for this help anyways, because I could really use the extra support. In Jesus’s name, amen.” 

Maybe I’ll try to share some Christian tunes that’s been on replay.

Thanks for reading,

 Julia 

For years, I thought about using this platform to write transparently and be my full vulnerable and true self. This idea came to mind back when I was in my last year in college, but this idea terrified me.

For some reason, I thought my decision to write freely would’ve hindered my future job search and impact my career opportunities. I was afraid of the judgement I would get from both friends to strangers, so instead, I decided to change the course of this website of mine and make it a food blog.

Don’t get me wrong, I don’t regret capturing my food adventures (and I probably will pick this up again), mainly because I can never remember what I order at a restaurant, so I used this blog to share my restaurant reco with friends and so I can easily remember and reorder the same dish I got the last time I visited a restaurant. This made me appreciate food even more and gave me an excuse to take photos.

But after running away for so long, I’ve decided to finally take a leap of faith and blog about what I know best - living the Christian life in an urban city.

I’m not a pastor, I’ve had many battles and questions about Christianity, but most importantly, I’m just a human writing about what my experience has been like and will write about my challenges to blessings about (trying) to stand firm and follow Christ.

I can’t believe I’m going to actually start putting this out for the world of internet, but here we go.

Hello friends,

I’m Julia. I live in the city and I’m a Christian and no matter my doubts and the crazy trials of life, I’ve decided to write about the only truth that I believe in and try (I told you, I am human) to stand by proudly about my faith and relationship with Christ.

I decided to write about my experiences to hopefully help others know that they’re not alone in certain scenarios to non-Christians to ask questions, listen and learn, and even challenge me about anything I write about. This is also a huge part of who I am and I want my best friends to know this side of me on a deeper level to let them in on my life more too.

I’m nervous about posting this but it also feels right. It feels like this is something I should’ve done from the start. Oops, sorry for neglecting and running away (yet again) from you, God.

Alright, here we go.

Thanks for reading, friends. Stay tuned for more.
Julia

It almost feels awkward coming back to this blog of mine. Where do I even start? Do I even bother?

Safe to say 2020 was one heck of a year. It was also a year that I got to step away and truly face battles that I’ve been ignoring for years, but I had a few great blessing on my way to the end too.

But, back to this blog - to be honest, I’m still trying to figure out what to with it. I always have a lot of thoughts running through my head and if I sat down with you in person, you’ll easily find that I’m an open book, but when it comes to writing those thoughts down on, well, the internet, I shy away.

But maybe we start by taking baby steps. Take one step at a time out of my comfort zone. I might fall 10 steps behind, but for 2021, I want to challenge myself to keep pushing forward no matter what.

I have no idea if I’ll keep posting food photos or switch it up, but if you’re interested, stay tuned for more.

2021, let’s do this.

I took this photo around this time last year.

It feels weird to pause and celebrate accomplishments and small wins, but I made it a goal of mine this year to let myself pause and give myself a pat on the back because it’s okay to be proud, just don’t brag.

It’s been a year.

It makes me warm when I look at this photo because I know that the smile behind that camera was genuine and I was at peace with myself and life. I stopped running from my problems, embraced my failures and flaws, and turned what I thought was a dream to reality.

I’m proud.

In the last year, I managed to strengthen friendships with those who have my best interest and are positive lights in my life. I feel confident in the workplace and I’ve managed to take on so many new responsibilities. I successfully moved to NYC and settled-in quickly (p.s. I love it here too!). I managed to take three weeks off for the winter holiday to spend time with family. I got accepted to grad school, another dream of mine that turned into reality.

I’m proud of what I’ve been able to accomplish in the last year.

The last few years has been one heck of an adventure. I finally feel stable in my life, I know where I’m going, what I want, and who I am as an individual. I’m comfortable with life and I've been at continuous peace. Okay, maybe not all the time, it’s life, but overall, my heart has been filled with so much love and joy.

2019 goal: it’s okay to be proud.

I (obviously) know myself best and the stories behind every chapter of my life. There’s been some crazy stories in each chapter, tribulations, tears, and laughs. I’ve come a long way, but it feels like my story is just getting started, so I’m excited. I’m proud of how much I’ve come and grown but I’m also excited for the adventures to come and to keep learning more.

I’ve always been the type to have longterm goals and I’ll always dream big when it comes to my career-related 5 to 10 year plan, but I’m also just taking each day by day and enjoying life as is. Life is too short, time is only getting faster, so I might as well enjoy the right now while it lasts and celebrate those wins as they come.

aka one of the most difficult times in your life (or so the “adults” say).

Twenties.

I feel like not enough people talk about the difficulties of it. We live in a society where it can feel like people are competing on who has a better - happier - life. Who’s more successful? Who’s more well traveled? Who’s more social?

I feel like twenties is the time when you’re learning how to ride a bike with training wheels, getting off those training wheels, feeling unsteady, and then without realizing it, you’re flying.

Figuring out who you are. Go offline.

It’s a process, it will take time, you’ll learn something new about yourself, and you will change.

I’ve been doing a lot of self reflecting, figuring out who I am, and building my foundation to chase after what I want in life. It’s all the behind the scenes work no one posts about on social, but it’s something we all go through.

With every tear there’s been laughter, with every fail there’s been more laughter and growth. You learn to let go and focus your energy on the more important things in life. You’ll stumble a lot, but you’ll grow a lot too.

Twenties. Our story is just getting started, so get ready, stay hopeful.

There’s so much life has to offer, so much you can offer to the world, and so much we can do to change it for the better. I genuinely feel like my story is just getting started, so equally trying to enjoy living in the moment and staying excited for what else is to come.

Hello! I can't believe it's been over a month since I last posted. It's been a crazy past few months. I went from traveling to Korea, Philippines, back to DC, to having friends visit, and now packing up to get ready for a new move since my apartment lease is up. 

Safe to say, 2018 has been anything but dull and slow. Stay tuned for more food photos and blog posts from my trip back to the motherland. Until then, here's a quick preview of my travels with two good friends. 

Over the last few years, I’ve encountered and met a lot of different people. People who are in different stages of their life than I am, people who are actively trying to switch their career paths, and people who are passionate about what they’re doing.

Everyone has their own story to tell, everyone is at a different stage in life, you too are at a different stage than I am.

I grew up hearing, “there’s always going to be someone better, smarter, and better looking than you.” Great motivation, huh?

If there’s someone who’s always better than I am, then what’s the point in trying? If there’s always going to be a stronger candidate with a stronger resume when applying for jobs, school, etc., then what’s the point?

You shouldn't live life comparing yourself to others. 

Instead of wishing you had their life and letting this drag you down, channel this energy to look straight ahead to run after your goals and dreams. Work hard and try to find work you're passionate about.

Don't know what you're passionate about?

Go put yourself out there, join different organizations, talk to people, and start to weave out what you like and don't. Figure out how you can mature so you'll be a better version of you tomorrow than you were today. Never lose that motivation and continue to challenge yourself. Success will eventually follow in its own time.

Everyone is at a different stage in their life 

Just because your peers are more successful than you are, this doesn’t mean you aren’t doing well for yourself. Just because they have a higher degree than you, this doesn't mean you should go back to school and try to get yours so you can be on par with them. Just because your peers are starting up their own company, this doesn't mean you have to do so as well.

You're moving at your own pace, and if you're truly giving your 100% and you’re doing work you believe in, then I believe that you’re headed towards the right direction, your direction.

You can't live life constantly comparing yourself to others, so instead, start thinking about the type of life you want to live and set-up a game plan on how you're going to get there. 

Oh, and don't be too hard on yourself if you move 2 steps forward and 5 steps back. When you fall, it’s okay to sit and rest for a bit, but when you’re ready, pick yourself back up and start climbing that mountain once again because once you get to the top, that view is going to be worth it. Never let go of that motivation of yours and please, never let laziness takeover your life.

You only have one life to live, so go make the most out of it. 

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As a fellow extrovert, I love being around people and get my energy from them, but I’ve started to value my alone time more lately.

Being alone meant I could use the time to focus on myself, work on this website as I camp out at a cafe - like I’m doing right now - or stay at home to catch-up on sleep and binge watch shows (we all need those lazy days!).

I used to think that staying in bed and being unproductive was… well, unproductive and a waste of time. But I’m realizing that this isn’t a waste of time because you need to rest your body to maintain your health and be fresh and ready to go for the work week. We’ll also never have time like this again, so take a break, and relax. Go stay in bed and binge watch a show or two once in a while, don’t feel guilty about it.

Going about your day alone leaves you alone with your thoughts, so I usually spend a lot of my time thinking about what I want in life, people watch by sitting next to a window at a cafe, or catch-up on work-work or personal-work.

Don’t be afraid to not have any plans on weeknights and weekends. Don’t feel like you have to go out to that party on a Friday night because everyone else is. Don’t be afraid to explore the city or town you live in by yourself.

Go date yourself, because if you don’t know who you are and what you want, what other human will?

Life is constantly full of surprises and might not go according to your plan. You might have a strict 5 year plan or maybe it's a one month plan. It's great to have goals in life, but make sure you don't get caught up in all the small details. Stay flexible, adaptable, have goals, and when something occurs that might seem off - like having it snow in March - seize the moment. Who knows, maybe diverging might be the best thing that could have ever happened to you.

I dare you to take courage and a leap of faith even if you're all alone. If it's something (or someone) you believe in, then I challenge you to at least try to see where life takes you.

So often do people tell me stories how they regret not trying. Whether it's not trying to explore a new city because they were uncomfortable about the cultural barriers they might encounter, not trying new cuisines, not trying to attend that concert because their friends wouldn't go with them, not trying to make a relationship work, the list goes on. 

It’s normal for us to stop ourselves from doing something because we’re afraid, after all, we are human, right? No.

Here's my challenge: I challenge you to take a leap and start living your life by chasing after your dreams, even if it means you have to make a few sacrifices.

If you can attend that dream college of yours despite it being across/in another country, go for it. If you received an amazing job offer and it's a job you fell in love with but it means relocating and moving away from your friends, go and take that chance; don't worry, you'll eventually make new friends. If you want to take a chance on a relationship but you're scared because you've been hurt before, don't let that past experience hold you back. 

Don't ever let past experiences hold you back but use it to strengthen you.

It's life, so hardships and heartaches will come and go, since we're forever stuck on this crazy rollercoaster of a life. But wouldn't you rather give something a shot and learn from those experiences than sit there in regret wondering, "what if?"  

Have courage. Have heart. Don’t let fear hinder you.

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Maybe you’ve already experienced this with a few people or maybe you haven’t, but I’m going to ask the question anyways: have you ever met someone (outside of your family) who felt like home?  

General home-feeling rule

You know you can be completely yourself around them and they’re the last person to judge you (or maybe they’ll lovingly-outwardly say they’re lovingly-judging you). This is someone you’re comfortable to sit in silence with. When you argue and fight, you know that they’ll still be there for you and you’ll be there for them, and you'll overcome this bump. You have a sense of safety and warmth when they’re there by your side.

Old friends, old comforting home

When I hangout with old friends, there’s a sense of nostalgia-home with them. They saw me when during my awkward teenage days when I was trying to figure out how to morph into this “adult” personality as classy as possible. They bring comfort and I love how we’re able to go back to those days when we were younger and a bit less jaded.

My dear best friends, my current home

There’s only a handful of friends I truly consider my best-best friends. There’s the best friends I care deeply for and will have their back no matter what, and vise versa, but what makes my ultimate best friends stand-out is how I feel when I’m with them. When I’m homesick, they’re the ones I call and they’re the ones I feel completely comfortable showing every side of me with. They’re the friends that feels like family and that I trust with my whole heart.

& then, there’s that rare human who appears once in a blue moon

This person will take you by surprise because they’ll feel like home in a completely new level. It can be overwhelming. They'll give you a sense of security, you’ll be willing to put them before you, they'll bring joy in your life, and you'll want to bring joy in theirs. You'll want to spend time with them, whether you're out and about or sitting at home doing absolutely nothing. You’ll feel safe and at ease that they’re right there, they'll just feel like home. 

My, Yours, home 

These people are rare to come by (at least for me), so hold on to them tightly when they enter your life. Home should be a place of comfort, safety, and support. But like any home, there will be times when you need to move on and start fresh, and that’s okay. Trust me when I say this, you will find another new home. Just give it time. No home is the same, but every home will be great in its own way. 

So let me ask the question again, do you have people in your life (outside of your family) who feel like home?

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You might be the type of person who has multiple friend groups or maybe you’re someone who just has a small number of people you call friends. Everyone views and defines friendship differently, but here’s how I think of it:

Your real friends should be people you trust, who will support you, respect you, and people you respect, support, and trusts you back.

I’ve always been a strong believer in having quality over quantity friendship, but I also understand the appeal in having a large pool of “friends” since you’ll always have something to do, someone to talk to, someone to hang out with, but are these type of “friends” worth it? 

If I invest in my friends and build those relationship, won’t it be worth it?

I’m not saying don’t do this. In fact, I highly recommend that you invest in other people’s lives; be selfless, get to know them, listen to them. You never know what these relationships will turn into and the impact you’ll have in each other’s lives. But just because you invest, this doesn’t necessarily mean these people will automatically become your best friends, and that’s okay. I applaud you for putting yourself out there and trying to build a relationship, but if it leads to nothing, then that’s okay too.

You learn something new from everyone. 

Don’t judge someone in the first ten minutes, take time to get to know them and give them a chance. Wouldn’t you want this treatment back too? Everyone has their own story to tell, everyone has their own unique personality. By interacting with new people, listening to their stories, and getting to know them, I believe this is never a waste of time. You’ll learn something new, they’ll bring out a new side of you and vise versa.

It’s okay to only have a small handful of people you call best friend.

Let’s be real, time is limited, so of course we want to use it wisely. This crazy thing we call life is stressful and you’ll constantly have battles to fight, but these fights aren’t too bad when you have a good - healthy support system. Whether that’s a family member or a friend, even if you only have one person, it’ll make all the difference. In fact, your best friend(s) should be the easiest part of life, as told by one of my best friends.

It’s okay to let go of certain people.

I know this might be terrifying, especially if this is someone you depend on, but if a certain person is starting to get toxic in your life, you feel like they’re not meeting you halfway, or they’re taking advantage of you -- are they really worth it? If you’ve already confronted them and tried to resolve the issue multiple times but you come back to the same conclusion, is the friendship/relationship worth it? I understand how difficult this can be, letting go of people is something I struggle with, but as scary as it is, sometimes, it can be the best thing for you. Be free, let them go, and you'll start to find yourself again. 

You win some. You lose some. It's a never ending cycle of meeting new people and building relationships.

Some will stick around, some will fall under the "network" bucket, and some will completely disappear from your life. If some people are bound to leave, then what's the point in investing in them? Scroll up and reread this post from the start.

You'll meet people you'll grow with and people who'll make you grow; people who'll fight with you and people who'll make you fight; people who'll help build your home and people who'll leave you alone.

It's during these times when the people who'll make you grow, make you fight, and leave you alone, that the people who'll grow with you, fight with you, and build a home with you will shine ever so brightly in your life and the people you'll want to keep.

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I know it’s been awhile since I last posted anything here; the start of the year always seems to be my toughest month(s) to get new content up since it’s usually spent getting over jet lag and getting back into the rhythm of things.  

Every new year, I try to set up a few personal goals. I’m usually 80% successful in keeping them, but for the first time ever, I’ve already broken almost 80% of them. This put me even more off beat. We’re at the end of month 2 of 2018 and I know I’m a little late to the “2018 resolution” party, but hey, better late than never, right?

This year, I decided to make it the year I face my fears.

We all have our fears and insecurities, whether it’s packing up your belongings to move to a new city, letting go of certain relationships because you don’t want to be alone, avoiding certain food items to maintain your figure, or getting yourself to attend that network/class you’ve always wanted to try. Whatever it is, I know everyone has their fears and insecurities, and that’s okay because we’re only human.

2018, I’m going to start tackling some of my fears head-on one by one. I’m in my 20s, so this really is the time to work hard, take risks, and take a leap of faith. It’s the time to jump out of comfort zones and start hiking that mountain you’ve always wanted to hike. It won’t be an easy journey, but if we don’t challenge ourselves when we’re young and have the energy, then how are we supposed to do so when we’re older? They say 20s is when you should start developing healthy skills because it’ll continue to carry over with you through your life, so let’s start developing them.

Start developing your skills now, take that leap of faith, don’t let your fears hold you back.

Even if you’re younger/older than 20s, it’s never too early/late for you to start your hike up that mountain you’ve always wanted to climb. Just don’t give up once you start, go by your own pace, and take moments to appreciate where you’re at because every step will have its own beauty if you look around. Once you get to the top and take-in the breathtaking view, you’ll feel on-top of the world and so incredibly proud that you challenged yourself to go on this journey.

I’d rather learn from my experiences than sit there in regret. 

I don’t ever want to look back in my life and think to myself, “what if I just went for it” or “I should have taken that leap of faith”. This is a lesson I learned early on in my high school years. Knowing fear was the reason for holding me back has personally become an unacceptable excuse.

And so, I’m going to stop procrastinating and make this the year I tackle my fears one by one. 2018, I am so incredibly excited. It's going to be an exciting year filled with lots of growth. 

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I can’t believe another year has passed and we’re now in 2018. To be frank, I’ve been avoiding this 2017 recap blog post because I didn’t know where to begin. So much happened last year.

As we itched closer to the end of 2017, the more excited I got for the year to be over. I thought that once the year concluded, I’d be able to properly start fresh and enter 2018 with a clean breath of fresh air, but we all know that there are certain responsibilities, feelings, and events you can’t just cut off.  

2017 wasn’t the easier year. I was challenged intellectually in a way I’ve never been, I was emotionally drained, I saw too many people’s true colors, and was constantly pushed out of my comfort zone.  Safe to say, it’s been a huge learning curve of a year.

Despite all the downs, this year was also filled with a lot of ups. There was a lot of reunion with old friends, deepening friendships with current ones, and a lot of family time, so I’m thankful. I’m thankful for all the various events, friends and strangers I’ve interacted with, challenges I’ve faced, and lessons I’ve learned from it all.    

2018, I’m excited for you. I’m excited for all that’s to come, all the new adventures, and people I’ll get to meet. Let’s do this.  

First day back in my motherland, Seoul, and I wake up to all this snow. This is one of the many reasons why winter is one of my favorite season. I was debating whether I should post the cropped photo to hide the buildings, cars, and playground in the back, but thought I'd post the non-cropped photos instead. Welcome to my backyard and make sure you stay tuned for more photos of my trip to Korea!  

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I can't believe it. This is it. Here's to the last month of 2017. 

Hello!

If you’ve kept up with my personal blog posts, you might have noticed the repetition of, “time flies” in my writing. Whenever a month concluded, I’ve been left in awe that yet another month has gone by, but when I look at 2017 as a whole, it’s honestly felt like this year has been one never-ending year.

But December, we meet again.

Time to start blasting Christmas music if you haven’t started to do so.
Time to make sure you have all your holiday gifts ready to go.
Time to prep for those Christmas parties.
Time to say goodbye to yet another year.    

Like many, I always start the New Year with a few resolutions and goals. I write them down on a piece of paper and constantly check back ever so often to make sure I’m staying on track. I have a few last items on my list I need to get through, so here’s to ending this year stronger than I started this year. Time to make the most of what we have left, especially since we’re never getting this time back.

Stay tuned for my 2017 wrap post.
Maybe I’ll even push out a way too overdue vlog.

Autumn. Words can't describe how much I love this season. 

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I recently got a car and I've been debating for years whether I really needed one. I work/live in the city and next to the metro, and uber/lyft would come handy when public transportation would breakdown. So, I kept going back and forth, was it really worth all the additional expense? 

Yes.

Getting a car opened my eyes and it honestly felt like I inherited wings. I love how I can freely go wherever I want, whenever I want -- my options are endless (aka I can now get good Asian food whenever too). 

But it's not just this new freedom I love. 

Over the past year or two, I started to feel suffocated living here. I still found this city beautiful but it just didn't excite me as much as it used to. I had this urge to get out and thought maybe moving to a new city would be a good solve, but once I got my car, this feeling I had started to change its course.  

I forgot how much I love being encompassed by nature. 

There's a lot of greenery in MD/VA and a lot of parks/hiking trails. Having a car now lets me go on these spontaneous trips and surround myself with nature. The DMV lets me stay close to both nature and the city. Does this mean moving to a new city and starting a new chapter is off the tables? Absolutely not, but having this car has helped me fall in love with this area all over again.  

It's finally starting to feel like my favorite weather! Hello, Autumn. 

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Whenever I go on these mini photoshoots, I like to return the favor to the friend who's taking my photo by taking a few photos of him/her. During this photo op, the friend I was with asked me what I would do and who I would be if I didn't have my camera. My response?

"I wouldn't be me." 

Being able to view the world through my lens and capturing moments is one of my favorite activities and something I've always cherished doing. When I was a kid, I loved going through old photo albums and watching old home videos. It would puzzle me that I couldn't recall some of the events that were captured on film even though I was in the frame.

The way our brain works and the way we're able to retain (or forget) things is so complicatedly interesting.

Once I got my hands on my first camera, I couldn't stop taking photos, not only because it was "cool" to take awkward mirror selfies with your BFF and post them on Myspace afterwards, but also because I couldn't trust my brain to remember everything. I wanted to capture these moments to look back to. 

I always joke with my friends that my camera is an extended part of my body.

I know I'm not a professional photographer and I don't know every single thing about photography, but this is just a hobby of mine I enjoy and helps me hit pause in life to appreciate my surroundings. 

It's that time of the year when the weather is supposed to start cooling down as we transition into my favorite season, fall, but for some reason, I'm still out and about wearing shorts as the weather continues to fluctuate.

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Update on my life (for anyone interested): I was recently reunited with an old friend, and this friend re-reminded me the importance of carefully selecting who you allow yourself to be around. This friend of mine has an extremely kind-genuine heart, always has a positive attitude, and knows how to stay grounded. This made me re-realize how crucial it is to have people you respect and people who respect you in your life, and I know this all sounds cliche, but it's so true. 

When you haven't seen or talked to someone in a while, there's always that slight chance things might be slightly awkward, since people change and grow, but being able to pick things up quickly and naturally when you do reunite is one of the greatest feelings ever. It's almost as if you're able to revert back to those "good old days". 

When you revert back to those "good old days," you're reminded who you used to be and you see how much you've grown over the past few weeks, months, years. When you take a step back and pause to think who you've been spending your time with in absence of your old friend, you'll notice how everyone impacts your life differently.  

I'm about to take on new challenges and leap out of my comfort zone. As nervous as I am, I'm also excited for what's to come, and I know I wouldn't be able to do this without the support of my friends and family. After hanging out with this old friend, I felt refreshed and felt like the problems and stress I was facing 10 minutes ago were lifted off my shoulders. 

My old friend reminded me even more how thankful I am to call the people who are my friends, my friends. The people who truly care about you are the relationships worth fighting for, but remember, any relationship can't be a one-way street. 

Hello, September. I can't believe how quickly the last few months flew by. Safe to say, it's been a crazy past few months.

I took on a new project this summer that's been consuming my life. I wanted to prioritize this project of mine and give my 110% so I'd end up with the best possible outcome. I've also been trying to figure out next steps for my life/career and thought going on a social media cleanse would help me figure this out, so I left my camera on my shelf to collect some dust and deleted majority of my social apps from my phone too.

It recently hit me how much I've had to sacrifice for this ongoing project of mine and how wrapped up I've become, it was to the point I started getting lost (I know, not good). And so, after a few long weeks of hiatus, I finally decided to pick up my camera again and bring back the old me. Although I still plan to give my 110% on this project, I'm also going to make more time for me and to recharge.

Time for new adventures. Stay tuned!