It has been over a year since my last blog post. As a creature of habit, I did not forget about this blog. Let’s just say life has been interesting with so much change and ups and downs that it has oftentimes felt like a rollercoaster, testing the strength of my mental and emotional agility…
As a person who grew up in a traditional Korean household, I have an extremely high pain tolerance. To me, the Korean response to hardship is to persevere. Every time I would talk about my personal hardships, my parents would usually say something along the lines of “Everyone is stressed – it’s not just you!” or “That’s why you’re getting paid the way you are!”
Very rarely would my parents tell me, “고생 많았어, 이제 좀 쉬어” or “You’ve done enough; take some rest.” However, this time around, they strongly agreed that I needed to do something good and enriching for myself.
I finally had the opportunity to take some time off this summer, and my only priority was to do whatever I felt like doing. Although I usually like structure and routine, this time I wanted to free myself of any rule.
One of the things I did was visit NYC. Believe it or not, this was my first time visiting since I left in April 2021. I missed the city itself, but I missed my friends even more.
I have mentioned this in a blog post from my Boston days – and I still find it true today in LA – that living away from your friends in a different state is completely different from living in the same city but not seeing each other often. I am so grateful to my friends for making up for the physical distance by keeping in touch with me everyday through texting, calls, and social media. We would see each other if they stopped by in LA, but I missed just being able to hang out without time constraints.
In the span of a five-day trip, I managed to see so many old and familiar faces, just talking comfortably about life, our goals, dreams… As cringey as it sounds, I truly felt like my heart was wrapped in a warm, cozy blanket the entire trip.
The older I get, the more I realize how hard it is to make new, good friends and how the people you surround yourself with make a huge impact on your quality of life. Friends who are genuinely good people, have your back, are your trusted confidantes, and truly want the best for you. I think I made the best decision to spend quality time with my favorite people. It gave me a clear mind and energy to get through the rest of this year.
I think happiness and optimism are different things. You may have a naturally happy disposition, but how do you handle the lemons that life inevitably throws at you? That is where optimism comes in. Where do you find optimism? I think a big part of it is having a support system that will uplift you.
With that… goodbye summer and hello fall. Let’s get through the rest of this year. Cheers to all of us!
Thanks for reading,
Phyllis
