Categories
Denver Life life

Big Life Decisions = Opportunities Galore

Greek traditional dancing.

Ever since making my big decision to go forward with TAOpivot, life has been quite eventful. I’ve totally converted over from my paperback planner to Google Calendar to get all my appointments/meetings organized & synced across my devices.

In the past month alone I have gone to these events:

From viewing my July so far, already looks hopping as well with some recurring events (New Tech) & more. At the end of July, I will have my anniversary party for being in Denver for one year. It is exciting–really, I feel like I have lived here before (maybe in a past life?). Looking forward to spending time with all of the wonderful people I’ve met in the 5280.

Categories
life

Welcome to September

Life has been quite a rollercoaster. How many times per year can I say that, though? Something always happens along the way…

The month of August was, in one word, overwhelming. Moving, changes, etc. I’m on the cusp of the start of graduate school now. One more week until classes, but just a few days until Orientation.

I remember this time last year when I had felt dismal about my future. Then, last September 9, I received my acceptance into the University of Denver. And from that point forward….I felt like, wow, what a dream.

And now that dream is here. I’m anxious about how this will all pan out. Of course there are fears. Will this bridge take me over to where I want to be in the end?

What I’ve learned in only the past week: life isn’t always as it seems. There are always gray spaces waiting to be discovered, if they are ever discovered. No one person can be defined by simple terms: everyone has their secrets. And what can we do? Love and accept them for who they are, because in the end, we are ALL imperfect. That is just how we are.

Categories
learning life list

The Space Between Chapters.

Obviously, this week has been a strange one. I didn’t get a chance to post any updates because of all that’s going on: the final stages of cleaning, packing, and saying good-byes.

Naturally, this leaves me in a strange space in time. Where I’m just ready to move on but I want to also appreciate the normalcy of the time being. It becomes quite frustrating.

But I do have to say, my time back in Virginia has been very life-changing for me. To see my hometown, my little-girl world, from a grown-up POV.

Instead of sitting around & feeling annoyed about being back home, I took control of what I’d do with my time. Over the past four months I have learned a lot of new skills:

  1. tai chi – I completed one style of tai chi with my father. Learning tai chi with my dad has allowed for us to bond and realize our similar character traits. Also, it’s just good for my dad to know that at least one of his children has learned martial arts from him.
  2. pottery – Who knew it would become one of my passions? I signed up for the class thinking “Oh, just something to keep me busy.” But, it really helped me take control of my focus. And, it taught me to love imperfections…because nobody/nothing is perfect.
  3. first aid – Took a one-day certification class; learned a lot in that short period of time. Good skills to have since now I am more prepared in emergencies.
  4. sewing – I just learned this two weeks ago. Worked on a blanket project for my mom and learned how to work different types of sewing machines. Hope to further my knowledge in sewing when I get to Denver!
  5. belly dancing – I took a class in NYC for belly dancing. Of course I felt self-conscious staring at my reflection in the mirror, but then I realized that it was ok to fall or lose my balance during the moves. We all were students so we all were learning!

In addition to the above, I also got myself going with two 5K races in the area. Granted, I wish I could have run both races a lot better, but just finishing the races gave me great sense of accomplishment. I will improve my racing form with my next two 5K races.

So, without being too dramatic: it is time to close this space between chapters and start a new chapter. This was a good respite between life in San Francisco and life in Denver. I am definitely grateful for all that has happened so far this year.

Now, I will be blogging from Denver starting August 9. That means: no blog posts until then. But I’m sure you all will be okay with an update.

I’ll be tweeting some oldies but goodies in the meantime (old, fun blog posts).

Categories
change life

Three Months of Change

Glory

So, it may appear I haven’t updated this blog since March. Not true at all; I was merely backdating a lot of entries in the first three months of this year. And then I fell behind. So my attempt at The Daily Post has failed. But, I figured it was too trivial of a quest for me to get stressed out over.

There’s been a lot going on in the past three months though, especially being back in my hometown. I don’t mean to sound cliche, but I’ve done a lot of soul-searching. Questioning. Grappling with my own mind.

Because in the end, that’s what I need to be taking care of anyway: my own mind, my own life, myself. For so long, I put myself second to everyone else around me. I felt I had to take care of everyone, that they needed me or else they wouldn’t survive. Meanwhile, I suffered mentally and emotionally for myself.

Only now, with my own control taken away from me (ever so slightly by my parents), I realize all this time that I should have been focusing on myself more than anything.

And I should be treating myself a lot better than I have been.

So that’s the sum of all that’s happened these past three months. More will be written about specific topics soon.

Categories
life

Daily Post Day 60: I can’t say “No” to…

What can’t I say no to? I can never say “no” to someone asking for my help.

Yes, even though I am very guilty of putting others’ needs before my own, it’s just in my nature to go into action when others ask me to help them out. “Will you fill up the gas tank?” “Will you go buy groceries?” “Will you sit with me awhile and let me muse?”

It is rare for me to say “no” to this at all. I can’t turn others down when they are in need. It’s a trait I’ve learned from my father, who rarely turns down a plea for help from others.

However, I know I give too much of myself in this way. I need to take better care of myself, to not say “no” to helping myself out.