I don’t even know where to begin with recapping this past week! I’ve felt on top of school, got back in the swing of blogging, and spent time with friends. Then all of a sudden I was hit with a series of random misfortunes that I keep wondering in retrospect whether I had any agency in avoiding. Right now I’m just grateful that I have been feeling well mentally, physically, and emotionally lately in order to cope with it all. I can’t find the Tumblr text post now, but there’s one that goes something along the lines of: “me @ minor inconvenience: wHAT in the hECK. i have been wRONGED. [insert colourful language]. me @ major issue: it’s fine.” Ya that me.

My mantra going into this week is, “New week, new start.” I need to remind myself not to be petty, not think that everyone was wronged me, realise that everyone is doing their best, and keep doing my best.

Time has been flying by. When I can’t find time to blog, I know it’s serious. My mind has been a bit frazzled, trying to be present but also needing to plan for the future; it’s all quite overwhelming. There have been times I’ve been exhausted, relieved to finally tuck into bed and fall asleep, but my head would keep ringing and I would lie awake in bed for hours before finally passing out. I’ve been trying to pinpoint what’s been putting me on edge, but it’s still a work in progress.

I’ve been a bit sparse on my blog and in the blogosphere this past month. I had a bit of a personal crisis at the beginning of the year when I was struggling with finding my desire to write, but right after I finished writing that post, I felt much better. Mentally, I was ready to go back to my regular programming. But then I got busy and couldn’t find the time to write. This weekend I’m planning to go to a work session with local Philly bloggers though, so I plan to hash out those blog posts I’ve been meaning to write! The work session is just a time for us to co-work at a cafe, a time meant to be set aside for blogging because many of the local Philly bloggers have other jobs and don’t have a time like this to set aside for blogging, but doesn’t have to just be for blogging. The work sessions happen monthly, and I try to go if I’m around (i.e. not away from the city for winter/summer break). It’s a low-key way for me to meet, befriend, and network with local Philly bloggers; this environment is much more comfortable for me than a blogging conference!

As I mentioned in my previous post, I got back from winter break at 10PM the night before my first day of my last semester of college. I’ve been living out of my suitcase. I was supposed to unpack and organise my room over the weekend, but somehow the weekend passed me by. My plan was to stay focused on school Monday-Friday and finish all my assignments within that time so that I’d have the weekend free to blog, hang out with friends, and run whatever errands I needed. But I finished my Friday morning class at 10:30AM and was like, nahhhh. Maybe I’ll unpack next weekend. Or on Wednesday; I only have an evening class on Wednesday. (Why does it feel like I’ve already been in school for a month already?? It’s only been a week!)

When this post goes live, I’ll be in my first class of my last semester of college! I don’t feel prepared for it. There was a lot more I wanted to check off my list before winter break ended. But I had the random urge to binge The Vampire Diaries during my last weekend in Beijing, so productivity went to shiz. The only good thing that may come of it is that maybe I’ll be adjusted to the time zone already. I don’t have a lot of time to recover from jet lag because I’ll have arrived in Philly at 10PM the night before my first day of classes. Well, here goes!