how i want to spend my time
on community, relationship with work, learning and being unabashedly myself
I recently went on a trip with my partner for 8 days to Montreal and Toronto. Having fallen sick for the first two days and then had a blast for the rest of the trip, really gets me to have some clarity about how I want to best spend my time.
Community is the heart of every single endeavour I pursue
I really love doing things with people, either grabbing breakfast, playing football table or fixing something together like a mixer. I feel people's presence, whenever possible, gives me a sense of calmness and safety. On our Montreal/Toronto trip, my partner and I often encounter strangers drawn to her film camera. Then we found out we all shared a love for films and photography and the cities. Once the talking was over, we parted ways, learning something about one another and the world around us. I adore these moments so much. To me, community isn't just about people we know; it's about every single individual we cross paths with, even if only for a fleeting moment. By opening our hearts to the world, who knows what wonders we will uncover :")
My relationship with work will always be rocky, but I can manage it
On the same trip, I got to meet my wonderful previous manager at Apple who has inspired me in various ways - Sommer- for the first time in person, and as expected, our chat was so so special and dear to my heart. (Sommer if you read this, HIIII, ILY!) One of the topics we chatted about was our relationship with work. As a high-achiever, I was struggling with my current work-life balance, having just fallen sick because of excess stress from work and failing to take care of my health adequately in the process. I felt guilty because I promise I would take frequent rest, but I wasn't able to keep it up as much as I could. Sommer told me to think about it this way: there's A - our working persona, and B - our resting persona. A is drowned in work and always want to keep working and getting it done, while B constantly yells at A-"You need to rest!! Please stop working!!" The constant clash between the two parts of ourselves causes even more guilt and stress. The one thing we can do, is for B to take it easy and accept that A is always going to work and trying to get it done. Accept that it will be okay, and A will rest whenever they can. Accept that I probably will always be diligent with my work output, and trust that I will listen to my body and take rests. Inbetween work, I will drink water and get active and practice mindfulness and more - it'll be ok!
Learning something every day (and sharing it!)
I do not need to be productive all the time, but I want to be able to reflect at the end of each day that I have learnt something new - can be anything! It can be an interesting conversation I had with a friend, a realization that the trees I walk by have a cool history, or a new skill I learn (learning piano, which I am!). Cool things also need to be shared with people! I hope to practice learning in public on a more regular pace and see what wonders it can take me to :") My learning inspiration recently is Matthew Jordan, the wonderful guide of Toronto's Hidden River Tours and a doer of amazing things that I admire (we also have many mutual friends!)! We were fortunate to join a walking tour of his, and it was an incredible experience walking with Matthew and sharing his wholesome enthusiasm and well-versed knowledge about hidden aspects of the city! (would love to write a blog post about our experience soon!)
My dream is to be a Matthew Jordan of my city (be it Vancouver or Hanoi) and just rave and share my passion about things of where I live that are less known :")
Being unabashedly silly sometimes
I was told to be goofy (but "an adorable kind of goofy", as quoted my partner) by many people, and I honestly never want myself to lose that side ever. I want to be the unapologetic, unabashed me that would never be afraid to dance and enjoy music in public. I want to run around under the rain, tipping my head towards the sky and feeling every single raindrop; maybe also do my own "Singing In The Rain" montage where I would twirl my umbrella and swing around lamp posts and rejoicing about being in love. These things might be silly, but life is so short. I want to take in everything while I can, while being grateful for the things I get to experience every day.
Talking to my friends/family over the phone (video calls)
I have found that I am a very bad texter - a lot of my friends can testify this :( I want to become better at it for sure, but I also do find that video calls work much better for me (whenever my social energy suffices). I get to be in the moment with my friends/family and better connect with how they are feeling. I would love to do this more, so if you know me and want to chat anytime via video, please give me a ping!!
Taking off my hearing aids during the days/alone time
What I love about being Deaf is how I can decide whether I want to hear the sounds in the world around me anytime. My hearing aids is practically a switch - I can turn it off anytime I do not want to audibly perceive the world around me. Once I do that, my world becomes enveloped in silence, and in that stillness, I find so much solace.
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This post is part of a 7-day writing challenge of Mα»βs Writing On The Net Alumni Community! Letβs see if I can write consistently :β)
#wotnalumni
See you soon!
Anh.
This is so grounding to read Thu Anh ui π₯Ί Made my day π₯°
Loveeee. read this post when taking a short break at work and felt inspired so much Thu Anh oi <3. Can't wait to catch up with em soon to hear all things about your trip!!