006 | What brings you joy?

The spring semester officially ended yesterday!!! Hooray! To be honest, I have mixed feelings about it. This is a pretty challenging semester and I learned a lot not only from my academics but also from how I deal with things. Some things didn’t go as I expected them to go but I am trying to not beat myself up for it.

Today, I’m still a little stressed out from that busy week. As I am trying to calm myself down, I find myself flipping through my Artist of Life workbook I got from Lavendaire, which I only opened now after a month of not using it. It’s fun getting reminded of what I have accomplished in the past months and the little moments that I’m grateful for. Then I came across a prompt that sparked interest and I felt writing about it at the moment.

What makes you come alive? In other words, what brings you joy? This is for me:

• A tidy and clean space. Your space reflects your state of mind. I believe that having a tidy and clean space encourages new ideas and promote creativity. This brings me joy. But, I’m struggling to maintain this.
• Sharing a meal with my loved ones. You know when they say that food tastes better when shared with your loved ones. I love these little moments when you’re just having a good time eating and sharing stories with them.
• Slow days. No appointments, no commitments, and no plans. Just chill and have time for self-care.
• Watching good shows/movies, reading good books, and listening to my favorite podcasts. You know, when you are emotionally attached to the stories and when you are learning from them and it’s changing the way you think? That brings me joy.
• Self-care. I consider my habits a self-care, such as eating fruits, working out, drinking enough water, meditating, and journaling. Meditating and journaling are my favorite way of talking to myself. Having time for my self-care every day gives me joy and makes me feel loved by myself. Btw, I talked about the habits I recently built in my previous post.
• Traveling. I love experiencing different cultures, trying out their foods, and exploring places. This does not only mean visiting a different state or country. This could also mean being a local tourist, going on road trips, as well as commuting. This reminds me of my recent travel to Japan! I’ll be sharing it soon!!!
• Changing my hair color and hairstyle. Once or twice a year, I usually change my hair color or hairstyle, or both. Right now, I have curly hair and brown and light brown highlights (I forgot the actual shade) and I am loving it! Please, don’t grow too fast.
• Riding rollercoasters and other thrill rides. I enjoy getting scared, shouting at the top of my lungs, and laughing out loud when done with the ride.
• Laying in bed, getting cozy after a long day.
• Long walks. No phone, just enjoying my time with nature.

I could go on and on with this list. I realized that it doesn’t have to be something big and expensive. Oftentimes, we find joy in the little and simple things in life. It’s usually the small little moments that matter.

After listing all these on my workbook, I felt my stress levels have been reduced. Just thinking about these things made me feel happy. It reminds me to be grateful for what I have now and to stop focusing on the things I have no control.

In addition to that, I am excited to have more time to blog! I enjoyed blogging during my study breaks and now that the semester ended, I am excited to connect with you guys and discover new blogs to follow as well as customizing my theme!

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How about you, what brings you joy? What makes you come alive?

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