Tonight is my last night in Los Angeles and there is a lot to be grateful for. Each day was beholden and full of new learning, new experiences, and new people. This was so far from what I expected when I got on a plane two days after booking my flight and planning my trip.
I need to thank my Uncle Jeff and Karen for letting me stay with them for this amount of time. Typically, I only see my Uncle on Christmas so spending this time with him and connecting with my family has been incredible. Karen has been such a bright light and we have had numerous conversations about life and spirituality that I will remember and appreciate.
I want to talk about reflection because it is an essential part of learning. You don’t need to journal daily or write a blog about your day, but it is important to think back on experiences you’ve had and what you took from them. Maybe those instances did align with your expectations, maybe it was completely different similar to my situation. Whatever it was, learning happens when we go over what was presented. It almost is like homework for yourself in a sense to remember everything that happened in a day but can be crucial to your own development.
I got to do so many cool things this week in LA and will definitely be making time to come back and visit again. We meditated every morning, I tried new foods and drank more tea. I was open to new experiences and because of that, I felt like I got more out of the trip. There were times my Uncle and I didn’t see eye to eye but we were both spending real time together for the first time in our lives as adults. There are things I’m going to hold on to and bring back to Massachusetts that I want to share with my friends and staff. I’m grateful for so many conversations that changed my perspective and opened my mind.
Tomorrow I head back to Massachusetts to start up my second semester of Graduate School. Going to LA for a week was a great escape but I am excited to come home. In many different ways, my 2018 starts again. I’m excited about the new opportunities and challenges with my staff, with my family, and with my friends. I’m excited about new learning and fun memories with all of those same people. I just have to remind myself to be patient and take it all one day at a time in the process.
01.07.18
Today I’m grateful for…
- Flourless chocolate cake
- Playing soccer growing up
- A day at the spa
- My family
- In N Out Cheeseburgers
- Comfy sweatshirts
- The neck pillow I’ll use to sleep on the plane
- Late night diners
- New Music Friday and Spotify Discover Weekly
- Time at the gym
- Waking up moments before my alarm to turn it off before it wakes me up
- The feeling after 10 deep breaths
- My time in Los Angeles with my Uncle, Karen, Erica, and my dog cousin Shayna
- Clear days and starry nights
- Dinsey and Pixar animated movies
- New England sports teams
- Having my mom work at the school that I attended K-12
- Whenever my brother sends me his artwork
- Happy dreams and unmistakable signs from the Universe
- A good pencil box in elementary school
- My mom’s cooking
- My student staff that I work with at UMass Amherst
- Patient people
- My newest pair of noise cancelling headphones
- My west coast adventure and the people who made it special
