The End of Summer

 You may have noticed that blog posts come about once a month these days, and that's been a habit I'm trying to break. Ever since completing my studies back in April, I haven't been blogging as much as I'd like to be, whether it be due to a nightmare internship (more on that in another post I'm sure) or just not feeling 'the writing itch'. But all that's going to change!

From now until the end of the year, I hope to update this blog every two weeks, even if the updates seem 'insignificant'. I'd really like to share more small details of my life here, and at times I've suffered thinking that if my story wasn't 'epic enough', it shouldn't be shared.

I started this blog in 2017 and I never expected for it to be read by anyone outside of my Facebook circle, but currently this blog has over 500k total views, averaging about 8k a month, which is so wild to me. I choose to not monetize this blog because it's a passion project for me and I've never regretted this choice. Thank you to everyone who has ever read and who still reads my little blog, I won't stop posting. 

Some End of Summer Updates

Exploring the North of France

I visited Lille last weekend with Guillaume and Noor, and it was so lovely! We got blessed with blue skies that day and very mild yet crisp kind of weather. The city itself reminded me of a mixture of Antwerp and Dijon (based on my limited knowledge of French and Dutch cities, these are my two comparison points!) in a good way. As we were walking along cobbled paths and exploring side streets, Guillaume even said he could see himself living there! 

I also visited Le Havre with a friend to go to the beach, and though the beach was mostly rocks, I still had a really nice time (and got horribly sunburned despite it being semi-cloudy). I really like cities in the north of France, I guess that's something I discovered about myself recently. 

Being a Tourist... A Little!

I've had a couple friends come from Palermo, Italy to visit in Paris, and this has been an awesome opportunity to take the weekend and explore some of the famous sights. At this point, I've done the Bateaux Mouches about 3 times! I find it really fun to take friends around, show them the big hitters and watch them break out their phones for photos, mouths agape. 

I definitely don't claim Paris as my stomping ground, but it reminds me of when I would show friends from abroad around NYC, this sense of pride that makes you think 'I live here!'. 

Taking a Break

I've you've spoken with me recently, you know that I decided to end my HR internship about 2 weeks ago, for reasons I may delve into in another post. To make a long story short, I was not happy with the company culture and attitude, and knew early on that I needed to leave. Now that I'm gone, I have a lot of free time on my hands, and normally I'd be spending this time looking for a full time job. 

However, I've decided that instead of jumping into the job search, I'm going to take a bit of a 'work break' for a few months and then apply when I feel ready for something permanent. I've been working since I was 14 years old, doing summer camp jobs, barista-ing, English instruction, etc, so I think it's high time I just do... nothing!

Well, not exactly nothing (you know me!). I'll be using this time to study, journal, explore France and different countries around it, as well as prepare for my eventual return to the US. It's not easy for me to abstain from working, and I'm lucky enough that I can afford to for a little bit and take time to recharge, but I constantly feel this deep guilt and the itch to apply for jobs. I'm sure this isn't an uncommon feeling for many people, the guilt of not feeling 'productive' enough, and it's something I've felt for most of my life, but I'm fighting it with this break!

I'm working on some new posts for you all, I'll make it a bit different than some other things I've done in the past, but I hope you like it! This blog is supposed to be my fun, safe space to express my life, so I'm going to really lean into that and try to have more fun with it. 

See you soon! x