Today is somebody’s birthday, and by somebody, I mean me.
HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO ME!
If you know me, you know my birthday is my favorite day of the whole year. It's not only a great day to celebrate myself, give thanks to my parents for creating such a beautiful and kind person (diddy bopped to myself as I wrote that), but for me, my birthday is always an opportunity to reset. When I am intentional about setting goals or journaling, I start them from this day every year, and although last year I skipped it because of the pandemic, I think I need to start that ritual again for my sanity and peace of mind this year.
Also, for today's newsletter, I wanted to be one of those people who write 32 lessons I learned from my 32nd year; however, that's a little excessive, and I also did not learn 32 things throughout the year. However, I found a few lessons that kept reappearing to me throughout the year that I want to share and hope to bring to my new year.
Being direct doesn't mean you have to be rude
This is pretty self-explanatory, but I did have a run-in about this, and it baffled me.
Make decisions for you solely, and not how you think people will respond or react to them
Again, this is self-explanatory but something I am constantly relearning. As a libra or just a sweet person, I am always aware of how my decisions impact others, and sometimes this makes me take detours on what I know is best for me. Easier said than done, but I’m really trying to work on this and am actually doing this as we speak with a big decision that I made a few weeks ago… more on that in another issue.
At the end of the day, you always have to choose happiness
Boundaries are not nice to have, they are mandatory
I’m working on setting boundaries on everything: work, relationships, balance, sanity, Trader Joe runs - literally everything.
Stop saying you’ll start being healthy tomorrow, or at the beginning of a new week - just start today
Self-explanatory but if you don’t discipline yourself, you can justify anything AND go on a terrible spiral.
If you can, Uber into the city
I’m not sure if parking in DC is worst than it is in the Bay Area, or if I still have no clue where I am often BUT parking in DC lately has been terrible. I had a friendship date, couldn’t find parking, and had to drive back home. I’m going to spend more time taking Uber to the city OR becoming better friends with SpotHero.
Those are all the lessons I learned, and plan to continue working towards in my new year - hope they resonate with you. Additionally, here are some things I thought were worth sharing this week. I made them bite-sized this week because of my birthday.
LISTEN: Soulection Radio Show #523
READ: Roxane Gay on Tough Love, and Being an Acquired Taste, Town & Country
READ: The past, present, and future of body image in America, Vox
LISTEN: Kirby - Sis. He Wasn’t The One
Also, do you know what would be a great birthday gift to your girl? If you shared this newsletter with your friends and encouraged them to subscribe.
OR if you shared with your friends on social media.
YAYYYYYYYY.