A reflection guide for your weekend

I recently started doing a Sunday Summary every week on my Instagram, and it’s kind of similar to the weekend reflection guide I posted last year, so I wanted to bring it back again with new questions and a new rhythm in my life. I want to invite you to ponder your own life and look reflectively on your experience and your thoughts.

It always starts with a sunrise. These days my apartment faces the east, so I often wake up to the sunrise (and hop back into bed). I love when my iPhone photo is a little bit blurry. I can never intentionally, but when it happens, I’m grateful. The podcast for my Monday was Why is Dating So Hard? by Becoming Something. Pretty insightful! The next picture is my lunch on my way to work. These bright and sunny days are fading fast, and I’m trying to enjoy them the best I can. In the evening, I gather with some friends to head to Chick fil A and Taco Bell, respectively. I also caught this pretty sunset at work and it was *heart eyes*. 

After a chat with a friend on all sorts of things – school, emotions, journaling, and more – I came home to listen to music, and do some journaling. I kind of realized that I never actually answered the question What I Learned This Season? for this summer. And so I did. Highly recommend asking yourself the question too.

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What Did You Learn This Fall Season?

I learned that this year is one of the few times in my life I will have to know that a goodbye is coming, and I can do that goodbye well. I learned that my spontaneity often works in conflict with my physical well being, and that I need to set better boundaries for time with friends and time with work. I learned that my new laptop needed fixing (and still does, but that’s a whole other story). I learned that living with roommates can be fun (but also can be hard). I’ve learned that I struggle with FOMO and it hits most during the weekend.

Fall is ending and winter is coming in. The days of shorter daylight and longer nights are incoming. Make sure you’ve taken inventory of what has gone on in your life – good or bad. Get alone. Take out a notebook. Scribble away. You’ve learned things this season even if they haven’t seemed life changing or noticeable. Get something down on paper – having these lessons written down will keep you open to seeing what you learn next.

This messy bed is here to remind you (and me) that life doesn’t always look or feel tidy but that we can embrace the mess and when we do, we live more authentic lives. Here’s a cat for your Tuesday. And a map. Oftentimes, we’re so busy looking for a map of what’s next that we forget the joys in front of us, namely a bus with cats on them. A little peek into the classroom. Philosophy is pretty cool and I love the debates that the Supreme Court cases foster.

For my Tuesday lunch, I got a bagel and usually I don’t, but I decided to, so why not? Why not can be a great question that helps you to push yourself beyond your usual limits or lack of belief. And then we have even more food – a fruit salad and a baked potato bowl in the making. I left early in the intern dinner process and caught a glimpse of my shadow. Let’s try to see the light and focus less on the shadows. 

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My dinner Tuesday night was cheesy grits with chips and salsa. It was *chef’s kiss* delicious! Accompanying my dinner was a concert with Johan Glidden, a Christian singer songwriter. I hadn’t heard any of his music before but I was craving some live music and I’m SO glad I went. He and his friend Ian were incredible. Please check him out!

When I got home, I needed to finish a movie for class and a blog post for Wednesday, so the split screen was in effect. Do you find that you’re most efficient at multitasking or single tasking? For me, it depends how much attention either activity requires. So listening to a podcast and folding laundry is easy, but writing a paper and listening to music is hard. 

My Wednesday fit is fire, if I do say so myself. I think I also just like this photo a lot. It helps that it’s asymmetrical, a blue outfit with the color yellow for contrast. If I didn’t know it, I’d say this picture looks like it could be a NYC subway station picture, but I took it here in Charlottesville. 

My Wednesday involves a ton of class, so I don’t really have a lot of photos of activity, but a question emerges from my practice of noticing the lack of photos. 

Do you have any practices for days where things are busy and crazy?

For me, one of the best things I can do in my overwhelm is clean and plan. Those two things are immediately stress relievers. I may still feel like the world is on my shoulders, but I feel it less acutely and I’m more likely to have productive work once my physical space is clear. Planning is for deciphering and decluttering the mental space. Those two practices are my go to but I’d love to hear what you do to help your busy days go smoother.

Randomly enough on Wednesday night, Johan posted about Madison Cunningham about a recent concert she had in Asheville, and then I didn’t think about it. Another sunrise at 7:45am – it’s a small but sweet joy. Here’s the book I needed to bring to class. Frankenstein was a very different experience than I was expecting to have.

Related Post: Slow Living Habits

I had a lovely lunch with a dear friend on this dating book I suggested she read called Outdated, and she had fair criticisms of it. I haven’t read it but I think it’s worth reading if you want some ideas on what to think about when dating. While walking, I found this adorable sticky note cat photo, and it brightened my day! And then, I attended a lecture on dating. And this photo is ironic. I’d love to hear your guess on the irony in this photo. I did some laundry when I got home, and I just want to remind you – that we all lose socks sometimes. AKA we all live normal human lives and we do normal human things. Like laundry. I do love my day in my life blog posts because they’re grounded in my beautiful reality, but sometimes reality is just boring. Like laundry.

And like always, Friday rolls around. It comes in the form of a delicious poppy seed muffin and love for earl grey tea! An architectural history master’s student is quizzed on the time various houses were built (and he’s pretty good at it). I eat bagel #1 this weekend and hear about St. Ignatius on imaginative contemplation. Friday night rolls around and I’m contemplating going on a hike with my small group or not. And then an alternative opportunity presents itself to go to a concert – with none other than Madison Cunningham as the main act. So yeah, that may be just a coincidence or life is pretty cool sometimes. 

And I decide to go to the concert (and acquire some Chick fil A beforehand). We head over to the Southern, a tiny music venue with the best vibes. S.G. Goodman was INCREDIBLE AND Madi Cunningham was such a ~vibe~. Go see something live if you can! 

Related Post: Weekend-ish in my life

This post is getting a tad long, so I’ll just sum up the rest of the weekend –

Saw the sunrise with my friend Grace. We also watched Carmilla, and I geeked out about literary web series (If you know anyone doing anything in this industry, please let me know! I’d love to look into it!) 

I saw this reflection and I thought we need to pay more attention to the things that reflect back to us in our lives. 

What is reflecting back to you these days?

Maybe you find yourself reflected in the joys of the friend. Perhaps you’re reflecting the excitement of getting a new job or opportunity. These days I find my exhaustion reflected back at me. I love to gather and be with people – but it has definitely meant that my schoolwork time has dwindled and I’m not as focused. So the little sleep I’ve been getting trying to catch up has made me cranky and I’m not in the best position to be as present as I could be. 

I had the 2nd bagel of my weekend with my friend Gracie.

I went to the football game with friends!

I also woke up at 6:15 on Sunday for the 3rd bagel of my weekend. I also popped over to Grit Coffee for their Fog Cabin drink with my classmate Caroline.

I attempted to do work on Sunday and did one thing but I did get a cupcake and some nice views out of it.

I may have also spent a good chunk trying to catch up on Chatty Broads (but now I’m 2 episodes behind on the Bachelorette.)

And that’s my week in a post. 

And I’m sharing it with you this weekend!

I hope you reflect on these questions this weekend, friends! Be safe and know that you are loved!

Sincerely, 

Gigi