Answering questions about life in post-grad
Back in March, I wrote a post on journaling prompts and I gave you 5 questions to write about during your week in order to be more intentional and reflective on where you are in life. I wanted to do another one of these because journaling is such a good way to process ideas and turn thoughts into an action plan. It’s also great when you feel overwhelmed with your emotions but don’t necessarily feel like unloading on someone when you are full of emotion.
Hey friends! These last few weeks have been so hectic and chaotic - filled with a lot of moving and exams and activities that I haven’t had the chance to sit down and catch you up on my life - so here’s my life update!
Welcome back to Studying Life with Gigi! Due to moving back home to NYC, traveling fatigue, and adjusting to a relatively new environment, the blog has been a bit quiet lately. Finals and moving and saying goodbye to friends took tons of time and mental energy, so I didn’t have it in me to keep the blogging going. But now that I’m trying to figure out my summer 2021 routine and plan out the next few months, things seem to be steady enough to type away at my laptop again about a few good sweet days in my life.
I mentioned a few blog posts ago that I’ve been loving my Next Right Thing Guided Journal. I truly recommend it if you ever need some questions and guidance to help you journal. And of course, I have tons of blog posts on journaling. But for me, I’ve been noticing this theme of returning grief. I wrote about grief a while back in this post. And while that was super helpful to get off my chest, it doesn’t feel quite finished.
As someone who has wanted to start a blog and then started it, I love writing. I love putting words on a page and making the thoughts in my head coherent. But academic writing has always been the sort of writing that was draining instead of life giving. I have loved all of my English teachers immensely. They’ve boosted my love for literature and I don’t fault them for my troubles with academic writing.
While the initial New Year’s buzz is fun and exciting, launching off a new year with whole new possibilities, those possibilities are improbable to become reality if we don’t stop and reflect on what progress we’re actually making. If something isn’t working for you, change it. It’s that simple. I want to take it a step further. If you made a New Year’s Resolution but now feel out of alignment with that goal despite many attempts to accomplish it, change your goal. I’ll go first.
As you all know (or can tell), I love a regular day in the life post. These are so simple to write as a college gal going through paper ~szn~ and it’s sweet for my past self to look back on. I definitely will get back to writing the deeper questions type posts when school dies down and I come up for air. It’s actually been a hot minute since I’ve done a deep dive post and I’m definitely missing it.
This weekend, I went home to New York City. I know, travel in the time of COVID is controversial. It’s important to be safe and not contribute to spreading COVID by reckless outings. But since my parents were planning to come to me, I figured it would be safer for me to come to them. I took a test before traveling and I made sure to travel safely.
There weren't a lot of pictures so bear with me as I describe my Friday. I woke up at 7:30 because I have my Sociology of the Family at 8:00, and this Friday I had a debate on whether or not marriage makes women happier and healthier. Since I was on the pro side, we went first. I think it went super well. My partner and I were super in sync even with the technology hiccups. Because Zoom, you know?
This is the story of how I decided seeking solitude in isolation was a good idea. UVA has been doing Break Days for students’ mental health and because we no longer have a week of spring break off from school due to the pandemic. For my break days, I told myself that I would not want to do work or make it a catch up day. It’s tempting to use the day off as a way to get back on track with classes or even get ahead, for overachievers. But the way I see it - these break days are few and in between. I want to use them wisely and maybe challenge myself in how I spend my free time.
If you’ve been here awhile on the blog, then you know my love for journaling. I consider reflection and stillness to be an important part of life in order to truly learn from the past and be present in what is to come. I decided a 5 day journaling prompt challenge would be in order. I want you to save this post and keep it with you as you go through your 5 days.
I am not a poetry gal by any means. I love fiction and short stories and sometimes essays, but I am not drawn to the art that is poetry. Nevertheless I bring to you a Richard Siken quote - a first in my quote series. About change.
Studying Life with Gigi 