September 2024
September, the month I graced this world with my presence… haha. It is my birthday month, however, and I had the sweetest treat for it, too, this year. With the exception of the first and last days, I spent the entire month in Thailand. Unfortunately, rainy season was in full swing, but I still had plenty of adventures and rest to make up for it. So, what happened?
Table of Contents
1.Recap | 2.Lessons | 3.Challenge | 4.Summary
1. Recap
On the first, I flew into Chiang Mai from Laos. It was there that my September stories began. Hours after arriving in Thailand, I decided I would go to a sauna and ice bath spa that I found online while traveling. I met three lovely people and hung out with them for the rest of the evening. Night market > salsa class > jazz bar that actually played soft rock for the night. The next day, I had acupuncture, hoping to help my headache, likely from the bug bites, and some tension from traveling with big bags. On the last day in this city, I took a Thai dance lesson, learned a bit of a Spanish dance too, walked around some temples, and went to my first drag show. I’ve just gotta say- drag shows in Thailand are totally worth it! Super entertaining- I was smiling and laughing the whole night. I had to skip over Bangkok, with the intention of going later, but didn’t make it… just another reason to go back. So I flew down to Phuket, where I was finally able to meet a friend I’ve known online for seven years in person. She is an insanely talented silversmith jeweler who originally was just my sea-themed jewelry maker, then turned into a true friend over the years. And in all our excitement of hanging out together, we never took a picture! I ended up house- and cat-sitting for her and her family while they visited extended family in Europe for the month. This was absolutely perfect, having cats to snuggle, fish to watch, and a whole house to relax in. I went to night markets a few times when it wasn’t heavily raining. But then… my family came to visit me for my birthday!!! It was so sweet and the first birthday I’ve celebrated with them in four years. Thailand must’ve been happy to see us together because the rain cleared up a bit, and we were able to have a couple of beach days, massages, and family time. They went up to Bangkok for a few days while I finished my house-sitting, and I was able to go to one of the ethical elephant sanctuaries on the island. It was informative, sustainable, and incredible to see the elephants doing their thing. And lastly, I met up with my IDC-peer BJ, who is getting ready to attempt a Guinness World Record for scuba diving! How cool. On the last day of the month, I was on a flight to meet my family in the next country!
2. Lessons
The lesson that I struggled with the most this month was realizing that painful events take a lot of time to heal from. I felt a little off for much of this month, and it took me a while to realize why. There wasn’t anything going on this month, this year, that would make sense for me to feel just meh. But then I realized it was during September last year that I realized I might have to stop scuba diving. The first week of October 2023 was my last dive and the moment I realized I had to put my physical and mental health first. So, this month I felt a lot of grief and confusion and uncertainty. I’m realizing that even though I’ve had so many good days, good weeks, and even good months since then, something this big will take a while to heal from. And the journey will look different at certain points. Here’s to giving ourselves grace and space to feel what we feel and accept that it’s okay to not be okay all the time.
3. Challenge
I finally was able to set aside time for my professional goals! It took a few months of attempts and a full month of having space to myself without others watching movies or coming in at four in the morning in the hostel room, but hey! I got here. Because I was able to accomplish this, even though it will continue to take time and effort, I will make a new goal for October. Next month, I will push myself to be more social and initiate conversations with people. Despite backpacking for half a year, my introverted tendencies are still quite strong. It’s uncomfortable for me to be the one to reach out to strangers. But, time to be uncomfortable.
4. Summary
This month was everything I expected, but also not at all. At this point, I’ve learned to just go into things with hope, but not expectation. Things will happen, life will change you, and it’s all fun if you learn to laugh. I think the greatest gift we can give ourselves is learning to laugh and smile when things don’t go “our way,” because they rarely do. Roll with the punches, ride the waves, make lemonade… whatever you want to call it, just stay positive and see the good silver lining everywhere. It’s there if you look. September, thank you. Especially for bringing me my family. October, I challenge you to bring me new friends, new experiences, and a whole lot more fun.
