21 Days of...Mindfulness?

For someone who scored 98% on the extrovert scale, three weeks of being alone sounds ridiculous (what the scrubs?!)

*I personally didn't take this photo, but oh, don't you worry I'll be taking tons of pics on my hikes after these three weeks;)

Surprisingly, it's day 5 and honestly "alone" isn't the first word I'd use to describe my experience so far in quarantine. Sure, it's wild not being able to have normal human interaction and it's frustrating not being able to go outside on my usual long walks and runs. I'm not gonna sit here and tell you I enjoy doing burpees in between the edge of the bed and the wall (not to mention hitting my arm on the TV lol), nor am I gonna tell you I love only being able to open my door just to grab my food and not interact with anyone else. Nope, not one bit.

“When the winds of change blow, some people build walls and others build windmills.”

(If you haven't guessed already, I'm a big fan of Chinese proverbs so be prepared for one in each blog post, ookie?)

Despite the challenges, I'm keeping my mindset positive. I've never been so in-tune with my body before--due to staying in one place and having no major pressing tasks, I'm able to easily recognize when I'm tired, hungry, calm, frustrated, etc, and I can make appropriate changes. How often do we find ourselves "forgetting" to eat a snack, take a nap, or take a minute to sit and breathe and look in the mirror and say everything is gonna be okay? The 13-hour time difference has been interesting, but I take that as a way to connect with friends and family back home in the morning and before I go to bed, and to make the most of the time I have while the other side of the world sleeps.

I'm most surprised by how quickly the time passes each day! Thanks to a window that opens to reveal the beautiful colors, sights, and sounds of Mongkok, I'm able to reset my internal clock to the rising and setting of the sun to ward off jet lag. After pulling off my sleeping mask and naturally waking up early, the first thing I always do is open my window and do some stretching before catching up with my loved ones virtually. Below are some of the ways I'm making the most of my time during these three weeks, and my thoughts on how we can all learn something from a little alone time!

We all have 24 hours in a day.

I once heard a woman (probably in a rom com) tell her friend, "If a man says he doesn't have enough time for you, give him a watch." While that makes me laugh at how true it is in the relationship world, it's straight facts! We all have the same amount of time. It's never how much time we have, but how we spend that time. I could spend all day binge watching shows and scrolling on my phone (which I still totally do sometimes, don't get my wrong), but how fun would that be after 21 days to look back and think, oof I honestly can't tell you what I did during that quarantine. Oh well. I'm a big believer in striving for change and self-improvement. So let me (and you!!) do something meaningful even in the moments where we have "free time."

Okay, so maybe being alone isn't too bad.

I know, I know, WHO IS SHE haha. Y'all know I'm the gal who is always on the go, like can't sit still :) Omg how is she sitting still to write this blog post I wonder?👀

Haha jokes on you though, I created a standing desk by putting my suitcase on top of my rolly chair😉😂 Anyway, I love waking up and doing a quick meditation, maybe some yoga, reading a new Nicholas Sparks book, taking a long shower, learning some Cantonese, journaling, putting on a facial, listening to the traffic go by, people watching outside the window (especially in the mornings when they do Tai chi at the park below). It's kinda fun!

Cringey situations lead to creative solutions.

Like the DIY standing desk contraption, I've found ways to make the most of living out of a tiny space. First of all, this hotel room is nicer than any dorm room I've been in, so that's a plus right off the bat. The only thing that tastes good in the meal is the rice, but it has no seasoning? You better bet I ordered some lemons, avocados, and watercress to add color, nutrients, and flavor! Can't go outside? Girl, that window stays open allll day! Not able to go for my usual runs (so so so sad for me)? I ran 45 minutes in place! That junk hurt tho, would not recommend since there's no incline so your shins will be dead after. Oh well. Miss seeing people? Omg it turns out Josh and George live on my floor, which is a GAME CHANGER!! Now we plan when we open our doors to grab our food (that whole 2 seconds we have hahah) so we can say hello! We also realized we can play Where's Waldo by opening our windows, sticking our heads out as far as comfortable, and looking all around for other UNC friends who are in the same hotel! Moral of the story, let's stop with the excuses and start thriving!

A lot of thinking can lead to change.

Having hours upon hours of time by myself leads to lots of thinking, which is usually one of the reasons why I love surrounding myself with others. When I think too much, I get in my head, which I'm sure a lot of you can relate. One of the reasons we don't like this is because it forces us to look at all the negative aspects of ourselves--any behaviors, habits, thoughts, or feelings we have. It's uncomfy. But when you get out of your comfort zone, that's how you grow! Everything that is comfortable to us today was once uncomfortable. Instead of dwelling on the negative (because life is too daggum short for that), we adapt, innovate, and overcome. I admit that I feel FOMO a lot, but I've tried to recognize those feelings and focus on doing something positive for myself instead. Chances are, when you feel like everyone's out having a good time, there's a good chance they might just be scrolling through Insta, watching Netflix, or feeling the same way you are. That's when I'll put on a good TED talk, exercise some more, drink some lemon water (hehe), call a friend, or just relax and enjoy this wonderful thing called life. Try that next time:)

xoxo

And just for fun, here's a clip of what goes down when the good music comes on:)