No one told me

It’s been six months since graduation, I am more than thankful than everything that I have done, my summer vacation with family, living with my brother, collecting memorable stories from working at the hostel and traveling way more than I had imagined- but here I am, still empty and searching.

This post, like many, is more for my own self reflection than an update on my life so please bare with me if it starts to sound pessimistic and not all that grand. It’s important to let down your guard at times and embrace those thoughts eating your mind away.

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I struggle and I’m scared. I’m scared because I want more, but I don’t know what. There are few things I am certain of, but various factors prevent actualizing those things I want. I’m scared because no one told me after years of education and mentorship, I would still be left semi empty handed, with no direction in life, and fearful of the life I am or am not building.

Alas, it’s okay because maybe that’s exactly how I should feel. Maybe I was never told because I was meant to go through it so I can pass on the knowledge on how to deal with it. After all, my most valuable lessons learnt were through struggles in the past, in moments of fear, doubt and uncertainty.

Trust me, I know what to do. I am aware of the actions I need to take in order to kick this fear out of my head. I know a year from now I’ll look back and laugh at myself. But for now, I’m scared- and that’s okay.

This is really hard to leave

The longer I spend in LA, west coast, in the land of palm trees, beautiful sunsets and the heat, most importantly, the heat- the closer I am to dropping everything and making the move. Don’t believe me? Well, take a look at these photos below and tell me whether you want to be there or not. Don’t lie.

Venice Beach 
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Santa Barbara
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Solvang, CA (Really cute Danish village!)
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Wine tasting at the Wandering Dog- really homey, amazing winery!
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Until next time…

The magic of life

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“Everything happens at the right place, right time”

As cliche as it sounds, I wholeheartedly believe that. As 2013 is coming to an end shortly, I find myself reflecting on the past year, the people I’ve met, the adventures I’ve been on and how I got to where I am today.

As I sit here on the plane back to the East coast from my third trip out West to LA this year, I smile at the thought of how much magic God has given me this year. The above photo was taken during a mini get away this past weekend to Santa Barbara and Solvang. There is so much beauty in the clouds, the mountains, the trees and the road that seems never ending. Similar to this drive, my life keeps on driving on even though I may not have everything figured out. It never stops, there might be obstacles but if you trust the road and trust yourself, it will lead you to the most magical moments.

In the meantime, if you’re scared, nervous, or anxious about anything, imagine your life as a painting and admire the beauty of everything around you.

Love, the strongest inspiration of all

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Love is an interesting phenomenon. Some of us go through life never really understand what it means to love, what does love fully look like? How do we act towards friends that we love? Relationships? Family love?

Sometimes I question myself on whether I really truly from my heart love this or that person, but at the end of the day, I don’t want to share my love with only the people I like. I want to love like Jesus did. Love endlessly and give selflessly, to lovers and enemies alike, even when there is no return.

Photo captured in Venice Beach, LA

The Rush

RUSH.

We are always in a rush, rushing to get somewhere, rushing to get something done, it somehow gives us the adrenaline to keep us doing what we do. I watched Rush yesterday, with Chris Hemsworth and Daniel Bruhl. It’s based on a true story of the love, hatred, and competition of two car racers.

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Entertainment aside, it got me thinking about a few things. James Hunt, early on in the movie said, “The closer you are to death, the more alive you feel. It’s a wonderful way to live. It’s the only way to drive.” I think we would all agree the feeling of feeling alive is unbeatable. The moment you accomplished a thousand page long thesis, make a thousand dollar business from a big client, or run a full marathon, it makes you feel like nothing can ever take you down.

I’m not saying we should live every day car racing and trying to get as close to death as possible, but perhaps we should be doing things and making decisions that scare us, that reminds me of that feeling of rush. Surround ourselves with people who will push us to make those decisions. Of course, there are still dumb decisions that you should not be peer pressured into but really think twice and dig deep into your soul to tackle that fear inside you.

Fight fear, work hard and play hard.