Hello! It's been a while, yes? I've been busy living in the summer and through the summer, perhaps much too engaged to document it. Summer was action-packed and FUN. It filled me to the brim, made me laugh, love, and even cry. It stretched me to receive more, to grow, and to give myself in ways that were only possible when...simply put, unapologetically myself. That kind of expansion comes when you put yourself out there among the world of colorful differences, when you take some risks, and openly lean in to (more often than not frightening) new experiences. It's been really, really amazing.
Now that the dust has settled and September has rolled in, the pangs of nostalgia have officially kicked in. (Anyone else feel the '그리움' that September brings?) I thought it would be a good time to sit down at this open-view cafe in Hapjeong and reflect. And so with moments captured in time, here's summer 2016.
1. MMCA photo exhibit in Korea. The MMCA is my favorite museum in Seoul and it has left some deep impressions on me this spring/summer season. I once used to believe that photography detached me from real human experiences (and, someone once told me in high school that taking photos was being vain and fake — nonsense). This exhibit brought healing to my soul and inspired me to continue to snap away at the every day, the extraordinary and the mundane!
2. Spaces. Yesterday I went to explore cafe spaces in Seongsu and was substantially impressed by how humans could design and manufacture a room that would fill me with rip-roaring inspiration. Admittedly, the only threads of consistency of the summer were cafes like these. (The one pictured above is in Wicker Park, Chicago)
3. Giving thanks. My grandma occasionally would say that happiness and gratitude are proportional. This summer, I intentionally practiced gratitude, and to that I can say, I am certainly very, very happy.
4. Busan. Crossed off #6 on my summer bucket list when I took the KTX to my favorite city in Korea, not to work per usual but to play. The ocean was alright this time, but the company was nice.
5. Rooftop shenanigans. Not a single summer goes by without hitting up the Seoul rooftop with friends, music, and food. No grilling this summer, but for this night, pizza was the most excellent choice. That, and, I'm ever so thankful for this bunch who I had the privilege of growing to know more this year.
6. Seoul Searching. The longer I stay in Korea, the more eagerly I desire to learn my cultural heritage. So much so that I found myself aimlessly meandering through Hanoak Village and Samchungdong without a single complaint of the heat. Mosquitos and alarming steam aside, it was all killer vibes.
7. Yangjae Flower Market. Crossed off another one on the summer bucket list as I walked home a bad girl with a mint chocolate chip ice cream craving fulfilled and the most beautifully arranged bouquet of flowers I've yet to get my hands on. Satisfaction.
8. Thailand. The only way I can describe waking up to this morning view on my left and my best friends on my right...pure bliss. To that, you add ice-immersed coconut water, endless pad thai, beautiful waters, and endless hours of laughter, and you'll have one content woman. Definitely one of the highlights of my summer.
9. The Little Prince. I've always considered life lived in hopeless denial to that which one was designed an exceedingly distressing thought. This little book is a seed of hope to the human soul, to those who may have forgotten what it's like to live fully.
10. Lessons on loving the self. Love is not something we give or get; it is something that we nurture and grow, a connection that can only be cultivated between two people when it exists within each one of them – we can only love others as much as we love ourselves. -Brene Brown
