INSTALIFE

JANUARY 2017

1. #OWN2017       2. Chitown babes

3. Seoul buddy       4. Lovers at the Getty Villa

5. Rogers Park, Chicago       6. Restoration Hardware

7. Fam @ Low Res Studios       8. Peter Rabbit

9. Goals       10. Doughnut Vault for life

11. Home Sweet Home       12. Signature Lounge Views

While January is zeal on steroids for many, it has been a season of unwinding for me. Deep moments of reflection, reconnection, and full-circle moments here in Chicago. It's as if a lot of the holes are getting filled more concretely. For one, I hadn't recognized how desperately I needed to hear my dad say, "I support you," until one casual afternoon when he sat me down and dropped some powerful, fatherly lines. Five years of tug-of-war and you can only imagine the multi-faceted emotions, colors upon colors swirling through my mind. Alas — a full-circle moment, a 2012 promise fulfilled.

One of the biggest blessings during my time in Korea was the revelation of "process" and "delight." As a dreamer and a tireless idealist, striving for unattainable 'ideas' of perfection left me always discontent. Freedom came when I began to cultivate delight in the process — both in the beauty and the mess. Along the way, I've experienced some incredible memories, met some life long friends, and seen some amazing, amazing sights (mostly in the everyday joys of life). And now the urgency to delight comes yet once again, here.

I've been coming face-to-face with different mentalities, beliefs, lifestyles, and ideas about faith. Revisiting old wounds. Juggling reverse culture shock. Long distance. Budgeting. Preparing.  Healthcare? Car insurance? ...All while standing in an in-between space of rest and dominion. Yet today, I remember to thrive. Thriving is a mindset, not a circumstantial reality. To live by any other standard is certainly an illusion and an empty obsession. It looks like I'll be in Chicago for February,  totally unplanned, totally unexpected. But as imperfect and unideal as it gets — lets delight.