January is known as the month of Resolutions and Dreams and New Beginnings, but if I were to label it myself, Unpredictability would be a better word.

A weekend trip, a packed suitcase, and a rude awakening, my January has indeed been many, many things. I think it's been many things for a lot of people. Regardless of what you do or where you are, being pulled away from the Happy Holidays into the gruesome forest of reality is no seamless transition.




For me, it hasn't exactly been the Motivation Month itself. Instead, I've been packing, then moving, then unpacking, then packing some more, and unpacking again, to buying groceries, getting bills in the mail, learning how to pay them, enrolling on campus, etc etc. The constant queue on my to-do list resembles the hydra of Greek mythology. You cut one head and two grow back. Adulting is hard work. I don't know how people do it.

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1. good, genuine friendships are really, really, really rare.

2. travel, anywhere, whenever you can. 
don't be ashamed for always wanting to see more. conduct your own escapades. 
by train or plane or feet, life is too short to only be lived in one place.

3. don't be one of those girls that act like they'd die if they ever gain weight.

4. the truth will set you free, but first, it'll piss you off.

5. you can't demand life to be a fairytale, you can't demand the world to be perfect. 
but just because life doesn't always look like a beautiful award-winning movie plot, doesn't mean you can't find the right amount of good stories to tell, and good lessons to learn. 
forget picture-perfect endings; embrace the power and beauty of being the author of your own story.

6. it's probably a good idea to stop caring about what other people think of you.

7. don't forget to say "thank you" to security guards, waiters, and janitors you come across. 
make sure they hear it. make sure you mean it.

8. worrying about the future doesn't miraculously change it.

 9. comfort zones are great, but it is not a field in which we grow.

 10. there are countless books these days on "how to be happy" or "how to achieve your best life". you don't have to buy them. a book doesn't change your life. you change your life. you can decide what you've always wanted, and make the changes you've always desired. you don't need to wait for a book to tell you that. in other words, you don't have to read 260 pages of a "self-help" book when you could just help yourself.

 11. find the things that help empower yourself, and find the ways through which you can empower others. and keep doing it. (inspired by elle's lovely post on women empowering women, including the steps we can take to empower ourselves. click on her link and read it for yourself!)

12. there are far better things to be than "pretty". in a world that strives for good appearance, remember to be kind, and smart, and genuine. build character, not looks. it lasts longer anyway. if your life happens outside of the mirror, you shouldn't get so stuck on what you see inside of it.

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If you're wondering how I've been, though, I'd say that I'm walking straight through the wind and rain (both figuratively and literally, thanks to Melbourne weather). 

Wandering to the corners of my brain in constant search for some optimism. Staring down at sidewalks, lost in thought, forming puzzles in my brain, picking at questions never answered, picturing stories of what life could be. 

I've been feeling joy, worry, excitement, fear, and sadness, all at once. I didn't know humans could be that way, but firsthand experience tends to make you learn a lot of things.

So maybe this year I'll grow, evolve to become a hundred different things. Maybe I'll stay the same, nestled in the same old comfort of my being. Maybe I'll drench myself in jazz tunes and it'll make me feel 10x better, maybe I'll walk twenty miles north and see if it'll lead me to something greater. Maybe I'll rise, maybe I'll fall, maybe I'll keep myself afloat. But whatever takes place in this crazy new reality,

I think you'll see me write about it.

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(If you liked this post, you might also like my pieces on Things I Need To Tell Myself:
There's one. And two.)

Here's to "learning more" or whatever,