A New Year’s Reflection (Hello again)
Hey all—It’s been a while. The last time I sent one of these letters, I was in Indonesia, on the precipice of my first 10-day Vipassana meditation retreat. After a few months' break from any form of social media or digital publishing, it feels right to reopen this thread.
I don’t feel called to share the all details of the last few months. There were some metaphorical peaks and valleys, but the summary is that this meditation retreat set the stage for me to continue tackling my health issues from a place of peace, not fear. Immediately upon leaving the retreat, I booked a ticket back to the States, settling in Seattle, WA, where I grew up. I am applying as much energy as I can to tackling my health challenges from the car accident I was in a year and a half ago. I am teaching yoga and continuing to expand my photography business in the Seattle area.
Resolutions, a Rarity
I’ve rarely been one for sweeping changes in the form of New Year's resolutions. Investing in my self-growth has been steadfast enough for me that it’s never felt particularly pertinent to participate in the yearly tradition. Reflecting on 2023, I can share a few things that I have grown in the most:
Reducing my anxiety through meditation, which has been at times paralyzing during my healing journey
Learning to trust the intuitive wisdom of my body
Confidence in embracing my uniqueness
Progress in not taking responsibility for other people’s emotional experiences
Alleviation of stored trauma in my body
Taking my health into my own hands. Radical individual ownership.
Deepening my search for fulfillment in internal directions, relying less on external sources.
Reflections, a Reverie
The media that has been most impactful on me this year:
Sam Harris’s Waking Up meditation app, specifically lectures from Joseph Goldstein
Yoga Sutras of Patanjali
A New Earth by Eckhart Tolle
The Brain’s Way of Healing by Norman Doidge
Some other highlights I can look back on:
Graduating Cum Laude from college with a degree in Mechanical Engineering
Making a spontaneous trip to Paris, Brugge, and Amsterdam with a new friend I had met only days prior
Completing a 4-day darkness retreat, the psychologically hardest challenge of my life
Giving the first toast at my father’s wedding
Visiting 7 new countries and spending over 4 months traveling
My most successful photography season yet, photographing 51 college graduates over a period of 2 months
Experiencing internal expansion through some amazing friendships
Becoming certified as a yoga instructor
Finding a deep connection with nature, and feeling called to move closer to it
Dec 27th, 2023. On top of a mountain, in my happy place.
My Humble Request
With my 24th birthday approaching at the end of the month, January 31st, I have a wish for those who know or care for me… letters! I would be honored for anyone who wishes to write me a letter. There is no preference for content, but simply the intentionality of that type of correspondence. Feel free to send it anytime, and I will save them until opening on the day of. For those who wish to, my address is 2427 109th Ave. SE, Bellevue, WA 98004.
