A Midsummer Dream

Imagine this with me. It’s August 2029, and I have arrived at my suite at Hôtel Plaza Athénée for a long weekend in Paris. While the Parisians have departed the city for their annual trip to the countryside and the tourists return to their respective homes as many of the city’s sights close, I have come to enjoy the quiet. Each year I go some place for a solo trip, and though I typically go somewhere new I chose Paris because this version of me has never been to Paris.

I am the healthiest I have ever been. I am the wealthiest I have ever been. I am so full of love that I sometimes rush to wake up so I can experience and express more of it. I am in flow. I’ve built my life maximizing on what I’m great at, and still trying to work on what I’m good (and not so good) at. It’s still a journey. I have learned that my dreams are not a function of if, but when. So these solo trips, where I get to be fully present and alone, are an ode to my past selves who couldn’t fully see what my life could be, but believed and pressed on.

I was too patient when I was younger, too willing to wait my turn and allow things to evolve. But now I have taken the reins as the co-creator of my life. Each day is precious and passing by. And despite it all, the patience and eagerness, the presence and the frenzy, I truly can say now that life isn’t merely happening to me, but it is happening for me.

Behind the newsletter…

This whole year has been a series of transitions for me, and I find myself simultaneously at the beginning and end of yet another transition. I’m doing my best to savor the last few weeks of summer as well as the gorgeous apartment I’ve been renting this summer in Williamsburg. When I first moved to New York in 2019, I lived in a 2 bed 2 bath in East Williamsburg for 3 years. I experienced so much over those years and especially in that apartment as it coincided with the pandemic. It feels like a full circle experience to have spent the past 2 months here. I don’t know where I’ll be next, but I’m sure it will be beautiful.

I am also amidst a new chapter that I will share more about soon, and although I fully embrace this change, it isn’t easy. My friend Morewa always reminds me that when we pray for a blessing, we should also pray for the grace to carry it. I am realizing now how important this is. I often find myself negotiating who I want to be and how I want to show up in this new place in my life. It’s like that feeling when you enter a cold pool or body of water and you’re trying to decide if you enjoy it or not / how long you can stick it out for. Change is weird, but good. Weird, but good.

I will be spending the last week-ish of August in Italy celebrating family wedding and I honestly cannot wait. Weddings are some of the happiest days of my life, plus it’s in Italy. This trip is going to be an opportunity to pause and exhale. I’m going to relish each and every moment I have away, which means that for the last 2 weeks of August there will be no newsletter. You can keep up with me and my little Euro summer by following me on Instagram.

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Three Good Things

1. I’m currently watching Veep, which feels apt given the tumultuous political season the US has somehow found itself in, again. It seems like everyone is watching this now that Vice President Kamala Harris has become the democratic nominee. This CNN interview with the executive producer was really interesting vis a vis gender in politics. The show’s director also wrote an interesting op-ed in NYT about the resurgence of Veep. Julia Louis-Dreyfus and Tony Hale (who is also in Arrested Development) are absolutely hysterical and highly recommend it.

2. For self care, I’m treating myself to a Friday facial. It’s something I started earlier in the year when my skin decided to rage against me. I’m a fairly confident person, but having acne for the first time in my life at age 27 has been humbling. I’ve finally found a consistent routine between my facials is working well for me, and the key is less is more. In particular, I’ve been loving Dermalogica’s active clearing cleanser and masque.

3. My current culinary hyper fixation is recreation of a salad by Tolu from An Eater’s Playground, which I have named the cruciferous summer salad. It consists of toasted almond, crunchy quinoa and broccoli, greens of choice, and seasoned to perfection. I love to pair it with Trader Joe’s mango vinaigrette and honey ginger grilled salmon.

   

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A Question to Consider

What if this is part of the plan for your life? What if this very season of you working drudgingly and subsumed by the mundane is purposeful? What if the nagging feeling is a magnet and pulling you closer to where you need to be?