Monthly Reflections: Summer Edition

It’s official! Summer is over. I know it’s been a while since these posts but I have a good reason for doing so.

At the end of each month, when I sit down to write the monthly reflections, I saw a pattern of recurring themes. So instead of repeating everything, I’ve compiled them into one giant post.

Life is Too Short to Have Boring Hair

Hair plays a huge role in how we carry ourselves. It both indirectly and directly displays part of our personality.

I decided to go through the “big chop” and to be completely honest, had mixed feelings about it.

On one hand, I was pleased to get rid of the split ends that I had damaged using heat products daily and allow my hair to grow back healthy. It didn’t feel weighed down as much and was carried by volume that I never knew I had.

On the flip side, however, that it was shorter than I had anticipated. I just wasn’t used to it.

The first day, I found it difficult to accept how I looked. In my eyes, it’s as if I was transported back to 2011. The goal was to exemplify a sense of maturity.

“You learn to let things go”

Learning to love anything new about yourself takes time and is a work in progress.

Part of taking care of oneself is taking care of your body. I am determined to not to tarnish my locks with heat products.

Whenever I’m not going out, I don’t straighten my hair and instead, let it air dry. It’s been so long since I’ve touched a blow dryer. I’ve invested in the TREsseme Thermal Creations Heat Tamer Leave In Spray when I do use heat products and it has been a God send!

Learning From Yourself

This summer’s all about introspection and taking time to learn from yourself from life’s obstacles. I’m not going to go too much into detail but what I can say is this. I took a step back at my life, particularly when situations do go the way I originally plan them out to be. Through the videos, that you’ll read below, I gained clarity and a new sense of optimism that I thought was long gone.

Michelle Phan – “Why I Left”

Michelle Phan is one of my favorite YouTubers not just for her tutorials but for videos like these. This video tells the story of her journey to success, how it comes at a cost, and how she found her way back to her true self.

“My inner child reminded me that it’s never too late to start over. They say if you want to fly, you must give up everything that weighs you down. I wanted to soar.”

“Every choice that I’ve made, good or bad, has made me who I am today. But it doesn’t control me.”

SoulPancake – Tell My Story”

“Tell My Story” is a different take on the typical blind date. People who have never met, let alone see each other, are placed across from one another.

They are given a “Mad Lib” to tell the story of the individual sitting across from them just by making the assumption based on initial impression

From the simple topics such as their name and occupation to the more difficult and complicated, such as religion and political views. After going back and forth, they correct one another by revealing the truth behind each assumption.

“There’s a story behind every person. There’s a reason why they are the way they are. Think about that before you judge someone.”

These videos put people into perspective. You don’t know what people’s lives are like until they reveal them. 9 times out of 10 your initial judgments are wrong.

Wong Fu Productions – “Everything Before Us”

I’ve always been a fan of Wong Fu Productions because in each of their videos there is an Asian majority cast without playing into the deep stereotypes. For once, I feel like I can resonate in some aspect with each and every character. Their videos range from comedy to drama to action to documentary and never fail to entertain

Everything Before Us is Wong Fu’s first full-length film and depicts the story of two couples navigating their relationships and lives with the heavy impact of a relationship score from the fictional Department of Emotional Integrity (DEI). If your score is based on the emotional impact of the choices you make within the relationship.

One of the couples is high school sweethearts that struggle with the new change of college life and shifting into a long distance relationship. When this particular couple part ways after being together for so long, it becomes difficult for them to move forward with their lives. There’s a line that resonated with me that doesn’t just apply to a break-up.

“Having a plan doesn’t always mean having control that’s just life. Now, learning how to move forward, when you don’t have that control, that’s just growing up.”

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