Day 31: Welcome To 2021

Kicked off the New Year with a walk around my neighborhood.

I'm truly fortunate to have grown up in a quiet, serene place.

But it's one that I can't stay in forever. I want to head back to California at some point, but when I'm ready.

When I graduated from school roughly 1.5 years ago, from a career perspective, I finished the academic chapter (for now) and began the professional chapter as an engineer. Mentally, I wasn't ready.

Three weeks off from school to start my decades-long career was not enough to decompress from an intense, demanding six years at MIT. (Of course, I had to pick a job that had a strict, non-negotiable start date!)

Hindsight shows that I clearly needed more time to relax and recuperate. More time-off in between school and the job would have given me the space to reflect and build better habits for the next chapter of my life.

Unless I were to suddenly quit (which I have no plans of doing! turns out having a job during a time of mass unemployment is actually good!) or lose my job through no fault of my own (which I hope doesn't happen!), this idealized period of free time will not come any time soon.

So I have to make do with the time I have. Coming back to live at home has been easily one of the best decisions I've made since graduating. Even though I'm still working forty hours a week, I'm in a place where I feel safe, sound, and encouraged to become a better version of myself.

So that's what I'm going to do. I have at least six more months at home (given my current role allowing me to work from home). I know what I need to fix. Number one: sleep. I fix my sleep, I become consistent. I become consistent, I build a better body and mind. I build a better body and mind, I become the old me.

Let's do it.