january 2025 ins & outs

garbage in = garbage out according to every AI expert, so here are some of my January, non-garbage, ins.

a moment:

coming into the New Year, I tried to keep my comfy vibe of the holidays, because moving from December girl energy to January can feel like a dump of foggy weight that clouds your head. I actually love it this year; everything feels cold and snowy, yet bright and refreshing. (even though there’s no snow in this picture, somehow it felt snowy outside). On my day off, I stepped outside with a hot cup of coffee that I had brewed myself from beans that I grounded. The chill hit my lungs as the coffee steamed up in front of me; while Coco slipped out from behind me to stretch her legs out for a few minutes, till I ushered her back in. I leaned my head against the door frame, listening to the latest Plum Village episode about renewal. The word “ethereal” came to mind for some minutes, until my feet got cold, and I joined Coco back inside <3.

podcasts:

- The Way Out is In: Renewal (Episode 81). A perfect episode for the beginning of the year. Something that I’ll never forget that Brother Phap Huu said: ““He [Thich Nhat Hanh] said "I die, and I'm reborn in every moment. And what he was alluding to is that we are constantly renewing ourselves.”” What a beautiful thought — in any day, any moment, any split of a breath, you can feel refreshed and empowered to change and grow to make yourself feel better. When I feel a cloud of mugginess descending, I break it by making a cup of tea, stretching, taking a breath outside, throwing on a podcast, or calling a friend to find that renewal within the moment.

reads: (spoilers) for Commonwealth and Rhythm of War.

- Commonwealth by Ann Patchett. I started listening to this audiobook for free on Spotify — already on Chapter 4! I love audiobooks and podcasts for my chores, because it makes it so much more fun to do laundry or dishes. I love listening to the author’s descriptions of everything, from LA to patients undergoing chemo to the nuances of the parent-child relationship. They’re so eerily accurate that I almost forget the book is fiction. Turns out she does draw a lot from her life…so makes sense lol.

- Rhythm of War. Still on this kick for the last year. Its a 1200 page book, so even on page 800, I was only 1/3 of the way through. It takes so much energy to read, because I know the characters so well that I feel personally anguished to see what they go through. So, I can only read 20-30 pages at a time. Plus, when I start to get excited about a book, I read it way too fast, so I’ll intentionally snap the book shut when I feel my eyes racing ahead.

listens:

I am trying to be more cognizant of what I listen to regularly. So many times music just runs in the background while driving or working, and I am not actually listening. My mind flits from topic to topic, and I come back to myself exhausted, and I don’t even know what song it is while it blares on.

- Dhoom 2. This track always slaps. the sass, the drama, the banger dance moves. Such an OG 90s kids playlist.

- Lindsey Stirling, Arena. Randomly this song began playing in my Rav4 as I drove to my sister’s place, right after I played the Dhoom 2 playlist. It quite literally demanded my attention, as I have never heard anything like it. Turns out I’m just late to the game, and she’s an OG Youtuber. I am happy to be on this train now though!

- Phildel. Ummm this began playing as I was cooking, and I stopped in my tracks and listened transfixedly for two minutes.

eats:

- black pepper garlic chicken and vegetables from Sprouts. quite savory and a “one-pot meal.”

- almost perfected a non spicy chicken curry that relies more on tomato sauce and yogurt over straight spice.

- tilapia with sauteed carrots and cabbage. feels quite french and fancy. no idea if it is actually french or not.

- Chipotle feeds my soul, and quite literally one of my favorite things to do is eat Chipotle on a friend’s couch while yapping

maybe i’ll do this again in February! ‘twas fun.

consistency

In 2024, I read about the idea of using a word or phrase of the year to capture New Years Resolutions, instead of a specific goal. I loved that idea because historically I always made too many resolutions that I could never stick to. I picked the word “peace “ for 2024, quite easily as soon as I closed my eyes, as 2023 had felt tumultous. Everything I did in the last year moved towards that goal including;

• facetiming my friends or organizing get-togethers in person

• reading books and journaling

• working out including yoga on the balcony

• keeping myself calm during intern year

• drinking coffee and making tea

• learning to breathe and step away when emotions run high

An indescribably huge part of that included the podcast Plum Village, a modern Zen Buddhist practice. I started listening to it the first day of the last year and immediately felt at home, in case anyone remembers I recommended it on my Instagram story lol. Listening to the podcast from monks in Thích Nhất Hạnh tradition gave me an input of clean and pure energy that really has lit up my life.

For 2025, I choose the word consistency — consistency in how I show up for myself and others in my life

This feels right for me as I continue to balance new roles of being a sister, girlfriend, intern, daughter, and just me. I showed up for myself in 2024, and I feel like it paid dividends in the energy I hope to give back to my community. Choosing a word for the year binds together all your goals in one. I do want to work out 4 days a week, be kind in how I speak, facetime my friends, do my skincare routine…and I do those things, sometimes. Instead of having eight different resolutions, my one word sums it all up. Be and stay consistent in the habits I have started to build up and let go. The word serves as my “vision board”, my “manifestation”, my New Years Resolution. As beautiful as those all sound, they can fade as the humdrum of the year settles back in. But, one word? I can hang onto that, and I bet you can too. :).