What's in my head this week...

Hey!

This week I have honestly been feeling behind. Technically, I’m really not behind but I think there are so many things in my head that I’m feeling scattered sometimes. I am a very list/goal oriented person so it helps me to rely on my planner and come up with a daily to do list on days when I feel like this. There’s all my normal life things that I want to get done like laundry, grocery shopping, cooking, cleaning up, reading, working out, blogging, journaling every night, yoga, and calling family and friends. Then, there’s everything for school which I don’t really feel like listing because it’s a little chaotic and different week by week. But within that, my consulting project is really picking up and I need to do some behind the scenes work to formulate work plans for my team and think one step ahead if I can. With school and consulting comes a lot of meetings (I currently have 4 group projects going) and communicating meet times with that many people can be a lot. I’m also trying to plan classes, flights, and visa things for my upcoming semester in Brazil, while also trying to think of internships for Summer 2025 before my masters semester. Also, trip planning here is picking up. I’m heading to Kuala Lumpur this weekend (in Malaysia) which is so cool and I’m so excited, but it adds a little layer of something else to think of. Then, if I have time, I always try to work in time to see different things in Singapore and make plans with my favorite people here. 

Some of my friends! :)

My point is, I’m definitely not special with this. You all (and everyone) have a million things that you're subconsciously balancing and it can sometimes catch up to you. I wouldn’t say I’m necessarily really stressed and overwhelmed, but I’m constantly thinking about the next thing I have to check off. So, a reminder to everyone, remember how many things you have on your plate and be proud of how much you juggle every single day. A lot of times it goes unnoticed until we actually sit back and think about it. We're just used to whatever we have going on. I think having a good day mentally is a lot more important than feeling like you need to put work, school, or stress as your number one priority everyday…but easier said than done sometimes. 

That’s why I find it super important to prioritize my mental health in study abroad. I’ve realized that through all of the freedoms and excitements of study abroad, it does leave you a lot of time to think since it kind of is a solo adventure. This is positive though! I wouldn’t say that I’m someone who loves my alone time too much, but here, it’s been something that I’ve tried to work on. I've focused on this with things that energize me and give me a reset. Hence why I’ve picked up daily journaling check ins, consistent workouts, swimming, yoga, and even reading (which I’m honestly not known to love lol). I came home from Germany honestly exhausted, but here I want to come back home as a better version of myself. But the days when I let these things slip, I'm more focused on all the other things I need to get done. So, this is a mental reminder to myself (and anyone that needs to hear it) that the other stuff that’s stressing you out WILL get done. But it’s gonna be a whole lot harder to get it done if you haven’t put yourself and your hobbies first too. 

Okay, moving on from this topic, I’m overall doing good!!! Singapore is a really easy location to settle into despite it being across the world (professors, locals, and students have all really said this). I’m still loving the weather (in case you thought I’d change my mind) and my favorite class right now is Ebusiness. We talk about everything on an international scale and have recently touched on influencer marketing and where our world is going with technology. The professor is really what makes me enjoy this class, which is normally the case. While I've been at school I've been fixated on our salad bar and matcha lattes this week. It's a fresh change from the Singapore hawker centers which I love, but normally they have a combination of the same dishes. I've also been listening to music the entire week, which is normal but this week has been a lot more. I correlate a lot of my playlists with summer breaks and memories so it just puts me in a good mood.

My salad today

Besides that, I also got to explore the botanical gardens in Singapore last weekend. It was one of my favorite places I’ve visited here so far. It’s free and it can take the whole day if you want it to. We had about 4 hours and walked around the whole time-I got to see 3 huge lizards running around too. My favorite part was the orchid garden there, so if you end up hitting Singapore, I definitely recommend it. Also last Wednesday my friends and I got to sign up for a St. Patrick’s Day crawl with a lot of other international students which was super fun. Everywhere was green and we paraded around different places and local pubs.

Some of the group!

Botanical gardens!

The last update I wanted to give is that over the weekend I had an opportunity to see my parents' long time friend who now lives in Singapore with his wife and son! He was really helpful through this whole process and it was so fun to eat new foods with them and just talk. He is originally from Malaysia but also lived in the US (the time when he met my parents) and had a lot of good insights since he's lived in both places. It’s fun to be at an age where you can hang out casually with people that your parents have known since before you were born. Anyways, they’re awesome and I'm super grateful for that! 

The next couple weeks get busier as my spring break approaches, so I will update in a little after my trip to Malaysia this weekend! 

I appreciate YOU for reading!! 

Love,

Brigitte