Time for another This + That feature, aka my random lifestyle ramblings and life updates.
#1 Sending out a cold email pitch
Cold pitching and bold self-promotion continue to be my biggest freelancing challenges. It’s not something that comes naturally to me, so any time I’m able to overcome this issue is definitely a successful day. I’ve been mulling over this particular email for well over a week now (not constantly, of course, but definitely way more than I should have), writing and then rewriting again, delaying, procrastinating. It then sat in my drafts folder for 2 days. Then on Tuesday, it was “fuck it, I’m sending this” day finally. Even if nothing comes out of this, the fact that I’m able to face my biggest insecurities is a great feeling.
#2 Finalizing our New York trip
New York is my absolute favorite city in the whole world. When I lived in DC, I grabbed every opportunity to go up and spend as much time there as I could, but I haven’t been there since I moved back to Europe almost 4 years ago. A transatlantic trip seemed like way too much of a hassle and money until I went through our travel spending in the last 2 years and realized we easily spend just as much (OK, not exactly, but the difference is not as big as I’d have thought) money for a 4-5 day-long trip to a European capital than we would on a New York trip. Especially as I have friends living there and thus we could spend at least a couple of days with them, without paying for hotels. So, after some deliberation (fake deliberation, as the answer has always been obvious), we finally pulled the trigger and booked a trip last month to New York. This week I spent some time to make plans, write lists of places I’d like to visit or revisit, and finalizing meetings with old friends. I swear planning a much-awaited trip is sometimes just as exciting as the actual travel itself.
#3 A long call with a friend abroad
Staying in close touch with friends is often difficult even if you live in the same city. Add in an ocean and some time difference, and it becomes almost impossible. I know because I’ve been in both shoes – moving away and navigating a new life with staying in touch with friends, as well as staying home and waiting for updates from those who moved away. So anytime I’m able to schedule (and actually do) a long-overdue phone call with a friend abroad is a happy day.
#4 The first glimpse at our new apartment
We finally had our appointment to see our new future home. As it is a still-under-construction apartment complex and we invested in right at the beginning of the project, so far we’ve only seen the plans and the layout drafts. I was kinda nervous, but thankfully everything turned out to be just as I hoped it would.
It’s going to be an exciting time, of course not without its own challenges. Because, you see, it’s going to be empty. Like, totally empty. We still have to design a kitchen from scratch, we don’t move big furniture, we have to build wardrobes, and furnish the whole thing. And it sometimes seems like a big challenge, but mostly we’re just really excited to make something that we completely call our own. So, even those bare walls and empty rooms made me crazy excited, incredibly grateful, and very happy.
#5 Making people smile
One simple thing that is definitely at the top of my personal development list is practicing small and simple daily acts of kindness. This may sound easy, but unfortunately, not many people realize the importance of this. We often think that giving should always be grandiose things: donations, supporting charities, volunteering. And these are, of course, incredibly important. But paying attention to the people around us, trying to make them smile, make them feel good about themselves can make just as big of a difference. I’m surrounded by a lot of incredibly kind and open people, for whom this comes easily. Sadly, I’m not one of them. Being an introvert and a generally shy person sometimes makes it difficult for me to open up to strangers and initiative small connections. But I’m drawing inspiration from these people around me as well as from the effects I see these small acts of kindness can have.
Small daily acts of kindness really do not have to be time-consuming efforts: paying a long-overdue call to an old friend, asking someone how their day was, complimenting a stranger’s look, saying thank you to a coworker, or a service-provider we generally tend to pass by, saying have a nice day, sending a thank you note to an author or blogger you regularly read, telling someone you admire their work – do these really take more than 2 minutes?
I try to be more deliberate with and pay attention to such small kindnesses. Telling the pharmacist I’ve been going to for 2 years how much I appreciate her kindness and expertise and how she goes out of her way to help customers. Sending a short email to a blogger who published an awesome post. Giving over my place in line at the store to an elderly lady. Giving a friend a lift even when it’s not on the way home. Buying some flowers for my mother. Sending a random nice text to my fiance. These may seem like the simplest things ever, but I’m sure it made a difference in their day – and in mine as well.
What were some of the things that made you happy this week?
