Bored and Blessed: reflecting on my weekends

After coming back from Japan, I have been making a lot of changes to my life. Whether or not it’s connected to the trip itself, I couldn’t say. However, there were a lot of thoughts I had once I returned that let me know some changes were in order.

I can’t remain on social media with the current mindset I have. The idea of constantly taking in the thoughts, feelings, ideologies, and lifestyles of so many people within such a short time span is overwhelming. My body always felt gross and weighed down by it all. It was less about sharing my life and more about consuming everyone else’s that became too much for me.

So, I removed social media and began to really process how much it has influenced my life and habits. Without realizing it, I think I began to take on the habits and aesthetics of the influencers I watched mindlessly. They were always going somewhere, doing something, and “living their best life”.

I loved that!

As someone who loves to explore, I connected with this way of living immediately. So that’s how I lived (and still do at times). However, I ran into one teensy problem.

Money.

A lot of outside fun costs money. And as a young adult trying to be a good steward of my paycheck and free from student loan debt, I knew I had to make some changes.

So, I cracked down on my finances and took a hard look at where my money was going. Within the process of cutting expenses, I knew I needed to transition my weekend activities. No more going out to eat with friends (food is expensive), or driving around (gas is expensive), or even writing in a coffee shop (that one hurt). My weekends have become slow, relaxing, and quiet.

And, surprisingly, I love it.

These peaceful weekends have become the highlight of my week. I love sleeping in and waking up slowly as I play farmland saga on my phone. Then the transition to a nice workout, or cleaning, cooking, writing, reading, etc. One day I bought a bag of hot fries, slapped on some true crime and disappeared under my blanket. I felt like a teen again. No where to go, no obligations, no events, just peace.

It was a feeling that I had taken for granted when I was younger. It felt so boring compared to everything my friends were doing. Everyone else was going out, having sleep overs, having house parties, etc.

At the time, I didn’t choose to stay in the house and relax.

I was stuck.

I didn’t have money to do anything, and I was 18 when I got my license so I couldn’t go anywhere. So, when I graduated college and I could finally live the way I wanted, I didn’t look back.

Don’t let this make you think I regretted it either. I still love going out, traveling, and driving around for the heck of it. This is not me saying I prefer one over the other.

Rather, I have a more well-rounded understanding of “boring” days like these. I love getting out of the house. I also love chilling on my couch with a homemade cup of matcha and jelly toast.

As I reflect, I feel more understood. More balanced.

These calm, relaxing, and slightly lazy weekends are just as valuable to me as weekends spent on the town, trying new foods, and shopping.

Just writing this made me excited for the rest of my weekend. Doing absolutely nothing of note.

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