I get no meaning from being stuck in one place at home for the last two years. I am an adventurous person and I love seeing new places and exploring new food and culture. I love watching my airplane mileage increase over time and having conversations with my family and friends about all the new and amazing things I witnessed in each country. I love watching the sky through the small window of the airplane, and if I get lucky, I can sometimes catch a rainbow. I enjoy the process of seeing the world through the lens of my camera and capturing those beautiful moments. Chasing sunrises and sunsets throughout the world, exploring mountains, seas, and lakes, are among the things I enjoy doing most. I have done two cross-country road trips through the US and stopped by each state to explore their state parks, famous landmarks and of course taste the amazing food each state had to offer. I really do miss traveling as the world seemed to have shut down since 2020, only slowly opening recently.

Even though I miss traveling a lot, I believe the last two years gave me an opportunity to reflect on my life and think of what I have done wrong and what I have done right. I decided to pursue my education in Canada which was one of the right decisions I made during this time. I started journaling my thoughts, feelings and even writing short poems about different topics. I saw myself getting more patient with things around me and having a gentler demeanor. I looked back at all the things in life I would have done differently and wrote those down too – regrets, lost opportunities, and lessons. I believe writing down all my experiences, both positive and negative, helped me become more understanding and wiser. I see a big mental shift from 2020 until now.

I also started taking care of my hair more and grew it out to be hip length which I thought would never be possible. Not visiting the hairdresser for an entire year really showed me the potential my hair has for growth. I oiled my hair regularly with coconut, castor and olive oils and took care of it in a way I never did before. I became very creative in my home workouts which I didn't think would be possible. As someone who used to regularly do CrossFit and martial arts and stay very physically active, it became very hard to reduce the workout volume and intensity abruptly last year. I had to order weights online which got delivered to me a month after placing the order. I used chairs at home, stairs, and whatever was available to me to stay physically active.

It was also during this pandemic time that I found love. The love of my life appeared to me unexpectedly, for which I am truly thankful. Even though currently we are in a long-distance relationship, we spend our time together on call online while getting work done for Seneca College. We have such amazing teamwork when it comes to studying and working on personal side projects together for our portfolio. Long-distance relationships are very hard, however, through really good understanding, trust, communication, respect for each other's feelings and knowing when to close the gap, it is possible to make LDRs easier. Of course, some days get harder when I really wish to curl up with the love of my life with pizza and a good movie on a beautiful rainy day. I find rainy days beautiful. The sound and smell of rainy days are my favorite out of all kinds of days.

Some days are harder than others, and there are exactly 83 days left from today to meet my love. I keep myself busy with coursework these days hoping for time to smoothly run by. I tell myself that this fall semester is a bridge I must cross to meet my love. It is 2022 in just a few months. I will be welcoming the new year in Canada, which will be my first time being there. I am excited, nervous, happy, and stressed, experiencing a lot of different emotions.