“To live is the rarest thing in the world. Most people exist, that’s all.” - Oscar Wilde

This July for me can be most closely compared to a prescribed burning of vegetation, because sometimes, you need to tear things down to build back better. And you know what? The process can be new and uncomfortable. But it’s important to know that progress takes patience. We grow as we go, and the goal is always to grow back greener. But without rain and sunshine to lend a helping hand, the grass wouldn’t be as beautiful. Likewise, I am grateful for those who lent a helping hand when I needed it the most this month.

But my July wasn’t just about healing.

One principle that I like to follow before I make decisions is I ask myself “If this is the last thing I did in my lifetime, would I be happy?”. Albeit a strange question, it helps me figure out if the decision adds value to my life.

I quickly realized that I’ve been spending too much time in the comfort of my home for the first few weeks of summer. To address that, I decided to put myself out there and meet some people that I otherwise would have never crossed paths with, and I couldn’t be happier with my decision.

Meeting new folks is always fun because it’s mind-blowing how much about yourself you can learn from others. You figure out your principles and values based on how different interactions with different individuals make you feel. There are some joys in life that you can only experience through other people’s storytelling. Sometimes you see yourself in the other person, and sometimes you want to embody their strengths that you don’t possess. Maybe in the back of my mind, I already knew myself, but seeing new people brings the qualities you enjoy to light.

So what’s next for August? It's ironic for me to say after I just said I love spontaneous new experiences, but I want to tone down on meeting new people, hang out with some people I already know and love, and get back into the groove of routinely working on myself. I don’t know if I can call it spontaneity if I’m forcing myself to go out there and do stuff I don’t do every day, because, at the end of the day, I am still planning, and planning so much gets exhausting. I will focus on getting 1% better every day for my current goals while still making memories.