Within the past week alone, I've been to four different cities, juggled a bunch of projects, and celebrated Memorial Day Weekend with some of my closest friends. Currently, I'm still trying to figure out this whole work-life balance thing without completely destroying my mental and physical health so after I finished writing that previous blog post, I finally came to terms with myself. I am and will always be, a workaholic. It has always been in my nature to push myself, to work a little harder, and to live outside my comfort zone; however, now I think it's the right time for me to really settle in and figure out which relationships/dreams are worth the investment and which ones are not. Since I have a couple of hours to myself every night, I've been completely devoted to this Stephen Covey novel. He said, "We are not a product of our circumstance, but of our decisions." Oftentimes, people find themselves feeling impatient and wanting to change their circumstance rather than themselves. A better way to look at it is that while we can't control every substantial or insubstantial event that happens to us, at the very least, we can change the way in which we see these events as well as our reactions to them. Self growth, for me, has always been something to strive for on the daily. At the same time, it's more productive if I recognize this ongoing process as a very tender investment. So in order to successfully excel in self-improvement, I have to give myself room to grow, make mistakes, take risks, and fail a couple of hundred times over.

When I was in the sixth grade, I would lock myself in a room and read as much as possible because I wanted to have the highest AR points in my grade. Although I enjoyed my readings, my innate competitive nature took away that feeling of leisure. Now that I'm older, I'm starting to appreciate writing and novels for what they really are.  So instead of rushing through Covey's novel for the sake of "reading" it, I actually read every page out loud and then reread it again in my head. I enjoy hearing the sound of my own speaking voice, at the same time, I wanted to internalize every concept, every paradigm; more importantly, I wanted to really apply these 7 daily habits.

Okay, it's time for me to eat my dinner now. I hope you all had a wonderful Memorial Day Weekend and if you get the chance, take some time to remember why we're celebrating this holiday.

To the women and men who fought and is still fighting everyday for the life I get to live, thank you so much.