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Good Health

AUGUST 25, 2021 BY CASSANDRA JOHNSON

I think I have determined for me and some others, we may crave more variety than we know, hence the empty feeling of falling into a rut. What we may need is challenging work, a type of routine, dependability, spontaneity, vacation, and rest in different amounts depending on what drives us. Too much of one at any time has left us stuck, I am seeing.

Image Credit: Gerd Alrmann

We may crave variety more than we know while we also need stability. The wistful feeling of falling into some monotony while establishing a reliable routine became more apparent to me recently as routines became incredibly routine. I did not mind doing what was needed but I began to see how we all have to really take care of ourselves and have the proper outlets, entertainment, and recuperation.

In the natural flow of life, I found I seek comforts but also want to be challenged. I want to be pleasantly surprised, feeling safe with some place where I can continue to take risks.

Just when there has been enough rest and vacation, I actually find it nice to have the challenge of fulfilling work where I am accomplishing something.

Just when feeling like work is relentless and not wanting to deal with any stress that comes with communicating work politics and meeting proper deadlines, a nice getaway filled with idyllic scenery is a great touch or a staycation is a nice reset.

Within the layers, we can revel in a night out with friends dancing and laughing or a quiet walk outside with just a headset in tow. Working from a different part of my home office or mixing remote work with office work when I was still at my last company, I began to look forward to both and the change in scenery. Inserting some variety helped me appreciate the options. Distinguishing between what I prefer and what I do not like, which could also change, fit my big picture.

A healthy emotional state can be hard to maintain and should not be expected. We remember being “only human” and “there is no such thing as perfection” but those sentiments still seem rejected, striving in ways that sometimes are not perfectly attainable and forgetting some significant wins.

We still have a lot of possibilities for what life may bring and I would like to find my way by mixing it up. Variety, it’s true, is the spice of life*. Even in our interests, we should consider uncovering as much as we can.

Testing

AUGUST 24, 2021 BY CASSANDRA JOHNSON

I am pleased with the influx of work which has been coming my way because now I can better figure out my independent work style.

Since I was so used to going the extra mile for employers and organizations, any time away was just a sign for rest though I had started to dabble into my side hustle in 2018. I was convinced I could be quite successful, if I did it full time and put in just half the effort I put into colleagues and managers, and their customers. However, there is something coupled with working for yourself (at least this something accompanied me). Although I was and have been very motivated, I had some challenges distinguishing among the need for recuperation and going all in on productivity. The other interesting issue was being willing to market myself as well as I marketed someone else’s mission statement.

Conditioning is challenging to dismiss. and I was simply used to working on other people’s behalf for years. Some good comes with that. Everything I did before has helped prepare me for dealing with life now but there is also a downside if you lean towards people pleasing in any sort of way. You have to know for yourself how past habits and the focus on pleasing others can overshadow your own goals.

People in work environments can even take advantage of your disposition though I learned some time ago, this is a sign of a poor structure. The look of this may mean being showered with praise without any true additional compensation or no praise so workers are constantly doing more to prove their worthiness.

The resolution is knowing how good we are and realizing the significance we bring and even if we are not as wondrous as the next person or reached our highest level yet, we can become better (and yes, more accomplished than others), without turning the negativity into bad reactions and unhealthy efforts.

The resolution for me was putting myself into the situation of not being privy to the conditioning environment. No need to be so drastic but this rearrangement causes me to mainly hold myself accountable and get down to the core of my skills. I am faced with my own market value because quality and efficiency are a direct reflection on how well my business grows and how much I take care of myself and the clients I want to serve better.  This is my catalyst to attempting to do well and pick myself up from my mistakes.

I am pleased I am getting there and get to do work which helps people. I am pleased and a lot less nervous.😊

May Peace Answer the Resilience

AUGUST 23, 2021 BY CASSANDRA JOHNSON

May some peace come in some way for the people of Afghanistan and Haiti. I want to have a moment and space for them. In so much unthinkable uncertainty, danger, fear and loss, I am thankful for the people who have been able to make it. Still, there is so much grief, pain and loss I cannot even begin to fathom, and I am thankful for the people on the ground helping. May there be some solace to answer everyone’s resilience.

When and Where

JULY 31, 2021 BY CASSANDRA JOHNSON

As I am also now thinking to the future, I do want to be financially savvy and per my previous intro, I am currently setting price alerts to San Juan and Cusco.

If anyone knows how to navigate flight mile rewards and/or credit card travel perks, please do let me know. I am not even close to mastering the deals. I am just sticking to my usual tips of what days and times are the best for scheduling a trip and how many days out you need to schedule in advance. I think Tuesday works but may change or fluctuate at the time of this writing. I also think I have found a good deal in the wee hours of my current eastern standard time but do not quote me on that either.

This alone is pretty advanced knowledge for me because I do not know how soon I will end up wanting to get abroad. Still, is it just my imagination or does it seem like the rates get pretty locked in once you have done one Google, airline, or booking site search.

Yet, randomly, I will come back and play around with some dates and get lucky or just, hurry, lock in the rates before they raise my options. I am not committed yet. Thinking aloud and looking forward to planning to not have plans.

A Way Back

JULY 30, 2021 BY CASSANDRA JOHNSON

Waking up in Cusco. Waking up in Guayaquil. Waking up in San Juan. Really, I do not mind waking up in my current home in the US, but there is definitely a pull towards the places I have been and especially resided in for a while.

Photo Pixabay

I have enjoyed DC for the time I have been living here, and I miss my home state and family as well. What I also plan for is living, playing and working between all of the above. I am excited to finally get to travel in the coming month. Let’s hope.

Hopefully we will all be able to move about as safely as possible.

I moved to this new home base about 15 years ago but did not know if I would stay here permanently, Initially my love was more than likely for the idea of moving to another big city apart from the one I lived in during college. I guess I should use the term district rather than city although eventual statehood is the aim.

I knew living here would be another interesting experience for me with a different variety of opportunities. This would be living as that everyday adult who did not have to worry about finals anymore😊

I compared what was to come via my love of reading (and campus life) before I had stocked up on so many of life’s up and downs. I fully looked forward to what was to come but braced myself for some difficulties as well. They did come, but through my efforts, I know I am fortunate to have met and spent time with all the people who have happened across my life. I count myself as lucky that I know people from different parts of this world. When I was a little girl, I imagined traveling but did not know how much a reality this could be for me.

Expecting to continue,  I am a lot less the pessimistic optimist I used to be in which I was full of hope but careful to brace myself. Naturally, we do not want to be vulnerable, and life is far from perfect.  Many times I  was surprised when some goals were completed. Then I realized I was surprised at my surprise because I did not realize I had also been prepping all along for some milestones not to be reached.  I have become better. I am realistic but I am still hopeful and now a little braver about going for what I want.

I will still need to adjust to a lot. I am still just getting acclimated to working for just me and mindset is interesting when you have gotten so used to working for other people. Though I am a fairly disciplined person, the deadlines are what helps the most in my now  location independent workdays. They are needed.

So there is one question I still consider. Since I have only explored this somewhat, I wonder how good I will be at navigating working while traveling, especially with my old habits of working too much. I am inspired by so many of you. Typically, I am wondering what work I should be getting done next.

Then again, perhaps this is more the old me relating to the demands of someone else’s company, their clients or customers and performance reviews. Sure, there were likeable elements, but no denying how non-workdays are looked forward to by many employers and employees for a reason.

Currently, I still have pressure but a notably different push when completing assignments for an individual client or agency as I am doing now.

Well, there is no rush to figure everything out all at once. Just getting back out on my first trip after a long hiatus has me excited. I won’t be working. No hurry to get it right on this first time out. Just in a hurry to see my family again.

Friendship In A Day

JUNE 30, 2021 BY CASSANDRA JOHNSON

A nice spin on getting to spend time with a good friend is getting to do the same in paradise. 2019. Enter Puerto Rico.

I was post volunteering (doing some sightseeing here and there and taking in the suggestions for all the local events which happen to be taking place). A beach being just up the road did not hurt matters nor did Old San Juan being about 10-minutes away by bus or Uber.

My friend and I had talked about how fun it would be if we finally had the chance to travel together. As we usually had a collection of getaway stories to share, we pondered how fun it could be if we had those stories in common.

Planning out our schedule for what was some good timing, we carved out one overlapping day and for this span of the time, we went to the beach, went to some tourist spots, dined on some nice cuisine, and later realized how we may not have even had the time.

We were appreciating how the plan came together despite the time winding down. We could relax, even having the time to shoot the breeze over dinner with other travelers, share music at a local bar, and be a part of the nightlife.

Decadent dessert was also good for my enthusiasm 😊 and this was all in good time before my 2ish am flight. I would see him again back on home turf.

Connecting and hanging out with new people abroad is one highlight. Then there is this other magic of passing the time with local friends on an excursion and fortunately for us, the island gifted us both its excitement and serenity..

Getting to see each other was a nice bonus to each of our itineraries. Remember the company you keep. Leave room for the relaxing escapes and for the very real connections.

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Gracias and Viva: Hasta La Próxima

The Company We Keep

JUNE 29, 2021 BY CASSANDRA JOHNSON

Growing up, you one day hear when someone says or implies “life is not easy”. You believe it. The song also says, “no one ever promised you a rose garden”.

Yet, when it’s good, it’s really good. You know this to be true on some big scale perhaps or in simple moments just as a small child starts out being comforted by the time simply spent with him or her. They are in awe at the magic tricks adults seem to perform in their presence with toys or a simple game of peak-a- boo.

Viñales, Cuba

One day you get it. You could be anywhere with a certain person, and you could be having the best time and technically not doing anything. You know the people, including yourself, are making life more interesting. In our way we are causing what is seemingly nothing to mean something. Adversely, a dazzling venue or event can lack so much luster when you are not clicking with anyone in the room.

You know all of this to be true when you could be sitting outside just about anywhere, having a refreshing drink, eating ice cream, or getting caught up in a conversation and maybe even forgetting to eat. Next thing, you and your present company realize the two or more of you have gotten hungry. Next, you end up just about anywhere, in a place that is perhaps too overpriced (no matter) or a unique hole in the wall which you could have never preplanned.

These are the relationships I lean into at home and mirror in my connections abroad.

This especially speaks to my time with other travel volunteers and tourists. One random traveler meets another (that’s me) and there’s the combination of simultaneously experiencing new people and new places in what is sometimes quite the random life. Even the mundane moments play out differently.

I recall leaving Arequipa to get to Cusco. Before starting my second South American volunteer selection, I decided to go to Sacred Valley and Machu Picchu. (I would end up sightseeing with other volunteers later as well between enjoying the nightlife and everyday life, but I wouldn’t know that yet.)

The random circle gets a little wider when traveling with a friend. As a collective I’ve also made some interesting connections.

The circle grows and you find yourself having dinner with another person from Europe, North America, South America etc. who was probably just a stranger 3 hours ago and the odds go up exponentially when you more so go the hostel or local homestay route.

There is always something to do but being around your crowd of family or friends or just one other confidante, we know there does not necessarily have to be anything to do at all.

What May Come

MAY 31, 2021 BY CASSANDRA JOHNSON

Soccer reminds me when I was green with inexperience and my efforts to absorb as much as possible, as quickly as possible.

I was a little late to the idea of playing sports in the name of school spirit and soon realized the tryouts were more so a reunion for everyone who had been playing on the local area club teams. Even players who didn’t know each other leaned into the familiarity of their similar past experiences. Their reaction to the others:  Sizing us up (good and/or bad) and keeping a log accordingly. Perhaps this is how a lot of life’s premiere meetings go.

Thank goodness for the maturity we can eventually give each other and ourselves to grown, though knowingly, the room for growth is not always promised. There are some lessons.

Before adding soccer, my interests were elsewhere and varied across the map. My drive towards them was also perhaps somewhat to the point of obsession. (In a lot of respects, I am still this way.)

Soccer was simply not to be my focus yet. Even falling out of the loop in my recent years) I note how once I decided to go out for the junior varsity team at 14…

…well let’s just say (as they say), some things, simply become etched in your heart for the duration.

How did my obsessions (or maybe intense focus is a better description) play out in my formative years? I think certain focus is needed in a time where we’re feeling both accepted and unaccepted, dealing with both the pressures of figuring out who we are and who we want to become while in some cases being lauded and in other cases being hurt. School can that fun challenging place. What makes us become who we are? We soon see.

My focus included losing myself in classical music practice and concerts (which lasted from 5th grade into college), falling in love with the globe very early on and what it would mean to travel and how I adored meeting and learning about the guys and girls who would venture to our high school from abroad.

Going from a smallish city to a massive college (Ohio State) meant I got to befriend and meet countless people from practically everywhere.

Learning to speak Spanish and all the activities this entailed, such as being Spanish club Secretary also called in a lot of my attention. More of my interests did not really seem to match my personality, yet we are all dynamic creatures, even if we too sometimes find it less demanding to fit ourselves into the box.  

I cannot include all the quirks and day to day activities nor all my hobbies in which I found myself drawn but I write all this to share another realization of how capable we are of so much variety in our lives. Our skills complement our efforts, and a good deal of our work can be psychological. The mindset we emulate for early ventures and what we decide we can do from both reinforcement and determination tug us forward or limit our trajectory. I was reminded of the naiveté I had when I first stepped onto the soccer field. Yet I was determined. Being a library nerd (ahem, it is not a bad thing), I checked out books for drills and Pelé’s autobiography. I was determined soccer wise but I would only make it so far. It was a hell of a way so I cannot look back on those moments feeling dejected. Disappointments intermingle themselves around our victories.

Sounds not quite the romantic underdog story but I remember the surprise when I did score on the seasoned players and how I became better despite the late start. The realization I could be a part of something for which I held a passion still leans into the dedication and willingness I can dare to embrace with a little or a lot of fallibility, whatever the case may be.

Thank you for taking the time to share in part of my at times cliché but needed journey. Until next time. 😊

Carry on

May 24, 2021 BY CASSANDRA JOHNSON

Getting the opportunity to help people learn English on Cambly has played a part in reviving my travel volunteer and work goals. I think they had partially been repressed by the necessary hiatus we had to take.Travel adventures seem possible again.

Taking longer walks now, thanks to the Spring and its sun, I am reminded of the comforting exciting walks around places like Bolivia, Peru, and Cuba.

I am psyched how much closer we are getting to recounting memories in the places we have been and yet capturing new moments and people in our circles.

I am excited for the sensory overload and promises in the times we get to create and try new things. What a joy to try reliving everything that makes us laugh and relax the days away.

I am preparing to step up to the issues that don’t seem to go away, knowing I do not have to deal with them without the comforts I now require for my every day.

If you are interested in more information about Cambly, I have included their info on our Community page. It is ideal for the nomadic and/or traveling life or just meeting and helping more people.

Canva images

Back to Back

APRIL 29, 2021 BY CASSANDRA JOHNSON

One step at a time.

I am gathering from people who I know personally and from those I do not know at all, how many of us imagined improvement on the other side of the pandemic lockdown.

I implemented some personal changes and likewise hoped to propel forward.

When faced with the challenge of being denied our normal everyday activities and having so much more time to reflect, there were to be some emotional, physical, or financial shifts. Like many, I hoped for the best. Of course, emotions ebb and flow and we went through the natural range of emotions.

I saw a lot of people who wanted to enhance their situations, whether those be emotionally, financially, or otherwise. They realized they were not in the right relationships, work environments, or carrying the right goals. Many people more readily focused on their entrepreneurial aspirations, especially with how apparent it became that income was not always guaranteed. Nothing seemed as guaranteed as before. We went through unimaginable events. Some parts of us became more resilient. Some relationships became stronger, and, in some spaces, work became more efficient.

I suspect there is some underestimation if anyone feels there was no personal shift. How could we help but be transformed?

Image Credit: Forbes

We are most likely not the same, though we may try to participate in the same activities.

Naturally, we will try to resume what we were doing and how we went about those tasks, but a question mark may now hang over our heads. We found out there were some of life’s elements we could do without and  we found alternatives to others. People wanted to start new relationships, grow old ones, create businesses, and enhance skills. I know a lot of us dreamed of doing so much once we got back to “normal”.

What is interesting is (as my one and only dating coach) was saying: We think more about what we would be doing if so much had not been taken away from us, and in that respect, we probably over imagine. How much more we would be engaging with people and living out our lives. How deeply we would have dug into our aspirations if only not for current obstacles and very real trauma holding us back. In a way, this is true. We have evidence of how really wanting something can drive us to making goals happen, eventually or initially.

I think we are fortunate, in a way, if future fantasies refuse to turn us loose. I am that way for better or worse. I am grateful for the current pleasant moments and all the people I get to enjoy and within that I am looking forward to how much more we will be sharing and how much more our lives will expand.

At times, we however find the reality of what we get buried in is trying to get through the day-to-day of making sure the bills are paid while doing work that can become challenging in not so good ways. Of course, the scenario is not always so, but days can pass by unwittingly.

As the time comes to start transitioning back to “normal”, we may want to look a little closer. Normal is okay in many ways but I am also finding it rather useful to challenge what is “normal” gradually and consistently. We have to question the status quo if we want to grow.

I am admittedly a bit overwhelmed about not being able to avoid some of the routines I had to do in my everyday life about a year ago. Therefore, I am even more compelled to challenge what is considered normal. Normal has a tendency to put people in a box. For example, you find employers or colleagues saying we do it that way because we have always done it that way and in the worst cases, you find what was considered “normal” being used to subjugate and oppress people.

I do not want to just go with the flow. Consequently, I am taking this one step at a time because I need to have questions. Many of us may have them. I am pleased to change some things little by little just as I finally shifted to being that self-employed freelancing individual who I long imagined I would prefer to be. What works for me is not what works for everyone and our goals and perspectives can shift. Self-performance review wise, as I previously mentioned, is something I can now enjoy. I am still digging in to embrace the rest of everything which is me.  My self-talk and advice to anyone who may be interested is to break your aspirations down into smaller steps. If you are feeling overwhelmed at any time, the full picture can be a bit much. I have heard this from a lot of influencers, so I am not sure exactly where it originates. I am glad for the reiteration because sometimes I forget. First things first.