It wasn’t quite a post-pandemic roaring 20s, but the second half of 2021 has been a crazy and fun ride with plenty of personal growth and positive changes. During my last blog check-in back in June, I’d mentioned the tepid yet hopeful return to a more “normal” post-vaccine life. In the months since then, I’ve more fully embraced the changes and rolled with the punches. Delta brought back the need for some additional calculated action, but by and large I jumped back into many of my passions and interests.
The Return of Travel
Traveling was at the very top of that list of activities. Whether it was camping trips, road trips, international trips, wedding trips, or music festival trips, I was determined to spend my weekends with friends and family doing the things I loved.
Over the summer and into the fall, I organized or helped plan 9 camping trips, as wide-ranging as they were fun. From motorcycle camping at Samuel P. Taylor State Park to backpacking at Redwood State & National Park to camping at various places by rivers and lakes, redwood groves, and apple farms, my friends and I got to truly enjoy the outdoors, getting some much-needed sun and shinrin-yoku.
I also went on a couple of fun road trips, including an epic Seattle to SF drive to help a friend move back to the Bay. We brought our skis and splitboards along and had some fun backcountry snow days, skiing and snowboarding on decent snow on Mt. Rainier and Mt. Bachelor during a crazy heat wave. Over the Fourth of July, I reunited with my mom, brother, and sister-in-law for an epic Utah national parks road trip, hitting up Zion, Bryce, and the Grand Canyon. It was the first time we’ve all been together in person since 2018.
In September, my college roommates and I traveled internationally to Amsterdam to catch the 2021 Formula 1 Dutch Grand Prix race. We spent over a week exploring Amsterdam, enjoying great food, and taking in all of the sights and sounds. It was my first international trip since 2019, and it reminded me of everything great that I missed about traveling.
Enjoying Live Music
I truly missed live music in 2020. After a long and painful wait, I was so happy and excited to see artists touring again in the second half of 2021, and I wasted no time catching some great shows, in as safe a manner as I could.
From August to October, I attended a music festival once a month, starting with a smaller electronic festival called DAY.MVS in San Diego. I followed that with Porter Robinson’s Second Sky in Oakland, and snagged some last-minute tickets for a Halloween edition of Outside Lands, which was steps away from me in SF’s Sunset district.
With music festivals happening, smaller shows were also back. I saw some of my favorite artists, including James Blake, Phoebe Bridgers, Japanese Breakfast, and Deafheaven, at venues all around the Bay.
Branching Out for Exercise & Activities
As places opened up, I picked up a more diverse exercise schedule. Rather than do all my workouts at home with some runs and walks thrown in, I kept my 2-mile runs and branched out to swimming and bouldering every week. It was so nice getting a rhythm going for swimming again, and I picked bouldering back up after a friend invited me to a climbing gym and introduced me to an awesome climbing group.
With weekend motorcycle rides added to the mix, I’ve been staying super active in this post-vaccine world. I haven’t felt this great in a long time, but there’s also the inevitable soreness and tiredness that come with ramping up new activities, so I have to remind myself that it’s okay to take things slow.
Meeting New People
The past few months have also been a season of meeting new people, and it’s been a very fun time getting to know new friends from many different walks of life. It’s funny how a large event like a pandemic resets people’s habits and expectations while encouraging more openness. I’m doing my best with these changes – I remind myself that it’s a great opportunity to practice social skills after a year cooped up at home. I’m working some figurative muscles that I haven’t really used in some time.
So far, it’s been a ton of fun. I got to know folks from the climbing gym and ended up going to a music festival with some of them. I also met more folks from different community groups in my church, and it’s been an awesome ride that I can see continuing to get even better. And of course, with the vaccines I’ve been able to spend more quality time with my longtime friends, through trips, catchups, dinners, and much more.
Some Closing Birthday Thoughts
By the time I publish this post, I’ll be 31. I can’t believe another year has passed, but instead of feeling older I just feel even more grateful. It hasn’t been an easy two years with the pandemic, but when I look back at the activities, friendships, and accomplishments from this past year alone, I am filled with gratitude.
2021 has been a very affirming year for me. I realized that I’ve come a long way in this life journey and experienced my share of challenges and wins. I’d like to affirm that fact more often and also be a little less hard on myself. I’ve always held myself to a very high standard, but I don’t think it’s mutually exclusive to do the best I can while extending myself more grace and understanding. This will be something that I continue to work on in the coming years.
In my 30th birthday reflections post, I aspired for more contentment in my life. I’ve thought about it a lot this past year and another reminder for myself is that contentment doesn’t mean I no longer have a drive, whether that’s fostering friendships, serving the community, or excelling at work. It’s rejecting the ethos that more is always better and always the next step. I’ll continue to live my life to the fullest while doing my best to appreciate what I have in the here and now. I’m also starting to realize that many of the best things in life are free, so I’m looking to integrate that concept into my quest for more contentment as I continue living out my 30s.
A final recent thought that’s been simmering in my mind is the concept of energy and managing it well. As I’ve grown older, I’ve gotten better at managing my energy reserves, whether physical or mental. I’m much more adept at recognizing my limits – for example, maybe I’m hitting a social wall and need to recharge alone for a day, or maybe I need to take this new activity slow so I don’t injure any tendons. This past summer and fall, I was out and about for 17 consecutive weekends on various trips, get-togethers, and activities. Initially I was worried about burnout but looking back I felt great coming out of all that, because I recognized how my energy flowed and made adjustments throughout to not burn out.
That’s it for now! As always I’m thankful for my readers and all the support through the years. I’ve been blogging since 2010 and although a lot has changed, I can still enjoy writing and sharing about my life. Here’s to 31!
good to see you are doing good
Appreciate it John! I still have your art piece framed in my room.