Preparing for A New Season 🍂

July 2023 Reflection

Personal Side: Preparing to move to Kona 🏝️ was no small feat because I had been living for the past 4 years in a fully furnished home (with a piano 🎹 and two sofas 🛋️). Because it was a big project, I decided to pack every day for 1-2 hours to decide what to keep, give, or throw away. Through this purging, I realized that I use only a fraction of the belongings I own. Most of my items sit on the shelf. LA Times says, “there are 300,000 items in the average American home.” However, what hits my heart is that we do not use most of the items we own 😢. I found a list of eye-opening statistics of American consumption: “the average American throws away 65 pounds of clothing per year.”  

I was surprised to find that amidst all my kitchen gadgets, I mainly use 3 appliances: my microwave, air fryer, and rice cooker. Among my 20 spices, 👩🏻‍🍳 chef Jasmine regularly uses 4 condiments: sugar, garlic salt, soy sauce and chicken bouillon. I always thought the more, the merrier, but as someone who makes simple recipes, I just needed the kitchen basics.

Looking back, I had gracious college and adult roommates that allowed for my “hoarding” tendencies, but this move made me seriously consider if I was okay with living with myself and my clutter. As I think about when this started, I recall my family used reward-based motivation where I was able to earn a prize like a Wii console or new clothes. As an adult, it became natural to continue rewarding myself with shopping 🛍️. Moving forward, I want to explore alternative ways for me to reward myself 🤗 Wherever I live next, I have a desire to simplify my space 🌻

Professional Side: Everyone who starts a new job has to go through a learning curve, but there are ways to go through the challenge with wisdom and joy!

First impressions are important👩🏻‍💼. I remember when Tulsi Gabbard, Hawaii’s House of Representative visited my high school in 2015. She shared how she began her career with an act of aloha by giving all 434 House of Reps, a box of Hawaiian macadamia nuts 🍫with a handwritten note. She shared how her small act of generosity opened the door for her to have conversations with those from the opposing political party. I remember telling my 18 year old self that I want to follow the footsteps of Tulsi.

In July, I was intentional to have 1:1 meetings with all of my team members, so I could connect with my team professionally as well as personally. On the professional side, I asked a lot of questions to understand what was working and what needed improvement. On the personal side, I asked about their background, passions, dreams and aspirations. I truly believe that I was able to transition smoothly because I sought out to learn from my team members and develop a relationship🤗.