WEEK ONE
I have only lived alone for a week but I already feel myself growing new skills, new branches, and rooting myself in healthy independent habits. An overwhelming sensation of gratitude floods my body; destroying any anxiety or fear that might cross its path. I am so lucky to be able to say the following:
I am living in my dream post-grad city.
I am about to start my dream post-grad job, using the degree I just completed.
I have valet trash- an unnecessary luxury fit for the Ross Family’s penthouse in Jessie on Disney Channel.
I am capable enough to achieve, follow-through, and execute anything I want to.
#4 I say oh so matter-of-factly. I truly believe this statement with every bone in my body. The last few months of my life are proof enough that if something is meant for you, it will either crash right into you or await your arrival, like a road sign just close enough you can almost make out it’s San Serif script.
On 9/25/25, that sign said, “Welcome to Texas, Drive Friendly- The Texas Way,” intersecting the horizon as the sun began to say good morning. That was definitely a pinch-me moment.
<<The Sign in Question
*can be viewed roadside on the 10, leaving New Mexico, driving east into El Paso, Texas, for anyone curious :)
A few other Pinch Me Moments include:
Changing my “Home” on Google Maps from my childhood home to my new apartment.
Meal prepping and opening the tupperware cabinet, knowing my favorite container was clean and ready to be used—right where I had put it away.
Being able to talk to myself all of the time 🙃
My own bathroom !!
Uninterrupted TV and music privileges.
Don’t get me wrong…
Roommates are great. I had 17 different roommates during my 4 years of college, hence why I feel qualified to speak on this. These 17 women all played a role in each evolution of college Olivia, the remanence of which makes up the most recent model, writing as we speak.
But how cool is it that the biggest influence in my life right now is..ME !!
Me, Myself, and I have always been a formidable trio. Cartwheeling through life one hop, skip, and a jump at a time, with a snail trail of glitter documenting our stride. And together the three of us traveled passenger princess-style (thank you, dad) 1,319 miles to our new home.
This new phase of life has me transported back into a past blog entry: Alone Together (give it a glance!)
In June 2023, I was living a life of noise, like I always had.
Then I proposed the following questions: What if I started to embrace the silence? Lean into the emptiness, block out the noise, and just be?
Both grounding and promptly halting my ever-orbiting mind, I find relevance in these 2-year-old insights.
Now in October (WHAT) 2025, I find myself starting to revel in the silence, dare I say maybe enjoying it a little?
Our world encourages constant stimulation all the time. Like how you are making breakfast while watching a show on your phone, and having a conversation with your roommate, while your dog is stealing your sock…you get the point.
With no metaphorical roommate to chat with, or sock-stealing dog to reprimand, my morning chef sesh is awfully quieter than it was.
These inevitable gaps in stimulation are often the most magical pockets of the day.
Why?
Because you can be fully present in that exact second, minute, hour, or however long you want.
What a beautiful plane of existence to reach, even if just for a brief moment.
When I am fully present, I feel a myriad of things that often resemble:
Smiling so wide you can sense the warmth on your face, stretching across a toothy grin.
When a wave of accomplishment washes over you in a refreshing, salty embrace, and you physically stand a little taller and walk a little prouder.
An everything shower.
The euphoric 60 seconds after finishing a yoga sculpt class (I miss Yoga Box so much, please come to Austin)
The welcoming peanutty aroma and the crisp taste of a Sun Cruiser on the Open Bar Patio. iykyk
and on and on, etc.
These delightful snipbits of life string together to create a wonderfully whimsical chain of events, each new addition fueling your most authentic life possible.
How sweet is that?
While beautiful to write about, the act of being present is no easy feat. In a society that overcommits to avoid FOMO, or doesn’t feel like they can say no, or struggles to get their screenager tendencies under control, presence comes with practice. All skills worth perfecting take practice, and this is no different.
So when we find ourselves (yes, hi hello, we are in this together) overstimulated, schedule-strained, or regaining consciousness as our eyes beg for a break from scrolling, begin to:
Fully embrace where your body and mind are in this very moment, and meet them there.
Acknowledgment is the first step; awareness is key.
Begin to isolate each variable in play.
For example: the show on TV in the background that you are tuning out, laundry piled in the corner, your email inbox taunting you with unread messages, etc.
Eliminate one of these things, just one- no matter how small a task.
This narrows your focus and energy, calming the mind’s natural chaos that ensues when we are living anywhere but the present.
Find stillness.
This could be a deep breath, a moment of photosynthesis when lacking vitamin D, a walk, a power pose- something physical to reset your body and create a pause.
The Pause. This is where your practice pays off. This idea of pause as both a mental and physical reset allows for immediate reflection. Where am I at right now? Physically and mentally? Do you need to have an eloquently thought-out answer to that question? Hell no, but you just started being present and didn’t even realize.
A doorway into a life of present moments, Pause, is everything. Reset. Find equilibrium. We get so wrapped up in trying to keep up, weighing all of the options life has to offer, that we forget to take inventory of what we are already carrying.
Permit yourself to take a moment, despite your incessant need to get onto the next thing, cross off the to-do, next, next, next.
Take a moment to pinch yourself.
You will never be this young, in this good of health, in this phase of life ever again.
If only she could see me now.
Thank YOU for reading and being present with me:) Sending all my love from ATX !
xoxo, HAGO.
