Hey everyone! I’ve been on summer break for about a month now, and man have I got plans. My summers usually consist of hanging out, swimming, a few summer camps, and various attempts at making a bit of money. I used to do most of these activities with my friends, but unfortunately I don’t have very many friends right now.

But it’s okay!

While friends are important, the absence of them can also be special. It gives me a kind of untethered feeling. When the inevitable boredom hit during previous summers, I’ve always just filled my time hanging out with my neighborhood friends. We would go to the pool, have lemonade stands, make imovies, explore creeks, or just walk around. My “Stranger Things” loving self likes to think of my summers as totally retro. Minus the imovies, of course.

But it’s a bit difficult doing any of those things now. My first thought was, “well dang, I have no friends and this summer is going to suck.” But let me tell you something, I’m a month in and this summer definitely doesn’t suck.

I set some goals for myself at the beginning of the summer that I intend to maintain. You see, I even wrote them down in a pretty font. Now you know I’m serious.

I haven’t adhered to this schedule completely, but I’m pretty proud of what I have been doing. My mom and I have been attending various workout classes including yoga, zumba, tibatta, and few other miscellaneous ones that sound incredibly dorky. 🙂

Another small victory I had was starting to attend my high school’s volleyball practices. I’ve never really played volleyball, so this was a bit scary for me. What do you mean scary? It’s just a practice. Who cares if you suck? Well you see, I have this intense fear of being imperfect. I know, it’s crazy.

But I’m working on it. Hence the “overcome mental block!” as seen above. I would talk more about this, but I think that subject entails an entire blog post…

Anyway, this summer is full of beginnings and growth. Something especially new and exciting I’ve recently embarked on has been acting. (If anyone has any tips for me, I would love to read them in the comments!) I came across a community theater group located on a nearby military base. Earlier today, I sent an email to them just wanting to know more. I don’t know, this could be a flop but it’s okay! It’ll be fun while it lasts. Really, I’m hoping acting will help me be more carefree and outgoing.

Eventually, I’d also like to start a vlog channel. Yes, I’m sorry. I’ve also been infected with the “I want to be a Youtuber” that seems to feed off of every person’s mind under the age of 18. But come on, I’m a teenager who lives in Japan. That’s kinda cool, right?

So yeah.

Basically by the end of this summer, I’ll be a whole new girl. But my ultimate goal is simply to live my best life. I want to be confident. Outgoing. Fit. Unique. Fearless. This is my goal. And this summer is my time to achieve them.

Thanks for reading my post! If you liked it or have anything to add, don’t hesitate to leave it in the comments. See ya!

P.S. I recently updated the gallery with a few more cool pictures. Head over to the sidebar if you want to check it out!