Week 4 of doing the journaling prompts from this post from Hannah Bay’s Substack, Midnight Crumbs, with 31 journaling prompts for July.
July 22: When was the last time you completely forgot your phone existed? What were you doing?
I get into flow state when I work on my blog. I’ll sit down to write after dinner and look up and it’s already 10pm. I physically can’t use my phone when I’m embroidering since that’s a 2-hand hobby. That’s also something that makes time fly by.
July 23: If someone followed you around for a week, what would they assume matters most to you based on your actions?
Probably friends, food, and fitness. As an extrovert, I need to interact with people to feel energized and so I hang out with my friends and boyfriend several times a week. A few friends live within a mile from me, so it’s nice to be able to make somewhat last-minute plans and not worry about traffic and meeting up.
Food is obviously a big part of my life, and I am always looking at restaurants on Yelp or bookmarking restaurants on Beli. Half of my Instagram feed is Instagram chefs and food bloggers. I plan my meals out for the week and meal prep, so I try to make sure I eat all of my groceries. There are few things I hate more than food waste.
Fitness is something my parents have engrained in me. I played soccer from second grade until I graduated high school. I sprained my ankle at a summer soccer tournament and had to miss my sophomore high school team’s season. In junior year, I didn’t think I’d make the JV soccer team, but my parents told me that I still had to do a sport, so I joined cross country. Now, I work out with a personal trainer twice a week through ClassPass, have a weekly 5-mile run with a friend, and try to walk 8-10k steps on all the other days.
July 24: Picture your ten-year-old self with a completely free summer. How would they spend it if nobody interrupted them with adulthood?
I really didn’t appreciate summer breaks enough as a kid. Someone should’ve told me that after high school, I’d never have a full 2.5 months off ever again until I was post grad and spent most of that time looking for a job. I think 10-year-old me would’ve likely been reading. I loved doing the Pizza Hut summer reading challenge at the library. Definitely going to soccer practice and soccer camp. I think we may have gone to Camp Orkila for a week when I was 10. Can you imagine sending your child off for a week with no cell phone and no text updates? I wonder if my parents were relieved or stressed. We came back intact. I remember getting some bad splinters on the last night, but other than that we came back with new camp songs and I learned how to make friendship bracelets and an appreciation for a 3+ minute shower. We watched TV, I’m sure. I don’t know what else my mom kept us busy with besides Girl Scout day camp and math workbooks from Lakeshore Learning.
July 25: What’s one thing you keep hoping you’ll grow out of that might actually just be part of who you are?
I think I’m a bit standoffish. I’m not sure if it’s just the Seattle Freeze, which I didn’t know was a thing until I left WA, but I just don’t strike up a conversation with a person unless they reach out first. However, this has prevented me from ending up in conversations I don’t want to be in, but maybe I’ve lost out on good connections. I wish I was more charismatic, able to talk to anyone and give off an approachable aura. I have a couple of friends who are truly so lovely to talk to and make friends everywhere they go, from the waiter at a restaurant to a timeshare salesperson on the street. They’re incredible storytellers and conversationalists, great at owning any dinner party, and can improvise on the spot. I feel that I am much better at getting my thoughts across on paper when I have the ability to re-write and edit and remember all the details. I realize I am good at organizing and getting everyone to the dinner, and that’s a strength and I’m happy to just enjoy my seat at the table.
July 26: Imagine you didn’t have to do anything to earn rest, fun, or softness. What would your life feel like?
I think I’m learning what that feels like. I’ve said it before, but I’ve been taking it a lot slower this year. I don’t have my weekends packed with plans in advance. I have the flexibility to schedule things the week of. It’s kind of nice to not have to stick to a schedule and write out all my plans by the hour in my Notes app to make sure I get everything done. I can say yes to weekend activities that come up in conversation on Thursday. I don’t have to play scheduling tetris and try to squeeze in a workout. I like this freedom, but I’ve also spent a lot of time just scrolling on my couch, and I like having plans to look forward to. As with everything else, I suppose it’s best to find a balance.
July 27: Where could you choose curiosity instead of routine this week?
I don’t usually make plans on Monday night, but since I’m going home this week and I wanted to see my friend Anica who lives in Orange County, we decided to grab dinner and meet in the middle at this sushi restaurant called Waka Sakura, located inside of a Japanese grocery store in Gardena. The drive wasn’t too bad and we had a good time ordering sushi from the tablet and having it delivered on the conveyor belt. Then we grabbed some fun Asian desserts and snacks.
July 28: Choose a random Friday from this summer. what do you hope happened that day?
I just looked at my calendar and picked June 26. It appears I went to watch The Invite at the movie theater that night, so that was a good time. I love watching movies in LA on the opening weekend with a packed theater. This movie was really funny and takes some unexpected turns and I highly recommend!
July 29: What’s something your younger self thought adulthood would include more of?
High heels. Sarah and I used to play dress-up and have these big bins full of my mom’s old clothes and shoes and costumes and such. I thought adulthood would have a lot more fancy clothes and high heels. Maybe it’s because athleisure wasn’t really a thing back then and my child’s dress-up bins will be full of Lululemon and Athleta. I live in LA, a place where people do care about fashion and there are plenty of occasions where I could dress nicely if I wanted to, but I don’t. Also somehow in COVID I developed neuroma in my feet and so it hurts to wear most brands of shoes, and every step in high heels is very painful for the balls of my feet.
July 30: What’s something your body has been trying to tell you that your brain keeps interrupting?
I think my body has been trying to tell me that it wants to go to bed at 11:30pm and wake up at 7:30am instead of going to bed at 10:30pm and waking up at 6am. I like to exercise before going to work and have to be in the office by 9am and sometimes even have earlier 8:30am calls, so I try to get up early. However, I’m rarely able to fall asleep by 10:30pm. If I worked 100% remotely, I think 11:30pm bedtime and 7:30am wake up would work for me.
July 31: If this version of you could send a message to the version arriving at the end of 2026, what would they hope they remember not to lose?
Don’t lose this sense of time abundance. This summer has been a lot slower, with less plans and more “going with the flow” instead of setting the current a month in advance. I feel like there’s always a rush at the end of the year to get everything done within the last couple of months.
RECOMMENDED READING
28 Lessons from 28
July 2026 R.E.P.O.R.T.
Crafting Era (Re)Loading: The Start of My Embroidery Empire
