adulting

What Has Changed In Me

Kaila

Hi all,

It’s been getting colder and colder here in Japan and autumn season is just around the corner. For some reason, I am feeling a little more pensive these days… hence, this wordy post.

I think it’s good for me to stop and reflect for a while because life has been pretty fast for me currently. I just finished my work today and I’m listening to some nature sounds outside (it rained today) and this feels like the perfect chance for me to sit down and type away my thoughts.

Sukajan from JLM STORE | Photo by Anne Pinero

I cannot believe that we are already approaching the end of the year and I am still at awe how I’ve managed to survive (still attempting to survive lol) this rocky year for personal growth. It’s not that kind of drastic change like I have turned into a completely new person… but more of realizing that I have improved a lot & getting rid of traits that I had to work on. I just wished for these before but now, everything feels natural to me. To summarize everything, I take care of myself more now compared to years ago.

To be more specific, here are some things that I have noticed that changed in me.

  • I no longer feel the need or urgency to try the newest thing / visit the most talked-about cafe / *insert trending activity* here as soon as possible. I spend most of my free time at home and if I have extra money to unwind outside, then I would give myself some fresh air. In this way, I could save up more money for my business goal. I can also turn down offers / invites now during days I have to be “responsible” (lol).

 

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How To Survive The First Stage of Adulting

Kaila

Hi everyone!

Finally, here’s the blog entry I’ve promised before! I really miss writing reflective blog posts such as this. Hopefully, this will be useful to anyone out there who is currently struggling or confused about his / her path. ^^

Before I give some advice, let me share a bit of my personal struggles a year or so ago. I feel comfortable in sharing some of these because I’ve already overcome some. : )

YAY story time ~

I think that everyone will arrive at some point wherein he / she feels lost about his or her career path. More than a year or so ago, at our company (which is being run by my older brother Eric), I was given an insanely BIG task. I had to setup a successful and profitable online store for JapanLover.me (which is Japan Lover Me Store now). I had to find the formula from taking pictures, listing the items, promoting the products, taking care of our clients, generating sales, and so much more (of course, with my brother’s assistance). We were only THREE in the company that time (my bro, my cousin, and me) who were juggling all these jobs (physically) in Japan. I am very thankful of my teammates from Manila (Chichi and Kaye) because they really have been so HELPFUL right from the start regarding other responsibilities such as graphic design help and social media boosting. We couldn’t hire more people because we had to sell our first batch of souvenir jackets first before investing in more hands. From 50, it became 100 sukajan, then 500.. and now, it’s around 2500+ souvenir jackets. Eventually, we have become more financially capable to hire part-timers (hi Shinanoさん and Justin) and more people (hi Anne) in the company. To cut the story short, there were many times that I wanted to give up (add my self-diagnosed PMDD for more stress.. omg T_T.. )… and at the same time, I was being torn between doing this “day job” of mine (which was like my 24/7 job before haha) and pursuing my content creator dream / path which in the end, I am still fighting for even up to now.

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