5 Things This Summer Taught Me

- Don't be afraid to take breaks.

As you might've seen, I took a break from The TCK Times for most of this summer. While I love writing for the TCK Times and reading my friends' articles, I was losing motivation and enthusiasm for the blog. Coming back after a break, I feel more excited about the blog and what we're going to do with it.

- Put yourself out there!

One of my favorite stories from this summer is the story of the fruit hats! My mom and I were shopping in the city where we live, and I saw some really funny felt fruit/vegetable hats (pictured on the side). I sent a picture to my group chat with my friends, who all thought they were super fun, and two of them asked me to bring one back for them because I was coming back to the States to visit in a few weeks. So, I got 4 hats- one for each of my friends. Then, I totally had buyer's remorse- I regretted buying those hats, assuming my friends would think that I was really weird if I gave them those hats. However, I couldn't return the hats! I was stuck with them.

Skip to July, and I'm with my friends at church camp (the best week ever!!!!). I gave them their fruit (or vegetable) hats, and all my worries evaporated. My friends thought they were super fun and started wearing them immediately! They got dozens of compliments on the hats throughout the week, and one of my friends even got a $100 offer on his hat! They became the thing of the week, and when people heard that they came from South Asia, that made them even cooler.

While your opportunity to put yourself out there may or may not involve a fruit hat, this is just an example of how taking risks and doing 'weird' things can actually turn out well! Caring about what other people think of you is overrated, and too much effort anyways. People's perceptions of you are one of the least important things you should be invested in- maybe you need to be invested in watermelon hats instead!

- Take time to do what makes you happy.

What I'm about to say might sound odd to you, but I don't like rereading books. Even if I like the book a lot, rereading it seems like a waste of time because I already know what's going to happen. However, this June, I stayed at home a whole lot, slept a ton, and reread a lot of books. It actually made me really happy

- Be vulnerable, and listen when others are vulnerable.

I've been learning this over the past fifteen months, not only this summer. Deeper conversations with people are so much more valuable and allow your friendships to become stronger and more real. I've had some really great conversations with people over the last few months about a variety of topics, and our relationships have grown in leaps and bounds. Sharing hardships, confessing sin, asking for forgiveness, and truly empathizing with one another have brought our church group closer together, as well as individual people closer.

It's also important to not only be vulnerable but to be careful and listen well when others are sharing with you. The fact that they are sharing something deep or hard with you means that they trust you with it, and interrupting or acting flippantly about it would convey to the other person that you don't really care about them or what they are saying. Vulnerability is one of the greatest tools and beauties in friendships. ❤️

- Hold on tight.

As TCKs, we may not know when the next time we'll see someone may be. People could unexpectedly leave, or we could unexpectedly leave. We need to hold on tight to those we love, spend time with them, and let them know how much they mean to us. Live those moments with your friends and family to the fullest.