2024– I now have a snore: Random Thoughts of a Young Adult

Welcome back to my annual blog update–

Where even though I’d like to write more frequently, I’m too busy trying to catch up on lost sleep and pretending to be an adult.

gasp, the HORROR

Seriously, though, what is an adult actually like?!?!? I’m 6 months into my new office job, a couple months out from attending my college graduation ceremony, and slowly feel my hobbies being swallowed up by naps and obligations– and I still feel like a teenager in an adult body trying to shoulder an adult’s responsibility.

Sleep-deprived Rants and Pet-Peeves

Anyone who’s worked in an office setting and has trouble speaking “professional-ese” knows where I’m going to go with this:

I’m frustrated that my friendly nature works against me in a professional environment.

I never feel poised, graceful, or refined enough. My brain feels like it’s working over-time to fight my natural tendencies, and because of it, I constantly feel clunky and slow. Paired with a good dose of not-enough-sleep? You might have better luck teaching a fish how to climb a tree.

It feels so inauthentic.

Sure, I understand that professionalism provides protection.

Professionalism creates space between your work life and personal life, which some people need and want (especially if you’re working with someone that has a hard time understanding boundaries). It also helps to create a baseline of how someone can expect to be treated– and maybe avoid favoritism.

I even get personal development. If you want to change to be better? Good! Go you! Do the things, and become a better version of yourself.

I just want people to feel free enough to be cool, weird and exciting. Even at work.

I wanna see people rock the neon hair, have strangely-themed office spaces, wear obnoxiously gaudy earrings, layer on the crazy patterned socks, and say “righteous!” when they’re excited– just something OTHER than the sad-beige, stuffy personalities that are approved by corporate. Most of my coworkers are older Millennials and Gen Xers. I’m starting to see their personality pierce-through the “professional veil,” but I want more.

You can see the culture-shift craving for authenticity, too. I see examples of it all the time on social media. Brands are finally understanding that the general public isn’t interested in polished content. People want something to resonate with, and it rarely happens in perfection.

Life Updates for Friends & Followers: New Obsessions

I’ve gained a few new hobbies this year:

• Gaming – Genshin Impact (drop a comment below if you play!)
• Ukulele
• Kalimba
• Collecting Social Media certifications like Pokémon
• Wax seal stamp hoarding
• Trying to fix my hair and restore my wave pattern
• And the best of all– napping

The one thing I want to reintroduce back into my life in 2024 is journaling.

I never journal because I don’t feel like I have the time to sit and sort through my feelings, but if I don’t, my spiraling thoughts or declining mental health will FORCE me to make time to sit in my feelings.

That, and I want to be more pro-active about reaching out to friends.

It’s harder to be a sad, depressy adult when you’re getting into nonsensical tom-foolery with the besties.

Rapid-fire AuDHD Thoughts

Gotta charge my guitar (that sounds SO weird to say) for the youth group tonight.

I want to test the plug-in capabilities over a proper speaker.

Maybe I should buy a speaker for myself?

Nah, too expensive.

Actually, playing ukulele sounds fun right now

*zones out: thinking about my life if I could play ukulele as good as I can in my head, becoming famous, holding an interview with my favorite TV personality*

Whoops, should probably stop smiling like a mentally insane person now.

*blanks out– going into the nothing box*

*comes out of my stupor*

What was I thinking about again?

Oh, right, ukulele.

WAIT.

CHARGE THE GUITAR FOR TONIGHT.

*goes to turn spotify on so I’m not bored as my guitar is charging*

*browses playlists*

*finds an old song I haven’t heard in forever*

Waiiiiiit, there was a really amazing ukulele player that I haven’t heard in forever. What was her name again?

*goes to youtube to find an old video in a dusty, forgotten playlist*

FOUND IT, YES!

Aw man. I should probably play ukulele now.

*pulls up a chord sheet and starts playing songs from the old animated charlotte’s web movie*

I think… I’m forgetting something??

*blanks out*

*comes out of stupor, my eyes landing straight on my guitar*

MY. GUITAR. CHARGED. NOW.

*Finally gets up and charges guitar*

Leaving for youth group 1 hour later:

*arrives at youth group*

*looks at a guitar on the stage*

…

…I forgot my guitar at home. :’)

Last Thoughts

One of the last series that I had created on my blog was the Project Viper series.

It was supposed to document my progress in creating a book/comic.

I still have plans, but they’re on hold. I think I want to explore more short-form content before rushing head-first into a full-blown series. My brain is currently wired for social media and the sheer AMOUNT of ideas that come rocketing through my noggin is unbelievable– and like a pied-piper, they lead me off into the distance. Then I hear a siren song before the pied-piper is finished, and I start rabbit-trailing into the general area of the siren.

Instead of fighting myself, I’m going to work with the capacity that I have.

Like… a proof of concept.

I’ll check to see if there’s an idea I want to keep building off of and that I’m enjoying, and instead of beating myself into submission to stick with one idea, I keep exploring until there’s something substantial that I want to keep up with that comes naturally to me.

The things you keep learning about yourself as you get older are… interesting.

Thanks for reading to the end of the post!

See you next year (or whenever I post again)~

~Felicity Annora