Hello friends. Saying it has been way too long is probably an understatement. I have been gone for two months now without a single word on the blog. On my Social Media handles, I have been offline for nearly a month or so; all with good reason, of course. Now that leaves the question, "Where have you been?"

I'll try to make this as brief as possible while still trying to highlight the main ideas as I go along.

About two months ago, I made a choice to temporarily refrain from writing in order to reframe my ideas and work on myself as an individual. After a month or so, I found that I could not do this with the constant push and pull of the internet world. I needed to do this without any external influence and thus I made a second decision to cut myself off from the internet world by refraining from the use of any social media platforms.

To be honest, this also served as a mental break and I truly felt relieved. For the first time in nearly forever, I could actually take a breather. My mind was no longer somewhere else, it was here – fully here. I was completely present and I could see the world more clearly. It was as though I had put on new glasses for the first time and the world was no longer blurry.

Throughout the period, I did so many new things. For over a month, I kept track of my thoughts and emotions* (that's a record by the way) and I could pay more attention to the world and people around me. I didn't have to divide myself to satisfy being present in two worlds anymore. My undivided attention was always acting in the real world. I read more books than ever before in that period, the most influential being Atomic Habits by James Clear and The 7 Habits of Highly Effective Teenagers by Sean Covey which I am sure at least some of you have read (If not, are you really human?). I would suggest both of these books to anyone.

I also got to be more involved when I was at social events (mostly because I didn't have a screen constantly in front of my face). I met new people, made conversation and even shared my thoughts and views. I got to focus more on myself and the things that I wanted to accomplish. I paid more attention to my social life, my spiritual life and even my mental health.

For the first time, I could appreciate everything that I had. I could appreciate things as simple as a sunny day, a rainbow in the sky and that one friend who always has something nice to say. And even things as big as exam grades (good or bad, I did my best, didn't I?), receiving First Holy Communion and even Confirmation** (The last two especially). 

One of my biggest highlights of this year so far is my break from the internet. It gave me time to reassess everything. I became more concerned about the things around me (the real world), I met new people and formed new relationships, I did things that I never thought I would do, I became more aware of the things that I hoped to accomplish in life and I chose to live a life that I would enjoy.  Life's short. If you don't do what you love, then you'll never get to actually live life. One of the things that I learnt these past two months is: There's a difference between being alive and living. We are all alive, that's for sure. But are you truly living the life that you want to be living?

Thank you guys so much for your support. I really appreciate your feedback. I encourage you to share your thoughts and ideas in the comment section below. As always: Be Happy, Stay Happy!

*I normally use the application Youper (available for Android and iOS) to track my moods. I find the interface quite easy to use and the procedure generally takes a few minutes.

**For those who may not know, First Holy Communion (FHC) and Confirmation are two of the seven sacraments in the Roman Catholic Church.

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