Photo: Gemma, a Black woman with an afro poof and wearing all black long-sleeved shirt and pants, relaxes with one arm resting on knee. She sits in front of a large window wall in a Piaule log cabin.

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This is 30.

I turned 30 in February. I was asked a few times leading up to this birthday how I felt about it. In the back of my mind, I felt a bit of worry and dread. There was that nagging feeling of "being behind" or somehow not where I should be (whatever that means). But most of all, the negativity was lost in the blanket of burnout. I was slogging through.

In the past few years, I've heard people wax poetic about their 30s. If their 20s were full of struggle and uncertainty, their 30s were full of self-assurance and security.

I spent my 20s always chasing something, literally and figuratively. I wanted to start this new decade on a different note, one that was less about chasing and more about stopping and smelling the roses. I want to slow down, pause, and breathe. Figure out who I am now and who I want to be. And hopefully, document it as much as my bandwidth allows me to.

 
Mindful Living Gemma Acheampong Mindful Living Gemma Acheampong

2017 | Hang In There

2016 has been a weird year. My first inclination was to describe the year as a wash. I feel like I haven't progressed as much I wanted to in all the ways I wanted to. There are still so many things I need to work on, and as every year passes it's getting a little harder to say "It's OK. I've got time. I'm still young."

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Mindful Living Gemma Acheampong Mindful Living Gemma Acheampong

Be Conscious: No Zero Days and Learning To Forgive

We’ve all had those days. You start the day super motivated and raring to go. You write your to-do list with a few tasks you think are definitely do-able. Then you glance out the window and see how gloomy it looks. Your mood drops slightly. You watch some videos online to lift your spirits and end up falling asleep watching said videos. Suddenly, half the day is gone and you’re pissed at yourself for falling into the same bad habits that you’ve been working to fix.

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