Being my own best friend

So it's nearly been a month since my last blog post - - which means, time for another one! Today, I'd like to write about living alone and the little happy points of my limited interactions with others.

I recently moved to Ottawa! It's a moderately sized city - a population of 1 million people and the capital city of Canada! Since moving here alone, I've had more time to myself than at any other point in my life. The first few days were especially nauseating due to sleep deprivation and lack of a bed. But quickly that all changed. Once I settled down and started working, I came to realize a few things when living alone that make me happy. I'm going to write out some things that have been working for me that have made my day or just made me happy in general. Little wins that make my day :)

Going for walks every day

I've now set up a set time every single day to go out for walks. In fact, I go to parliament every single day just to look at the view! It's so nice and refreshing (maybe I'll see Trudeau sometime too haha)! But this walk allows me to win in 3 categories:

- Health benefits

- Time to think

- Seeing other people

Even if I'm not interacting directly with other people, seeing other people also gives me joy. Seeing young kids play around, seeing tourists take their next Instagram photo by the fire, or just helping a couple take photos. I realize I'm smiling every time I interact with friendly people!

Playing the guitar (or any instrument)

I've been practising the guitar since leaving it behind in my fifth grade. I'm starting from scratch essentially and it's been a blast! When I'm sad, or when I'm happy, I can just grab my guitar and start playing to what my heart is feeling! Music is a form of expression, and it feels great to have a small outlet for my emotions no matter what I'm feeling. I even recently bought a little pink acoustic guitar! It's so fun to play with but sooo hard since I'm used to playing my electric one lol.

I've also been chatting with my coworkers about guitar playing and I'd like to learn from their expertise too haha.

Catching up with old friends

I've also been messaging old friends, asking how they are doing, and playing games with them. Some of them are getting into their first relationships, while others are finding new jobs! (Congrats A at getting that Stanford job!) No matter what they are doing, I'm so proud of the friends I have and all of their accomplishments. It feels like just yesterday when we were all together laughing over stupid Chemistry jokes in the back of our small classroom. Oh how we've grown so much! I really cherish the time we spent and love to keep in touch with my friends more.

Professional development

Obviously, in this day and age, you have to keep on improving your skills or you risk being left behind. So I have been working on some new courses and developing a new tool which I will not name here. But it's been pretty fun and honestly, I don't do much every single day on this aspect. But - I believe that a tiny bit of progress every day will add up eventually!

Building lego

There's something about building Lego that has always been like therapy for me. I've now recounted on all occasions after a relationship, I always found myself building Lego. I usually use this time to think about myself and other people. Just to think. It's very important I feel, as it's a kind of retrospection that can further develop my character (hopefully).

Interacting (in a friendly way) with others

I've also realized that I get so happy when little friendly things happen! For example, today a lady held the elevator door for me when I need to bring my bike in. I was going to wait for the next one but she was like "Come in come in". It was such a friendly gesture that made my day!

Or the other day when I had small friendly interactions with people in my building. It's things like this that really make me happy!

Closing out

So these are some of the key points that have made me happy and feel less lonely. I've also been learning how to cook different meals so that I'm not eating out so much! One other thing I forgot to mention as well! I found out that I am so happy when I have bubble tea! It makes my day go from a 50 to a near 100 really quickly! 

So yea these tips have helped me survive some of the loneliness after moving to a new city. Maybe they'll be of use to some other people down the line as well! As always, feel free to reach out if you'd like to give me your thoughts or suggestions on my small "rules"!

My BMW Motorad Lego set is finished!

And me with my little pink guitar :D

- Omar