Having a purpose-driven life.

It's funny how life sometimes brings you back into the life you used to have, back to the things you used to like, back to things you used to do. I guess internet makes it easier to get back to it. It's nearing 2020 and as I was browsing through this blog, I was reading some posts and realised that nothing much as changed. I mean of course I have matured (a bit), I got to know myself a bit more and am less insecure than I used to be. But one thing my 'old' me has in common with the 'now' me is the urge to find my purpose or passion and somehow I end up always having to write about this. I feel like this will clear my head a bit and bring me a step closer to my purpose. Maybe a small recap off my current life is necessary to get to the point of this post (not even sure that there's a point), but I have been in my head a couple of days now, whether to write stuff down for once, after reading a bit about 'ikigai' (finding one's purpose).

So back in 2016, I kinda stopped writing when I was living in Taiwan and that time I was doubting about my career choices. I finished my Bachelors, but was in this (what I back-in-the-days referred as a) 'quarter-life' crisis. Looking back, I might have been a tiny bit overdramatic, but it was what I was feeling at that time nonetheless. And maybe it was necessary to come to the point of where I am now. I went back to do my masters in Strategic Design, with renewed excitement. I felt like a step closer to my purpose or at least felt like I got my life together. I had a blast during my studies and learned a lot, mostly about myself, but also careerwise. Now I'm a recent graduate and back to the point of how I felt during 2016. Maybe not to that extreme, but feeling a bit wonky about my path. I keep on being obsessed about knowing and finding what my purpose is, and have all these ideas of where I could be and could do. I like so many things and am interested in many things, but is it something that's worthwhile exploring? And because of all these ideas, I'm stuck doing nothing. I'm also feeling inpatient. Am I the only one feeling like this sometimes?

I've been researching a bit on this idea of 'finding your purpose'. And if you've read some of my previous posts, I have been doing this for a while now. And I came across two ideas that really struck to me and left me feeling a bit more grounded and guided. 

1. I found this on @Thefuturishere instagram about making your passion your work. It talked about a Dr. Steven Tomlinson asking the same question to one of his advisor. "I love business, I love economics and I love the theatre. Which one should I pick (for my career)?". His advisor replied "that is the STUPIDEST question anyone has ever asked me". "Don't discard the three things you love. This is not how things work. You might not end up with a career, but you will end up with a life. Find a way to keep all three of these things in the mix. Let them talk to each other." - From the podcast "Stealing like an artist with Austin Kleon -Part 2.

2. I also recently discovered the term 'ikigai', also through TheFutur (seriously they are my lifesaver). It's about finding one's purpose. I think unbeknownst to myself I have been doing this throughout my whole studies. It's about combining things you love, you're skilled at, what the world needs and things that pays.

These two things seriously helped me not feeling alone in this and also help me realise that liking many things is okay and I won't be needing to discard any thing. It's all about balancing the stuff. The funny thing is that I know I should be actively doing one of these things I mentioned, but instead I felt the urge to write about it. Maybe writing about finding one's purpose is in 'the mix of things I like/love' and maybe even something that 'the world might need'. *Fun fact: My master thesis was about purpose-driven brands.*

I hope with this post I at least help someone out there with the same struggle as I am going through. I know that this post is a bit all over the place, but I felt I needed to write this down, unedited.



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“Where does a thought go when it's forgotten?” ― Sigmund Freud

So it's been a while, in fact it has been over a year already since I've updated this blog. And I've decided long ago not to be focused too much on what this blog used to be, fashion/lifestyle blog or whatever you would call it. I've noticed that actually posting about fashion, makes me lose my own sense of style. You always want to be up-to-date with the latest fashion and keep up, but when is the time for refining your style? Ever since I don't have the urge to post something new about the latest fashion, I am more aware of my own sense of style, what I like and don't. But the one thing that I truly miss, is the writing. I miss the outlet that I had with blogging of just writing. Believe me at uni, I do a lot of writing but I guess I just miss writing about my personal life and all that sorts of talks that big adults should think about. Some would say "Just get a freaking dairy, nobody cares". And it's probably true.. But there's something that's truly alluring to me in giving your thoughts a place on the internet for anybody to read, to misinterpret, to disagree, or to do anything about it. I just enjoy it. I find it often hard to express myself verbally, I can start telling stories from B to A to never even mentioning the C. My thoughts are always everywhere, which is sometimes super frustrating for people around me but especially for myself. I learned to deal with it better by time, but one of the ways to get my thoughts in order is by putting it out here.

For the fashionreaders out there, I'm probably going to post less about the latest fashiontrends and more about personal things that I find important. And really more about discovering, developing and understanding myself and people in general. In case you haven't been busy doing it, it's time to start! Let's follow the journey together. 


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HAUL | Taking it easy

I decided to start blogging by taking it easy.. What's easier than a plain old haul and a little try-on haul. I saw these two pieces at Primark and immediately knew that it was going to be a piece I would be wearing a lot. The black top has a plisse as a touch of detail which makes the top looks more expensive than the 11euros I spent. The skirt is such a eyecatcher, I immediately saw potential. You could wear it fancy with some heels or dress it down with these H&M sandals (also known as the "jesus walks" sandals). I wouldn't combine these two pieces in particular but it happened to match together quite well.

Thank you for sticking with me. I'm trying to get this thing back going on, so please be patient with me while I'm taking this blog (perhaps maybe Youtube?) to the next level :)

x J.

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PERSONAL | six months later..

Hi guys! So it's been a while.. it's been six months since I've posted anything here.. 

I've been back for a few weeks now and I think it's time to reflect on the past six months.

Even though I was planning to document and keep this blog up while I was in Taiwan, I didn't really thought about it or had time for it, which is a pity but also something I needed to take a break from.
Not that blogging has been a full time thing, but sometimes it's nice to take a break and come back with a new fresh perspective on my blog. I had more time to focus on my Mandarin and what I really wanted to do after my time is done in Taiwan. That part is still a bit blurry but I've come to realise that I missed uni and what I want to be doing in the future. Also I realised how much I enjoy being behind camera, taking pictures or making videos. I might be focusing on that part more since I still have a lot of pictures of Taiwan that I need to edit. Another exciting news is that I'm moving out!

So I'll be spending most of my money on interior stuff or furniture and so on. I've been planning to do some DIY for my new room, which I might post online! 

Till the next post!

x J.

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