Erica's Nook Book

I celebrated my birthday a couple of days ago. Birthdays stopped feeling special long ago when I was still searching for external validation. Thankfully, I've learned to appreciate the simplicity of life. The human experience is so special, and I'm so lucky to be here. I'm grateful for every moment— the bliss and the boredom, the beauty and the pain, the laughter and the tears, the love and the heartaches. Every moment is a chance for appreciation, gratitude, growth, learning, resiliency, kindness, and love. Now, I don't need a big birthday party with 20 friends and non-stop birthday wishes from 150 friends who are near strangers. Lately, birthdays have been more about internal reflection. Accomplishing goals is important, but I think more about how often I chose kindness when anger was easier, I think about places where I chose to listen and understand instead of argue. I also think about the times I need to work on improving. I have learned to find peace in the mundan...

Well, I've never been good at keeping a journal/diary, but I've always wanted to keep one. I am a writer, so journaling should be natural... When I was living in my childhood home, I would hide away in my laundry closet. It was a warm and cozy, private nook. It felt like a secret getaway and closing that door was like being in another dimension outside of space and time. I would climb on top of the dryer, cuddle it like a cat, and have a private space to have deep, introspective thoughts, or cry, or have a moment of peace. It was therapeutic for so many reasons. Now, I'm no longer living in my childhood home, but I make sure I find my little nook to hide away. It's just a special place for me to be alone with my thoughts, an escape. I can be introspective almost anywhere, but my nook has become an essential part of my life. I still think about that specific laundry closet (obviously). I get excited about finding a good nook, a private spot. I guess, I've been doing ...