Saying Goodbye to Summer and HE-LLO to Fall!

I don’t know about y’all, but this summer was a ROLLER coaster for me! Since the summer officially started in June, I have gone through a breakup, had a birthday, gotten into multiple blowout fights with my family (that I live with), gone to NYC twice, started a new job, ended that same job, been depressed at least once and also had countless weekends filled with friends and fun. SHEESH! I am exhausted just typing that sentence!

Before I get too much into fall planning and looking ahead, I want to reflect on what I have done the last few months. Some of y’all might have read my summer bucket list post a few months ago, so I will go through that and see what I can check off

• Outdoor concerts and festivals – finally made it to one (Trillectro) on the LAST day of summer!
• Trip to NYC – twice! Once for Curl Fest and once for Texture on the Runway
• Beach trips  – sadly only one day trip to Sandy Point, which was enjoyable but didn’t totally satisfy me
• Rooftop bars – all summer long!
• Dinner & drinks with girlfriends – yesss!
• TACOS & TEQUILA – obvi! Maybe too much hehe
• Lazy days outside – a few pool days but otherwise not really! It rained so much that I didn’t get outside as often as I would have liked
• Adventure days outside! – also not really
• Roadtrips/daytrips to nearby cities or destinations – don’t think so?
• Camping/cabin trip for the weekend – nope
• Kayaking and/or stand-up paddleboarding – nope
• Lots of outdoor runs and hikes – not as much as I would have hoped. It rained too much!
• Eat ALL the vegan ice cream – of course!
• Outdoor movies – nope
• Crab feasts! – sadly not even one!!!
• Get super tan and keep it as long as possible! – still tryna hold on to it! We will see how long it lasts
• Figure out how to perfect the summer wash n go – more or less! I switch it up almost every time though
• Outdoor dinner dates – a few, with friends of course!
• Finally watch the fireworks at the National Mall – kinda but it was a fail lol
• BBQs and cookout – once, on Labor Day, but that barely counts

So as you can imagine, my life definitely got turned upside down after the breakup! Luckily, it was right at the end of June, so I knew that my birthday month was about to start and I was also about to start a new job. I made it my mission to really throw myself into work and also celebrate myself all month long and just enjoy every moment! I was all about doing ME for once! I would say overall I definitely accomplished that, and work was DEFINITELY a necessary distraction. I got in a huge fight with my mom the week before my birthday and didn’t talk to her for two weeks which majorly sucked. Not only did it sting right after my breakup, but we got in a huge fight last year on my birthday too – oh and did I mention I live with her?? Aside from that, I definitely lived it up all month!

August was pretty all over the place: after a busy but fun birthday month with lots of fun weekends squeezed in between my long shifts, work was starting to take a toll on me! I started to feel like it was literally taking over my life – I was having nightmares and panic attacks – and it was only a SERVING job! WTF! After a particularly bad week, I decided it just wasn’t worth it to feel so abused and taken advantage of by any job, let alone such a replaceable one, so I gave my two weeks notice.

It would have been a VERY amicable separation and transition out of that job had they not decided to stab me in the back! After I gave my two weeks notice, my very next shift was a horrible nightmare. It was supposed to be a regular Sunday double shift, and ended up being one horrendous 13 hour shift. At the end of the night when I SHOULD have already been clocked out, I accidentally sliced my hand open on a wine glass that broke while I was polishing it, and immediately had a panic attack. I ran up to the manager, asked her to get my money and went home to recover.

When I went back to work two days later, I found out that I had been fired over it – WHAT THE FUCK! The GM, who had been so nice and supportive in our conversation the previous week when I gave my two weeks notice, turned into a cold, heartless monster who refused to even tell me why I was being fired, and tried to tell me I had “waived my right to worker’s comp”. Uhhh, I think the fuck not! I later found out that this bully I worked with, who had it out for me, showed the GM my Instastory from the night of the injury (in which I talked about the incident but didn’t talk shit about anyone, mention anyone’s name, or even the name of the restaurant), and he filed paperwork to fire me that night.

Ok, so anyone with a brain can see how illegal and messed up that is! The rest of the week consisted of me going back and forth on the phone between lawyers and the corporate office, making sure my worker’s comp case was taken care of and getting compensation for the two weeks I should have worked. It took all of those two weeks (and then some) to finally get everything sorted out. Needless to say, the whole ordeal was exhausting, and took a toll on me physically, mentally and spiritually. I was never anything but a hardworking, genuine, kind and helpful employee, and that was what I got in return. FFS!

I thought September would bring some chill vibes to my life, but it ended up being the busiest month of my entire year! I am not complaining – being busy and productive all month has been rewarding and led me to some great connections and opportunities – but ya girl is TIRED! I networked and socialized my ASS off, and now I am ready to chill all the way back.

I have way less planned for October, and plan on being more intentional about what I put on my plate over the next few months, so I can catch up on some other things and finally find some balance. I am certainly looking forward to the more reflective and restorative nature of fall, as well as taking the downtime as an opportunity to check in with myself and release the heavy energy that has built up over the last few months and is no longer serving me! I would also like to plan a few trips before the year ends, so I need to save my coins!

If you live in the DMV area, follow me on IG to stay up to date with some events I am trying to plan over the next few months. Hint: it will involve yoga and full moon/new moon circles! 💕

(All photos by Nadia Moseley)