Hi friend!

This past week has been a much-needed pitstop back home in Baltimore. I went home to support my family, and in exchange, they refueled me with love, encouragement, and tons of food. I use the term pitstop because lately, I've imagined life as a series of F1 Grands Prix, where each phase in your life is a different race, except we don't know how many laps it lasts. Everyone starts at a different grid position, and you have to race your own race. To do well, you must maintain focus and constantly communicate with your team. The unexpected thing about F1 is it is such a team sport. The driver drives independently, but they need their team to build the car, communicate on-track situations, change their tires, and keep the team together. Since starting my Los Angeles Grand Prix, I've felt like I've been racing on the same set of tires, having difficulty communicating with my team, and falling behind in the race. The race has felt hard at times, and yet I keep slamming the accelerator to keep going. As people pass me, I feel even more frustrated and wonder if the race is a lost cause. Away from the metaphor — I'm trying to say that I have found adjusting to LA difficult.

From running and playing soccer to my frustrations about not having enough energy to work on my interests (such as creating content, my tea business, or even making new friends), I am unable to do anything I really enjoy. I felt like my tires could start spinning at any moment, so when the opportunity came to go home — make a pit stop, I immediately felt a sense of relief. At home, I could walk in a familiar setting and confide with my family about my fears. At home, I could check in with my mentor over a delicious braised pork sandwich in a park in Remington, Baltimore. At home, I could watch Black Panther 2 on its release day with my sister. I could feel my support network changing my tires. Not much really happened when I went home, but at the same time, I feel much more renewed about my direction and motivation. In the coming weeks, I'm going to face LA with a renewed sense of optimism.

I hope I didn't lose you in the F1 metaphor — happy to chat more if you reach out!

Book Talk📚

It's been a book-hopping few weeks, but I finished All We Can Save by Katharine Wilkinson, Ayana Elizabeth Johnson, and several others. All We Can Save is a powerful book that I found myself stopping every few pages to jot down quotes. It has stoked my flame to fight for a better and more equitable world, especially in the face of the climate crisis. Below are a few resonating ideas from the book:

• consumption-based systems need restructuring based on justice
• adaptation is a process, not an outcome
• courage leads to action, then hope, not the other way around.
• in nature, nothing exists alone
• we are future ancestors

Reach out if you'd like to chat about any of these quotes, and I'll explain more in-depth.

Intentional Content Consumption📰

This week at home, I enjoyed House of the Dragon with my sister! There are some shows I cannot really watch without her, such as Stranger Things and Game of Thrones, and now HotD is one of them. We feed off each other's energy and chaos, and I love it. Staying up late to midnight (crazy, I know) is well worth the time spent together.

Thanks for reading and reflecting with me this week! If you aren't subscribed to get this in your inbox weekly, you can here!

Best,
Awoe ✌🏾