personal life - Sereneluna

Hey everyone! You might be wondering where I’ve been lately, and I actually have a good excuse this time for being away for so long. For the last few months, major storage issues completely broke my iPhone 14, locking me out of WordPress the 90% of the time. Apparently, 128GB is not enough for me anymore! Any time I wanted to check in or write a post, I had to haul out my laptop, which isn’t convenient or enjoyable to use. The keyboard sucks, the screen is too small, and it makes me want to rage quit by the time I actually log in to write a rough draft. Talk about frustrating! Luckily, my iPhone is finally working again for the most part, and I can get back to sharing my humble opinions with you all. Let’s get started, shall we?

Social media is a double-edged sword, and we all know it. On one hand, it connects us; on the other, it feeds our deepest insecurities. Lately, I’ve been reflecting on a particularly frustrating downside of our hyper-connected world: the toxic idea that living a simple, ordinary life is somehow seen as a failure.

It makes me stop and think: Since when did a peaceful, slow life become a badge of shame?

Interestingly, many content creators who live chronically online and do this for a living are actually quite well-off. If they wanted to, they could easily fund a chaotic life of luxury travel and flashy activities. Yet, many are consciously choosing the ordinary. They are prioritizing quality time with their children, families, and close friends. They are nurturing personal hobbies and fiercely protecting their mental peace. And I don’t blame them.

This begs the question: Why on earth isn’t that considered enough anymore?

✨ Image is my own. Morning light spills through the quiet hallway.

The Toxic Comparison Game

Somewhere along the line, mainstream influencer culture shifted our perspective. We’ve been subtly manipulated into thinking that we constantly need to perform, consume, and impress others we don’t even know. This is truly the final boss of “keeping up with the Joneses.” We are told our homes must look pristine, our outfits must never be repeated, and our lives must be a non-stop highlight reel of expensive dinners, luxury cars, travel reels, and the latest gadgets. Anything less is labeled as “lame” or “basic.”

I understand the psychology behind it. As human beings, we inherently crave acceptance and connection. It is completely natural to want approval. Decades ago, however, the circle of people we subconsciously tried to impress was tiny, consisting just of our immediate family, a few coworkers, and our neighbors.

In modern society, the stakes are different. Social media forces us to compete with the entire world, actively comparing our messy, real lives with the highly curated, filtered illusions of professional influencers. It is an exhausting game played against your own ego, and it is an illusion you can never win. It’s exactly like staring at that little Google dinosaur when the Wi-Fi goes down, you are endlessly running and jumping over obstacles, desperately searching for a connection that just isn’t there.

Escaping Digital Fatigue

I am certainly not pointing fingers from a place of being “holier than thou.” Trust me, I still get sucked into these exact same toxic comparison loops. Sometimes, I catch myself doomscrolling at 2:00 AM, feeling a sudden ache of inadequacy because some influencer on my screen is achieving grander things and seemingly has their entire life completely figured out while I’m awake in the dark questioning my life choices.

I worry that if I share glimpses of my quiet nature walks or my introverted, low-maintenance lifestyle, people will judge it as boring. And truth be told, to a hyper-stimulated world, it probably looks boring. No yacht, no flashing lights, just me and a tree….or something like that.

I constantly have to remind myself that comparison is the thief of joy and a complete waste of time. It creates a loud, messy inner battle where my wiser self has to gently ground my ego. Fortunately, I’m getting much better at going AFK, and as you can tell by my radio silence, I’ve gotten pretty good at abandoning my blog too! 🤦‍♀️

Finding Joy in Slow Living

The truth is, I’ve come to appreciate my “boring” life. I’ve realized that the little, simple things are exactly what make me the happiest.

Here are a few of my favorite daily rituals that bring inner peace:

1️⃣ Taking a slow walk outdoors. Getting outside and breathing fresh air does wonders to calm a loud, cluttered mind.
2️⃣ Sipping a fresh cup of hot tea. There is something incredibly soothing about holding a warm mug and just watching the steam rise.
3️⃣ Cuddling on the couch with my cat, Timon. Animals have a beautiful way of grounding us in the present moment. Timon doesn’t care about social media status, and honestly, neither should I.

✨ Image is my own. Just me in my pajamas with my cat, chilling on the couch.

✨ Image is my own. Enjoying a mug of hot fruit tea on a cold, miserable day.

(っ◔◡◔)っ ♥ FINAL THOUGHTS

It’s ironic that we now have to explicitly normalize what used to just be everyday life, but finding peace in the ordinary is proof that a simple life is more than enough. True happiness isn’t found in luxury vacations, collections (don’t even get me started on over-consumption) or viral posts. Instead, genuine contentment is waiting right here in the quiet moments, and realizing that I don’t need to impress strangers on the internet or people IRL for that matter.

♡ What about you? Do you find yourself caught in the social media comparison trap, or have you found joy in your own “boring” daily routines? Feel free to join the conversation by leaving a comment below ↓ I’ll do my best to reply to your comments within the next 24 hours.

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Thanks for stopping by! ♥

Let’s face it. Most of us are nosy people. At some point, I am guessing that you were probably curious about my life. I consider myself to be a fairly private person for the most part. Tiani Angela, who runs a blog called tianiangela.com, inspired me to write this vulnerable blog post. You can read her original blog post here. Like Tiani’s blog post, my blog post is extra-personal as well. Please read without judgement and keep and open mind. Thanks. 😊

10 Interesting Facts About Me

1. I am an only child. And I am not happy about it. I was never happy about it. I always felt like I was meant to have a sibling and being an only child felt “wrong” to me. When I was 18, I learned that I was a double-rainbow baby which explains a lot 🌈🌈 When I was 12, I asked my parents to adopt an orphan from China and sadly, they said no. I think that is where my fascination for Asian culture started.

2. I married an Asian boy. The fascination for Asian culture continued into my adult years. Although I have long graduated from reading manga and seldom watch anime these days, my husband has taught me a lot about his Asian roots, specifically Singaporean roots. I met him in January 2013 and we have been together ever since. He is my rock and we have been married since May 2016.

Celebrating Mother’s Day. with the hubby. You can’t go wrong with a cake from Costco!

3. I am mother to a Eurasian toddler. Most of you already know that I am a mom since it’s in my About Me section, yet people often seemed surprised when I tell them. I am a Millennial in my late twenties so I am not that young anymore. I try to follow other bloggers who are also in their 20’s+ but a few younger bloggers have slipped through the cracks. My daughter is a rambunctious 4-year old who loves life. Her favourite thing to say is, “Mommy, be happy.”

4. I had a miscarriage in October, 2015. My daughter was planned and she is a rainbow baby. Prior to having my daughter, I had a miscarriage and it was devastating. I feel like miscarriage is a topic that often gets swept under the rug even though 1:4 women end up having a miscarriage in their lifetime. Miscarriage is more common than people think and it shouldn’t be ignored. For anyone who has had a miscarriage, I want you to know that you are not alone. 👼

5. Given the choice, I would be a fruitarian. I ❤ Fruit! I find the fruitarian lifestyle intriguing and it would be my diet of choice if boundaries did not exist. However, I have a background in nutrition and neutraceutical sciences (NANS) from the University of Guelph, so I know that a fruitarian diet is not the answer to long-term health and longevity.

6. My pupils are different sizes. And this is concerning to neurologists. Ironically, my first clinical placement this semester was on an acute neurosurgery/neurology unit. I cannot tell you how concerned some of the staff was when I told them that I was born this way. When pupils are two different sizes, this usually indicates some kind of brain lesion or altered level of consciousness (LOC).

7. Also related to eyes, I am a carrier of Familial Exudative Vitreoretinopathy (FEVR). Even though I am asymptomatic, my daughter is one of the unlucky few who is symptomatic. She was born blind in her left eye as a result of FEVR. According to the American Academy of Ophthalmology, FEVR defines a group of inherited diseases with abnormal retinal angiogenesis leading to incomplete vascularization of the peripheral retina. Every 3-6 months, my daughter gets routine surgery and receives laser surgery if necessary. Laser surgery is dependent on the progression of this eye disease. If she does not receive routine checkups, there is a risk that she could become blind in both eyes because the disease typically affects the eyes bilaterally.

8. I was anorexic when I was 13 years old. I hate it when people try to glamorize anorexia to get attention or pretend they have an eating disorder when in fact they don’t. You’ll often notice this in the blogging sphere and social media and it’s is one of my pet peeves. I can tell you that anorexia is NOT glamorous. It is an eating disorder (ED) that the individual cannot control. These individuals know that it is wrong; they have insight but they lack judgement. I wish I had pictures and clothes to show you what I looked like at 98 lbs. but I don’t have any “memorabilia”. My parents threw out those memories without my permission.

9. I attended 3 different universities. I am not making this up, unlike some people I know. I attended University of Guelph from 2010-2014 and obtained a degree in biological sciences. I also minored in nutrition and neutraceutical sciences (NANS). Sadly, I realized that I would not be able to truly thrive with this degree so I took some courses through Athabasca University, an accredited online university in Canada. Now, I am nursing student who is living in Alberta and I plan to graduate by the end of the year. It’s been a long journey and I am really, really tired of school.

10. I own a 210ish year old violin. Or something like that. I lost track of its exact age; my violin is ancient. It’s been passed down in the family and got sold at one point. Fortunately, my dad was very lucky and managed to rescue the violin for me, which I received as a birthday gift. I named my violin Matilda the III and she has a very rich, pure sound. I haven’t played her in years since she doesn’t live with me, but I love the way she sounds.

Well, there you have it! Did anything in my list surprise you? If so, what did you find most surprising? Do you know me as well as you thought you did? Please join the conversation and leave a comment below ↓ If you decide to write a similar blog post, please let me know so I can check it out. 🙂

Thanks for stopping by!

Sereneluna

ღFinding My Inner Goddessღ

Tag: personal life

10 Things You Might Not Know About Me

10 Interesting Facts About Me