The Start of a New Friday Ritual
— a reflective diary from a nurse, dreamer, and human-in-progress.

Hi friends.
This post is the beginning of a little rhythm I want to keep—a quiet corner every Friday where I gather the week’s soft chaos and slow it down enough to feel it.

Today marks the beginning of a gentle ritual I’ve been meaning to start for a while now: a Friday diary. Not a diary that lists what I did. But one that tries to capture how I felt while doing it.
This will be my quiet check-in with myself, and with you—my fellow feelers, wanderers, and maybe-overthinkers.

So here it goes—my first Friday Reflective Weekly Diary.

Currently Reading: Forgiving What You Can’t Forget

By Lysa TerKeurst

I started this book last February 2024. It was one of those late-night Amazon purchases I made when my heart was quietly breaking and I didn’t quite know how to hold all the pieces.
It’s been a stop-and-go journey with this one. Some pages I read twice. Some chapters I avoided. Not because they weren’t good—but because they felt too close. Too raw.

Forgiveness is a word we use lightly until we’re asked to actually practice it.
This book reminds me that healing doesn’t happen all at once—and sometimes, it’s okay if you come back to the same paragraph weeks later, only to finally get it.

I’m still in the middle of it. But that’s where a lot of us are, right? In the middle of things we don’t know how to finish yet.

Currently Watching: When Life Gives You Tangerines

I finished this one recently. It’s quiet, thoughtful, and a little strange in the best way.

The title itself pulled me in—how can something so soft-sounding hit so hard?

There’s something about these foreign-language films that teach you to feel, even when you don’t fully understand the dialogue. Maybe because life is like that too. We don’t always have the subtitles, but the emotion still reaches us.

This film made me pause—not just the video, but my thoughts. It reminded me that life doesn’t always give you answers, but it does give you moments—and those are enough if you’re paying attention.

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Planning: One-Week Homecoming to the Philippines

We finally booked it. Just one week in the Philippines—but I already know I’ll try to fit a lifetime into those seven days.

I’ve started scribbling a list of things I want to do:

• Hug my family tighter than last time.
• Eat isaw on the street, no matter what my stomach says.
• Visit Hans’ resting place and whisper the things I never got to say.
• Walk barefoot by the shore and listen to waves that sound like home.

It’s going to be quick. Maybe rushed. But I want to create slowness within it—a kind of presence I often lose in the busyness of everyday life.

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Thinking About: Other Dimensions

Maybe it’s the night shifts.

Maybe it’s the emotional weight of this week.

But I’ve been thinking about other dimensions lately.

What if there’s a version of me out there who never left home?

Who chose a quieter life, far from airports and alarms?

Who still wakes up to the sound of the ocean,

coffee in hand, no pages to prove her worth?

And maybe—just maybe—

she’s dreaming of this version of me.

The one who dared.

The one who left.

The one who’s tired, yes—but also trying.

It’s strange, this feeling.

To imagine yourself in a thousand lives.

But it’s comforting too.

Maybe all these versions of me

are just fragments of the same longing—

to find peace,

to feel seen,

to be whole.

Maybe we’re not lost.

Maybe we’re just walking through

the long, soft hallway of becoming.

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Hoping For: Rest

Not just a nap.
Not just an 8-hour sleep after a shift.

I mean the kind of rest where I don’t feel like I have to earn it.
Where I sit by the sea, feel the sun on my skin, and for a moment, forget about apps, alarms, emails, or expectations.

I hope for peace—uncomplicated, unhurried, and unapologetic.
Even just for a day.

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A Small Thing I Noticed

This week was… a lot.

Mama was unwell, and no matter how many times I tell myself I’m strong, I still turn into a child when she’s not okay.

I had three long night shifts that seemed to stretch forever.
My friend needed me, but I failed to visit.
Guilt. Exhaustion. Repeat.

But somewhere between the patient handovers and the quiet sob I swallowed while brushing my teeth—I noticed I’m still here.

Worn out? Yes.
But here.
And showing up, even imperfectly, is still worth honouring.

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Photo of the Week

“Take your dreams seriously.”
Found it on Pinterest. It stared at me like a challenge I’ve been avoiding.
And maybe… just maybe… it’s time I do.

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Song on Repeat: Don’t You (Forget About Me)

The Simple Minds classic has been looping in my head like a quiet reminder to not forget who I am beyond all the roles I play.

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Quote That Stayed With Me

“One intention for the coming week: To show up for myself the way I do for everyone else.”

I whispered this to myself during my break on the third night shift.
I don’t know who first wrote it. Maybe I did.
But it felt like a promise I need to keep.

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So here it is—my week, wrapped in words.
Messy, meaningful, a little tired, but still blooming somewhere in the quiet.

If you’re reading this, thank you for making space for me.
And if you’re carrying your own storm this week, I hope you find a quiet corner to rest in too.

Until next Friday,
AJ