Skip to the content

Sentiments and the Like

Search for:

Home
About
Blog
Travels

Home
About
Blog
Travels

cropped-DSC_0209-1.jpg

December 15, 2020 / 1280 x 1280 px

« Previous attachment Next attachment »

Follow Me

sentimentsandthelike

I never got to formally introduce myself on here y

I never got to formally introduce myself on here yet, so hello! My name is Grace. 🌻☀️ I have been thinking more about which direction I want this account to go towards and since then, have decided to write a short piece on how this idea of blogging all started.

From a young age, I've had a love for writing. Much of my free time consisted of writing journal entries, poems, letters, songs, and stories. 💬✍️ However, I did not start as an avid reader or even much of a literate student. I neither spoke much nor understood the English language well...

It was only until later on did my curiosity for words develop. Writing became my form of self-expression, especially when I found it difficult to speak my thoughts. Even more so now than ever, I am constantly amazed at the million ways in which words can be strung together or interchanged with other words to best express an idea!✨

My interest for photography also grew throughout the years, specifically capturing the beauty in landscapes, emotions evoked in a location, and the personalities of people. I am still learning and practicing, but the ability to still a moment in time fills me with wonder. 💭

For these reasons, I decided that creating a blog would be an ideal method to combine these interests of mine. Blogging remained only a dream though until a particular year during my undergrad...

To read the full version of my story, go to the link in my bio to find my featured About page. 👩‍💻

📸: @joyce_ycchang

It is so easy to be caught up in the hustle, to co

It is so easy to be caught up in the hustle, to compare our accomplishments with other people, and to base our worth on how productive we are. How often do we stand still like these mountains, yet still feel purposeful in our stillness? Or how often do we experience contentment like this lake even while acknowledging there will always be people with greater successes than us? Nature reminds me that it's okay to just be. ⛰️🌊🌳 Just being does not disprove us as worthy beings.

"Finally, I was brought to the conclusion what the pandemic only emphasized: God is the purpose to life and humans are worthy not because of productivity, but simply because we are created and loved by Him." 💫

This is the first lesson I learned and recapped in my blog post, "2020, a year of God's sovereignty." You can read it by clicking the link in my bio. 💌 I hope it reminds us all to not put our identity in our work so that we become prideful and look down on others or to feel defeated and look down on ourselves.

25✨ - 26🪐 The uncertainty which transpired l

25✨ - 26🪐

The uncertainty which transpired last year led me to many wonderings. These thoughts inspired me to write my most recent blog post, "2020, a year of God's sovereignty." I am excited to be releasing this! The link is in my bio.💬

This piece of writing took some vulnerability, but it communicates what my heart would like to proclaim to the world - that each one of your stories matter! I hope that sharing a slice of my life with you will encourage you to see the meaning your current chapter holds.🌼 & a reminder that what you're going through does not define who you are. Your circumstances do not invalidate your worth, value, or purpose.🤍

Happy new year, friends!! 🎉 Sorry for the hiatu

Happy new year, friends!! 🎉 Sorry for the hiatus. I took a break in December, lost my collection of photos in January 😭, but now I'm excited to be back in February! 💕

In 2019, I remember people saying that 2020 was going to be a year of vision. Although the year unexpectedly resulted in chaos, illness, the suspension of social interactions, and new systems and routines being set in place, I wonder if perhaps it is preparing us for a new era. What if it brings us to new realizations and new epiphanies? Sometimes growth requires the uprooting of old ways so that development can take place. This doesn't invalidate the pain that you and I may experience in the process of, but the growth is something we can look forward to. At the same time, it is okay to not always feel our best or to feel stagnant in life. Tomorrow is a new day and a new day means there is hope. May sunsets like these remind us that the sun will set and rise again and that with each new day, we are gifted with the chance to reset and try again.🤍 Here's to the seasons we will encounter this year - the budding, the growing, and eventually, the blooming. 🌱🌿🌼

"The steadfast love of the Lord never ceases; his mercies never come to an end; they are new every morning, great is your faithfulness." - Lamentations 3:22-23

The drama, Start-Up, has been on my mind ever sinc

The drama, Start-Up, has been on my mind ever since I finished it. It has made me reflect on the unpredictability of life but the magic that can come from it when we dare step outside our comfort zones and take a risk. Oftentimes, we limit ourselves by taking no step forward. However, inaction is also a decision and even then, there are consequences.

In my most recent post, "The Beginning of an End," I share about how we make choices everyday and how when we make the wrong one, it's okay to start over. Further reflection has brought me to realize that every choice, no matter how certain we may feel about the consequence, is ultimately a risk. This is because the exact outcome will always be a mystery until we come face-to-face with it. Decisions can be scary, but never knowing the potential of a situation can be even more unfortunate.

Whatever big decision you may be facing today, don't be afraid to step into it. Starting over or beginning something is always the most difficult part, but the steps thereafter will get easier. I am excited just thinking about how amazing the world would be if you took that one step today. 🌱😊

We make many choices everyday. Sometimes they are

We make many choices everyday. Sometimes they are the right ones and sometimes, they aren't. Other times, there is no right or wrong choice, but only a matter of whether we want to accept the consequences that follow. What do you do when you make a mistake that you find difficult to overlook though?

Recently, I've been reflecting on the idea of "starting over." Although the phrase suggests beginning again, it excludes the option to relive the past. In a post I published yesterday titled "The Beginning of an End," I recount personal struggles that we may encounter when choices made become a burden. It's a piece personal to me but that I believe can be relevant to many of us. Even though we cannot reset our lives, we can choose to reset our minds. 🌱

The link is in my bio under Blog. 💌 Feel free to leave a comment and share your own story.💛

Captured here is a moment when I saw my dream come

Captured here is a moment when I saw my dream come alive. ✨ I had always wanted to explore a magical place at the ends of the earth like Byron Bay, but without a travel companion and little time, I had to make a choice of whether it was worth it. In the end, my heart was set on making my dream a reality, and so with eagerness, I set a timer to be back before the night bus arrived and hiked to this spot. This may just be a photo now, but it will forever be a memory of a dream I chased and found. 💕

Recently, I had a conversation with a friend about what our dreams are and what reaching them and our potential looks like. ☄️ Even though I've always been a dreamer, my dreams are many and often seem far-fetched. Thinking about them makes me excited and my head would get lost in the clouds, but I know what I need sometimes is really someone/something to pull me back down so I can take the necessary steps to get there instead of continuing to float.🎈 I wrote down a list of practical steps last night that will help me with the process of reaching my dreams. Perhaps I'll share them on my blog later on!

Until then, what are your dreams?! 💫 I'd love to hear them!! I believe in the power of verbalizing what we think. Let's dream big together and not let our dreams stay dreams. 💭⚡🌟👊🏻

"Who do you think about when you look out into the

"Who do you think about when you look out into the ocean?" 🌅

Have you ever been busy and yet, had the time to pause multiple times throughout the day to think about how the person you miss is doing? ⏳ Or looked out into space to wonder what that someone is up to? 💭 Or ran through said dialogue in your head or made-up conversations that you wish you could say? 💬

On Monday, I spent the day wandering around the house, looking out the window, and doing all this while missing my students. It was the first school day where I didn't see them. It had felt bittersweet. I felt relief for successfully finishing my practicum but yearned to see my students again at the same time. I wondered how they would grow up and who they would become.

Missing them made me ponder over how interesting the general concept of missing someone is: it is sorrow over loss but also joy that one looks back upon as desirable; it is disappointment over the discontinuation of a memory or relationship but also satisfaction that one wishes to continue experiencing. Missing someone can show two sides of a coin.

Who are you currently missing? 〰️ As cliche as it sounds, how lucky we are to have someone we miss in our lives. 💫🌼🐚

Sometimes I imagine what it would be like to sit i

Sometimes I imagine what it would be like to sit in this girl's place, journaling by the ocean. 🌊✨ Despite the loud sound the repeated collision of the waves made, the girl's calmness made it seem like she was surrounded by a quiet ambience instead. Perhaps the chaos around her drowned out all the other noises or it awakened her senses. It was as if she was immersed and removed from the world around her at the same time.

"And this mountain that's in front of me
will be thrown into the midst of the sea.
Through it all, through it all, my eyes are on you.
Through it all, through it all, it is well... with my soul." 🕊️

The melody of the song, "It is Well" plays in my head when I observe this photo. I am the girl sitting there. Chaos was everyday this term, but I struggled and learned to refocus my aim until the crashing waves became only a cadence. In and out, in and out - breathing reminded me of the little things that I could control. 🌿

What helps you to refocus your aim? Don't quit; you'll get there soon.💛

Load More... Follow on Instagram

© 2021 Sentiments and the Like

Theme by Anders Noren — Up ↑