A Thousand Words Volume 4: My Summer of Seven Wellbeings - Part One

Hello, and welcome to an  A Thousand Words on my Summer of Seven Wellbeings. My summer was so filled with amazing moments that I, unfortunately, have to split it into two shorts. Now, if you’re wondering what is meant by “wellbeings” then I need to take you back to the RA training of 2015. Our requirements for programs were based on a book by Tom Rath called Wellbeing: The Five Essential Elements. This book essentially “provides you with a holistic view of what contributes to your wellbeing over a lifetime.” The book covers five wellbeings: Career, Social, Financial, Physical, and Community. I like to add to those Mental and Education. With each of these, I made loose goals for myself in improving in each area. In short, these were:

  • Career: Improving at my job. Start a blog
  • Social: Strengthen my relationships with my friends, family, and boyfriend by actually spending time with them.
  • Financial: Don’t go broke.
  • Physical: Try and eat better
  • Community: Although this is about the general community that you live in, I made it a goal to be more involved in my work community.
  • Mental: Learn to let your brain rest
  • Education: Learn more about Interior Design.

So… How’d the summer go?

Well, I started with a trip to Skyline Park with my mom and sister in early May. Skyline Park is like a mini amusement park on top of Ponce City Market here in Atlanta. It gets its name from the fact that you can see the many skylines of Atlanta from it. This was an amazing time, and it was a shared new experience for my mom, sister, and I. I also learned of Portrait Mode on my iPhone.You can check out some photos below:

Later that month was such a wonderful time of the year. It was the time of the Gemini and my birthday!!! As I get older, I am starting to focus less on physical objects and more on people. I focused this birthday on spending quality time with my favorite people. I spent the first day with my parents. We were running errands and they ate Korean Barbeque for the first time. I went hiking with my best friend Courtney ( see the previous post). I had a super fancy dinner with bae. This is when I found out I like Brussel sprouts, and that I really love my boyfriend. I spent Saturday with my friends eating at The Ranch, the Mexican restaurant of champs, then spent the night roaming The Battery. I ended the extravaganza with a future in-law lunch between my S.O.’s family and my parents.

This was also when I started my website and blog!!! #happybirthdaytome. In the month of June, I went to the Modern Atlanta Home Tour. This was a great opportunity to reintroduce my life as a designer to my family.

I started my car search and driving school. To those who don’t know me personally, learning how to drive has been a struggle. Getting my license and a car is a huge, somewhat annoying, goal that at the moment has not been met. Stay tuned for updates.

I had the pleasure of brunch and bowling with my OG RAs. We don’t see each other often so when we do get together, it’s always a fun time.

Another milestone in my life was met as I had my first business trip. I was sent to Tampa, Florida to measure a few existing buildings. This was my first time on a plane in eight, yes eight, years.

I rounded out the month with a trip to Lowe’s that taught that even the simplest places have hidden photography treasures.

With June ending, the first half of my summer ended along with this post. I really enjoyed spending time with my friends and family, traveling, Although documenting my life has always been a hobby, I have found a new delight in learning to appreciate life through my lens. I can that I was beginning to accomplish my goals. But how did the second half go? Stay tuned for Part Two, where things get steamy, hot, and full of liquor.

 

Information on the book Wellbeing: The Five Essential Element can be found here: http://www.wbfinder.com/content/125366/Book.aspx

Briana Fountain