* life, the universe and everything

Dear Me, this isn’t what life is like.

/ Brienna / 1 Comment

This January, I’m participating in a blogging challenge called #bloganuary, put on by WordPress. I’m excited to try this out; while I loved the blogging challenge I did last year during quarantine, having to come up with my own, original ideas every day was difficult.

For this challenge, WordPress will publish a daily writing prompt. Here’s today’s prompt:

Dear Me,

This isn't what life is like. I know high school sucks, and you're pretty miserable. I don't blame you. If the popular coming-of-age movies are to be believed, this isn't an isolated feeling. Even if sometimes you are feeling isolated, like you're the only one being treated this way, trust me when I say it isn't so.

It may not seem like it, but it will get better. And, as trite as this may sound, you've since learned that it's not nearly as bad as it could have been. We grew up with a lot of privilege, and we still have a lot of privilege in our life, we should be grateful for that. We've always had a warm, safe bed, and food on the table, that's not the case for everyone.

What advice do I have for you? Well, my life has turned out pretty great, so you did well. Thanks for getting us to where we are. 

If you'd like to choose a different adventure, roll the dice, and see where that takes us, some ideas:

Don't give up on college so easily. Do what it takes to go to Berkeley, I think you'd really like it there. 

Or apply to study abroad, that might be a fun adventure. We could go to Spain or Argentina and finally make use of our Spanish and become fluent.

And if you don't do these things, that's ok. By the way, t's ok to make mistakes! What's important is approaching life with a growth mindset, and using these opportunities to learn and do better in the future. It took me a really long time to learn that, I used to run away from anything challenging (I'm looking at you, Engineering Statistics). If you can be inspired by challenges and run towards them, instead of away, you might be surprised at what can happen. It's normal to be scared, that's just part of life. Being brave is doing the things inspite of your fears. "Have courage and be kind" is a motto to live by.

This is perhaps one of the greatest things I've learned, along with knowing that your thoughts are not your identify, and everything you think about yourself is not true.

Oh, one last thing — if you find CompSci is not your thing, try taking a  Philosophy class.
high school graduation!

Most memorable reads of 2021

/ Brienna / Leave a comment

Once again, a year is coming to its conclusion. And once again, it’s been a hell of a year. Last year, I read over 100 books, and close to 28k pages. Strangely, this was not very many more pages than the previous year, when I read 82 books. Clearly, more books != more pages. This year, I read “only” 66 book, around 17k pages. Regardless, that’s a lot of reading!

Here’s this year’s list of the most memorable books I read in 2021. As usual, not all of these books were published in 2021, I just happened to read them this year. Some might call it a “best of” list, these are certainly my favorites and highest-rated reads of the year.

Memorable Fiction Reads

The books in this list are all very different from each other and appeal to me for different reasons.

  • The Invisible Life of Addie LaRue – a fantastical take on life, legacy, and what it means to be forgotten.
  • A Court of Silver Flames – I love, love, love all the Court of Thorn and Roses books, and this one is no except. Nesta’s story needed to be told.
  • The Last House on Needless Street – this was a very entertaining mystery/thriller with some unexpected plot twists!
  • The Light of All That Falls – the long awaited conclusion to the Licanius Trilogy. A very fitting end, and one of my all time favorite epic fantasy series.
  • The House in the Cerulean Sea – the review says it all, this book is what I needed to read this year.
  • Aristotle and Dante Discover the Secrets of the Universe – another great read, even better in audio form with Lin Manuel Miranda narrating.

Memorable Non-fiction Reads

  • Team Topologies – this was an eye-opening look at why how you organize your teams really matters, and what’s at stake,.,
  • Think Again – this book certainly changed my outlook, and contributed to my decision to swtich jobs after being with the same company for 15 years.
  • Breath – one of my four pillars of health — if you’re not breathing, you’re dead, right?
Me, trying to get through my TBR list.

Photo by cottonbro from Pexels.

The four pillars of health: breath

/ Brienna / 1 Comment

The final installment of this series has arrived! Inspired by books and my own personal curiosity and quest for knowledge/wisdom, I have enjoyed sharing what I’ve learned.

Once again, the four posts in the series are:

Recently, I started using a new app geared towards healthy eating and weight loss. In their course curriculum, they have repeatedly mentioned the four pillars of health. Interestingly, the first three on their list are identical to mine. The difference comes in on the last one, where I have chosen breath; they put stress/stress management.

I don’t disagree with them that stress management is a key component of a healthy lifestyle. However, I’m not convinced it ranks higher than breathing.

All my life, I have suffered from allergies and sinus problems. When I was around 10, I had repeated sinus infections, and bronchitis and was at risk for needing sinus surgery. At that time, allergy medicine, HEPA filters, and reduced exposure to my allergens (dogs, cats, dust, dust mites) seemed to be enough to clear it up.

As an adult, I have had frequent colds, severe congestion, coughs that last for 6-8 weeks, dry eyes, and postnasal drip. These symptoms seemed to be seasonal and highly likely to be caused by a cold or virus. Until recently, I rarely sought medical care, except for a few times for the extended cough.

Over the last few years, I have been talking to my doctors about my sinus issues and postnasal drip. Unfortunately, I have not been able to find a doctor who’s really invested in helping me find a solution. Doctors only want to treat my symptoms, and if whatever they give me works, at least short-term, then they consider it resolved.

I was ok with this until the pandemic. Working from home since March of last year, about 20 months, I don’t go out in public and see only a handful of people. As far as I can tell, I have not had a cold or any viruses during this time. However, I have had persistent postnasal drip. It can be very mild some days, and other days I can barely talk because my throat hurts so much.

After reading Breath: The New Science of a Lost Art by James Nestor, and seeing my mom also struggle with sinus issues, I have gone on a quest for answers. I don’t have them all yet, I will post back when I know more.

So, all of this has led to my inclusion of breath as the fourth pillar of health.

Now, it seems pretty obvious to me everyone should see why breath and breathing is important. Humans can live days without food, water, or sleep. And exercise is (almost) entirely optional! However, humans will die within minutes if they don’t breathe.

A good approximation is the rule of threes: three minutes for air/breathing, three days for water, and three weeks for food.

https://www.guinnessworldrecords.com/news/2021/5/freediver-holds-breath-for-almost-25-minutes-breaking-record-660285

Of course, breathing is something we do all the time. It’s routine, it’s subconscious. But are we doing it right?

“We assume, at our peril, that breathing is a passive action, just something that we do: breathe, live; stop breathing, die. But breathing is not binary. And the more I immersed myself in this subject, the more personally invested I felt about sharing this basic truth.”

Breath: The New Science of a Lost Art by James Nestor

As it turns out, how you breathe can have a huge impact on your health. In Breath, James Nestor does an experiment where he breathes only through his mouth for 10 days. They recorded significant increases in his blood pressure and pulse, as well as increases in snoring, and sleep apnea throughout the experiment. After removing the nasal plugs and returning to normal breathing with an emphasis on nose breathing, all these vitals quickly improved.

For anyone who suffers from allergies, snoring, sleep apnea, or any breathing affliction, I highly recommend reading Breath. In it, you’ll find a lot of scientific research on breathing, as well as an entire section on breathing techniques.

As I work with my doctors to figure out breathing issues, I will also be taking a closer look at the breathing techniques from the book, and adding those into my wellness routine.

What do you think? Does breath warrant the place I’ve given it as the fourth pillar of health? Were you expecting something else?

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