Life After Undergrad: Knock on every closed door

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When you leave college and shed your student security blanket it can be hard to find other opportunities that give you the same challenge that college used to. For me college was something I became good at– and very proud of. When I came back to school after a hiatus I put my all into being a good student, staying organized and having a good GPA. When undergrad came to a close I kind of mourned my student status because I had put so much effort into making it great. I realized though that I could put the same amount of effort and time into my professional status to build that up just as high.

A professional network is much wider and much more vast than my student one. Recently, my regional boss came to visit my office and to my surprise it went well. In fact it went better than I could have imagined, after my days long panic over the visit. I was so focused on making sure I didn’t screw up that I didn’t stop and think that I should be marketing myself. Not market in a cheesy way but instead showcase my abilities and competence in my job role. After going over the Ps and Qs of my job we actually had a conversation and I shared some of my marketing and social media ideas with him– and he liked it! I was even given permission to start a hashtag campaign for my office, I was stoked!

My point here is not to leave any stone unturned– go out there and make it happen. When you’re confident other people take notice and they gravitate to you. After that office visit the regional manager told my boss that he was impressed with me– something that I’d never imagined could happen. Sometimes I think I sell myself short and forget that I’m no longer a 22-year-old with little experience. I’m considered an industry professional with nearly a decade of experience– and I need to be darn proud of it!

Bless Me?

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In Asia, when one sneezes, there is no such thing as “Bless you.”

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When you sneeze, you’re either reprimanded for not covering your mouth or just left to be as you were. So, imagine my surprise as a six- or seven-year-old, freshly minted into the American school system and sneezing. What a wild experience. I sneezed a hefty sneeze and the teacher said: “Bless you.”

Me? Bless me?

As a young Catholic sapling, I naturally began questioning the merits of my humanity that required a blessing. To my knowledge at the time, I was to ask for blessings from my elders whenever I encountered them and receive it via the touch of the back if their hand to my forehead. Or we usually blessed new houses or new cars or new babies. I knew that Americans weren’t familiar with this tradition of giving blessings to the young and I couldn’t see a new house or a new car or a new baby around. So why was this lady blessing me?

Did Americans simply throw blessings around willy nilly for any occasion?

I didn’t want to ask, so I let it be, opting to investigate the situation in silence. Weeks went by and I couldn’t seem to decipher the “Bless you.” The teacher would say it once in a while and sometimes students too… But why? WHY?

Finally, I broke. During recess, I turned to a girl in my class who seemed friendly enough and asked, “Why does everyone keep saying ‘bless you?’”

She looked at me strangely and in a tone that was equivalent to that of a man-splainer, replied, “Because that’s what you say when someone sneezes..?”

It took me a moment to process.

“Bu.. But, why?”

Baffled by my questioning of modern American tradition, the little girl gave me a sigh, shrugged and left, leaving me feel more confused. Why would the excretion of bacteria require a blessing? Did Americans revere sneezes as ungodly or in need of holy intervention and thus requiring a “Bless you?”

I decided not to question further. But now, equipped with the knowledge of the “bless you,” I found myself hyper aware of every single sneeze in my vicinity. My scientific mind began keeping tabs on the “bless you” to sneeze ratio: The popular outgoing kids and the teacher got all the “bless you’s,” but the lowly and moderate class of students went by the wayside with little to no “bless you’s.” Suddenly, my eyes were opened to my social standing.

My “bless you” to sneeze ratio was low. Little to none per sneeze!

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I began observing my social interactions and found that I was still a stranger, the New Kid. I needed to step my game up. I had to increase interactions by 500% to raise my “bless you” to sneeze ratio. Painfully, I began asking my fellow students to borrow pencils or asking what 3+7 equaled. Despite my self-imposed rule of no non-lunchtime bathroom breaks, I raised my hands and asked to go to the bathroom at least once a week.

My “bless you” to sneeze ratio climbed. I was on the map! I was no longer a stranger, I was Denise, the kid from the Philippines. Not super cool, but alright. I was sustainably blessed for every sneeze.

Now, it was time to give back. I would be the “bless you” queen.

Everyone deserves a “bless you.”

 

A Sandwich Fit For a…

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Spring break is a beautiful time of year, a time when I am somehow able to reconnect with those closest to me by way of necessary breaks from work and school. It is an amazing experience as you can begin to see the buds on the trees and know that blooming season is near. But as they say, April showers bring May flowers, this spring break in particular housed the worst weather as it involved rainy days, a snowstorm, and random bouts of sunny weather. It was an ever-changing forecast but it was still much appreciated to enjoy time spent with the family.

Still, I cannot wait for the vibrantly and colorful flowers to bloom as it is a beautiful sight to capture each year. I’ll admit though that spending time with my family can be a tad bit emotionally taxing as we all have varying personalities that can sometimes clash resulting in a disastrous outing. I was most excited to try some new food ventures and be able to have those momentous memories shared with my loved ones. I love food which isn’t that surprising as I post about something food related every single week in my blog posts but still, I have seen more foodies interested in capturing the most delicious food by way of photographs instead of actually enjoying the eating portion of the experience. However, that is my favorite part. As of late, I have been under a lot of stress and just as you hear of those who emotionally eat or stress eating, I do the exact opposite…I suppose that you call it emotional starving. After a quick google search, I have found that I am the victim of emotional under-eating…hmm, I didn’t know that it had an actual name. Anyway, I have found myself literally eating one meal a day, I know what you’re thinking…that it’s unhealthy and I need to find a better way to handle my stress than skipping meals. But I have been challenging myself to enjoy each meal that I consume to slowly find my way back to my love for food and not just simply for the benefits of eating.

I have no idea as to why I just divulged the innermost occurrences that I struggle with on the day-to-day basis but I wanted to share the details of the most recent restaurant outing that I had which was absolutely and deliciously amazing. Everyone had their own plans and outings besides my mom and I, so we decided to have an excursion of our own. We loaded ourselves into the family van and somehow ended up in Howard Beach. We visited this hidden gem called Sapienza Delicatessen & Restaurant. It is a nice restaurant to just enjoy a quick meal as they have an open concept seating arrangement. We really wanted to try their famous pastrami sandwich as they use the same meats that Katz’s Deli does for a lower price which was unbeknownst to us at that time. The sandwich came with a pickle on the side and the deli also sells an array of beverages, chips, and other snacks to pair with your sandwiches. The sandwich itself was succulent and the meat was extremely moist to the point that it almost melted in your mouth. It was an experience that I had never had before when eating a sandwich but one I will never forget. I hope that you get the chance to try one of these sandwiches at least once in your life, you won’t regret it and I’d definitely recommend the pastrami sandwich.

a sandwich in a food basket

Image by: Brianna Vasquez

The Nurture within Nature

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Springs here and along with it? The beauty and scenery of colors and wildlife! Gen here bringing you the best guidelines to health and wellness, the next few weeks I’ll be focusing on nature and how it affects us positively, and can bring benefits to us all, the resource I’ll be using quite frequently will be from the American Society of Landscape Architects. Nature is known to be a form of de stressing and a way to let loose from the city life, today I want to bring light on how nature can affect depression.

For those who don’t know, depression is a mental illness that consumes the life of its host, many people have this mental illness, it’s hard to get through and people now and days do not understand the severity of it and how bad it is, I want to remind you all to be mindful towards others and to be caring, if you don’t have depression but know someone who does then I urge you to help them, don’t judge them, you haven’t been in their shoes so please don’t go telling others how they feel and that “ it’s a phase, it’ll pass.” From personal experience, I’ve met and known people with depression, and fortunately was able to help,within my previous experience I’ve learned that  it takes is a helping hand and listening ears to help someone, and it takes nature to take a full blow at it. Based on the National Center for Health Statistics, there has been a massive spike or increase in the amount of teens and young adults who have been prescribed antidepressants being 400%. It is said that this illness alone “ affects 14.8 million Americans or 6.7 percent of the U.S. population and is the leading cause disability in the U.S. for ages 15 to 44. ” So then what can we do about this? Again, nature people nature is a great place to start!

Before cities before anything, as humans all we had was the great outdoors so it’s no surprise that this is beneficial to us all and to those suffering with depression. Many of you are probably asking “ how? “ well here’s the really brief summary of it. In a research conducted by the dutch they found that “ living close to parks, or at least near lots of trees, can have far reaching mental health benefits for people. In turn, living in places without parks or trees, especially if you are young or poor, can have major negative impacts.” This study can be found In the Journal of Epidemiology and Community Health and more proof can be found in the provided link on the American Society of Landscape Architects, if you know someone who’s suffering from this illness, remind them that their not alone and there is help everywhere in anywhere, with the information provided we can all make a difference in the lives of others, knowledge is power, use it wisely and share it with the world, if you have any questions on this topic feel free to comment in the comment box below, thanks as always for tuning in!

P.S: Please keep in mind that this does not replace your doctor’s reccomendations or advice, if you feel that you are in need of help, please consult a licensed personnel such as a doctor or a psychologist

Beautiful white spring flowers fully bloomed

 

Friends: The Company You Keep

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Over the spring break I began to break down certain personal situations in my life, so that I could analyze and understand who I am. During this analysis I realized that as a young woman, I am currently in a really good place in my life. Most people think that a person’s success can be attributed solely to their personal drive and work ethic. However, what people often overlook is the fact that a person is also heavily influenced by the company they keep, and the environment they have grown in.

Throughout my 24 years on earth, I have had many friends and people who I looked up to with hopes they would be great role models. As I matured and became aware of my individual preferences for my life I saw that certain people weren’t positive influences on my life.  I also noticed that my involvement with certain friends, boyfriends and acquaintances were actually causing me to stray from my path. So, in college I decided to let go of negative relationships, and I also made a big step and deleted all of my social media accounts. My reason for taking these steps in my life were to disconnect from people, so that I could focus on myself and the aspects of life that mattered to me such as my family, my academic career and people who really love me.

After taking the initiative to remove outside influences from my daily life, I began to notice that so many opportunities began to come my way. As I lost my instagram followers, and lost contact with friends, I gained more academic opportunities. Not only did I begin to get into really amazing academic programs, I also began to build bonds with people who had positive impacts on my life. I found mentors in my school who provided me with paying jobs, wrote letters of recommendations for me, and who supported me through all of my ventures no matter how small. Through these mentors I met other people at universities like The Graduate Center who have also all supported me. Each of the mentors that I encountered provided opportunities for me to enhance my resume, as well as affording me some life changing experiences.

Since becoming affiliated with the people that became my mentors, I realized how much of a positive impact they have had on my life. Each of these people opened up their lives to me, and showed me how positive influences can increase the success rate of people they invest time into. While reminiscing on the past events in my life, I realized how true that saying  “Be Careful of The Company You Keep” really is. Once I decided to let go unhealthy relationships, focus on myself and only associate with people who were positive/ supportive my life began to drastically change.

In life you must be careful of the company you keep, who you love and who you call a friend. From my own personal experience sometimes the people closest to you are capable of bringing you down the most. What I mean by this is that, not everyone is going to want to see you win, some people are what you call haters. If they aren’t where they need to be in their lives , then they will try to hinder your success by any means necessary.

My purpose for writing this blog is to let you readers know that as you grow, you will lose many relationships and that’s okay. Some people are only meant to be in your life for a season, to teach you a lesson and then to leave you. I want you to understand that in life you will meet all kinds of people who will impact your life in various ways. However, you must be able to see people for who they are and make the conscious decisions on whether or not you want them in your life. It only takes one negative person or one negative influence to make you stray from your path. Make sure that you know what kind of company you keep because they are not only a reflection of you, but they can also seriously alter your life and prevent you from achieving your goals.

Now that I have talked about the effect that negative people, and negative influences can have on your life tell me about your experience. Have you encountered negative people in your life? How did your involvement with these people impact your life? What did you learn from your involvement with this people?

Help Me Howard…or Anybody Actually…

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help wanted sign

Photo Retrieved from SalaGraphics

I’ve realized that it’s really hard for me to ask for help.

I sat back and I thought about why asking for help is this huge challenge for me.
I figured out the reasons why are:
-I fear being vulnerable to someone else or being rejected.
-I fear placing my responsibilities onto someone else and they drop the ball.
-I don’t want anyone to feel burdened by me.
-I fear appearing weak or needy.
-I fear not being in control of all aspects of my life.
-I’m pretty prideful and I believe I have to be resilient, self-reliant, and independent, and I fear appearing any less than that.
-I  also fear…..

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Photo Retrieved from NASGA

Fear, Fear, Fear, that’s all it is!

All I’m doing is letting my fear stifle me from looking outside myself and utilizing my support network! This is probably the most backwards logic because although I don’t like to ask for help, I love to help others when asked. In fact, it makes me extremely happy to be asked, and I’m quick to go above and beyond. I will drop all of my own responsibilities, despite the consequences, to help someone else. I’m literally getting a Human Services degree to professionally help people lol.
How is it that am I so quick to offer help, yet I still don’t appreciate the value in asking for support enough to ask for it when I need it myself?

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Photo Retrieved from LadyLebz

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Makes no sense at all but it’s real.

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Photo Retrieved from iEmoji

We all respond to times of trouble and struggle in different ways. Are you stubborn like me and don’t ask for help when you need it?? Do you too struggle in silence too? Why??

When did asking for help become a negative thing? When did asking for help take away your independance?

It could be because we’ve watched our parents, or other role models “get it done” on their own. Or maybe we’ve been conditioned to believe asking for help is a sign of weakness or incompetence. Or maybe we simply just don’t know how to ask for help. In a society that largely promotes self help, the idea that some of us need to learn ways to seek and ask for assistance from others isn’t really promoted. Maybe you’ve been vulnerable and asked for help before and the experience left you feeling humiliated, or some other response that caused you to feel like you would never put yourself in that position again. There are countless solid reasons why asking for help may be a challenge for you. If you sit and reflect on it I’m sure you will come up with a list like mine that points to a common theme like fear, lack of confidence, lack of trust, or whatever your vice is that’s getting in your way.

I believe that the hesitation to ask for help is because we have the wrong perspective about it. Me for example, I love to help because of how it makes me feel. It gives me positive feelings; I feel needed, satisfied, valued, significant, and appreciated. I feel like I am doing good and making a mark in someone’s life. Do I see the person that’s asking me for help as weak? No, of course not. I see them simply as a person asking for support in a situation. Yet I will think all the negatives of myself if I need to ask for help? Double standard much??

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Photo Retrieved from AminoApps

If you are like me, then WE are looking at this all wrong. We get in our own way when we make asking for help mean something about us that isn’t true. We get caught up in thinking it means we’re weak, inadequate, helpless, inferior, or some other negative label. The reality is that asking for help does not indicate anything about you; it plain and simply means you need help in a specific situation, or at a specific time. That is all.

Asking for help is actually a sign of strength and courage because THAT is what you display when you seek out help when you need it, not weakness. Don’t ignore the fact that help is a two way street with benefits for you and the other person. Instead of incorrectly thinking that asking for help means you’re a burden, know that you are actually giving others an opportunity to feel good about themselves like you do when you help others. It’s a win-win baby!

The helper gains confidence knowing they are a good person and they enjoy the good feelings that come from that. Studies call it the “helper’s high”– the portion of the brain responsible for feelings of reward, is triggered when someone helps someone else. The brain also releases “feel-good” endorphins and chemicals and makes you want to do more. So look at you, asking for help, and making the world a happier place!

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GIF Retrieved from Tenor

Whoever helped you ends up feeling great, you get the help you need, and you get the affirming reassurance that there are people out there that you can call on when you need them, and they will be there for you and have your back.

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Photo Retrieved from Amazon

It’s OK not to know everything. It’s OK not to be able to do everything on your own. It’s OK to need someone else. There is no shame in letting someone extend a helping hand to you. We all have something to share whether it be knowledge, time, talents, connections, insight, experience, skills, resources, or simple love and care; and the reality is most people love to share them. We can do so much more together, in partnership, than we can do alone. Think of the quote “Two hands are better than one.” It’s true. Too often we choose to ‘tough it out’ rather than reaching out to ask for help when we need it most.

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Photo Retrieved from FizzyPeaches

I don’t expect you to read this post and just jump and start asking for help every time you need it, but I’m saying challenge yourself to do it more. I challenged myself recently, and I’m so happy that I did. I had been feeling really emotionally drained and almost like a machine constantly running from my internship, to school, to work, meetings, and all the other things I have on my plate. Then after all that, I get to unwind with a nice plate of homework, how exciting, lol.

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GIF Retrieved from GIPHY

So anyway, I was feeling drained and it’s not that I needed anyone’s help to physically do something, but I did need help changing my mood and I needed to feel supported. I sent a text to a few of my friends that simply said “ Hola! Just asking you to keep me in your prayers and send love and light my way. I’ve been struggling a little lately and just want to ask you to make sure you keep me in your thoughts!” I felt extremely vulnerable and it was uncomfortable. Not the strong, invincible Neffi! Yes, the strong, invincible Neffi, and you know what? The love I felt from them in their responses let me know why I should never feel fear of reaching out to people who love and are there for me when I need to. Why the heck am I letting this fear disable me? Not any more.

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GIF Retrieved from GIPHY

I want to share these two articles with you, 5 Mistaken Beliefs About Asking for Help, and 2 Words That Make Asking for Help a Lot Easier and I encourage you to read them. See that you are not alone in this struggle and you can change your perspective for your own benefit. Asking for help can be scary and hard but by having the courage to ask for help, you’re not dragging yourself or anyone else down, you’re pulling you, and them up. No more struggling in silence, no more feeling you are not worthy of someone else’s favor, because you are. Replace those negative thoughts with thoughts of empowerment. Everyone that you know needs help at some point so don’t criticize yourself. Ask for it once and you’ll be better at asking the second time, trust me. 🙂

“Ask for help not because you are weak, but because you want to remain strong”
– Les Brown

Love you,

Neffi

 

Unity in Diversity

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By Robine Jean-Pierre

During spring break, I went on a three day “unity retreat” in Pennsylvania through an organization called Seekers Christian Fellowships. I am currently the president of the Seekers club here at City Tech, so I definitely made it a priority to be there and represent. It was an amazing experience and I wish I could have spent the whole week there!

One of the purposes of this event was to assemble high school and college students from various Seekers-affiliated schools so they could make new friends and explore their faith together. We would be unified through relationships that transcended differences in age, gender, background, and career path.

The strong cultural diversity apparent on the retreat was quite remarkable. We had students and staff with ethnic backgrounds representing India, Sri Lanka, Korea, Jamaica, Haiti, Colombia, Puerto Rico, the Dominican Republic, Guatemala, Uganda, and more.

At any given moment, one of us was cracking a racially/culturally fueled joke that was borderline inappropriate (if not for the fact that people mostly joked about their own respective cultures, not really anyone else’s). From memory, here are a few examples of the intriguing, humorous statements I heard:
“It would be disappointing if we met Hispanic people who weren’t loud.”
“Indians are even louder! Have you ever been to an Indian party?”
“Look. I’m Hispanic and I’m crazy, so…”
“I’m Korean. Waking up early is easy for me.”
“He’s not even real Indian–he’s Sri Lankan.”

A Seekers friend of ours had even remarked once that our Korean and Ugandan staff members reminded him of Jackie Chan and Chris Tucker, respectively; when I told one of them this joke during the retreat, he was deeply amused.

Sometimes the boundaries were almost crossed when people of different ethnic backgrounds tried to mimic each other’s accents, but if the person did a good job, it was praised; if not, you could feel the awkwardness which quickly dissipated in laughter.

More serious, personal comments also provoked cultural awareness in some way. For example, our Korean staff member told us about how his dad was so strict that if he came home with a 98 on an assignment, he would be very disappointed and ask, “Where are the other two points?” He also mentioned the fact that he was the first Asian person his acquaintance from the Midwest had ever met in the flesh (as opposed to on TV). Our Colombian director explained that a lot of people thought she was white when she wasn’t, yet she had siblings whose complexions were every color of the rainbow. One college student opened up about how Indian parents tended to be loving but also fiercely overprotective.

Although not every ethnicity was represented on the retreat, I was grateful to be exposed to so many different cultures and learn more through both lighthearted and serious conversation. Being able to understand and relate to other cultures can be so helpful in promoting peace and unity, starting with the interactions of just two people. As Seekers members, this is especially crucial to our common Christian belief that God loves everyone (not just specific people groups) and wants us to do the same.

Life After Undergrad: Get your credit girl!

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In the real world things are slightly different from the college student world. For instance your credit score matters– a lot! I, like many other early 20 somethings, made a mess of my credit when I started getting offers left and right. The emails seemed so enticing, no interest or instant approval! I got carried away and before I knew it I had quite a bit of debt with a little bit of money and an interest free deadline rapidly approaching. So I ended up in a pickle and ended up paying off these cards and silly purchases for years to come. It’s taken three years to get my credit back off the floor but I’m getting it their slowly. So I figured I’d share three quick tips with my readers to save their credit– and their sanity.

  1. Be realistic with yourself and with your funds. If you can’t afford whatever you’re tempted to swipe, in full, within the next 30 days– wait. If you’re mulling over a big purchase that’s more of a want than a need, reassess and maybe save up at least save and swipe the rest.
  2. Baby steps are key. Open a line of credit and use it for recurring charges you’d pay every month anyway and arrange for auto pay so you don’t forget your bill. Things like your monthly metro, amazon prime membership or even the gym, are great smaller charges to use your credit for.
  3. Stay on top of your accounts. Don’t open too many accounts for many reasons; one being it’s easy to forget about one and get hit with a late fee and another is it’s harder to monitor them for fraudulent charges.

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Life After Undergrad: The hunt is on

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Happy April everyone! With the turn of a new month my job hunt goes into overdrive. As tax season begins to wind down I’m starting to think more seriously about finding a full-time job in my actual industry– tech writing. As much as I’ve loved, and grown, at my current job I am ready to spread my wings. I want to find a job that truly challenges me and uses all of my abilities because I want a job I wake up everyday excited to get to.

When I started to look around at jobs and companies I realized quickly that without a plan and a set of “must haves” for my jobs that I would be overwhelmed very quickly. So I started to draft a list of the things I needed from an employer; health insurance, paid vacation, sick days and so on. More importantly though I started looking at the company culture, meaning what the company stood for and where their morals laid. In 2018 most companies are trying to be progressive and open-minded and be culturally inclusive and smart with their ads and policies–but how did they treat their main stream employees? I wanted to find a company that wasn’t starch and pressed, that was less corporate and more incorporated– one that focused on the talent and the brand and not some silly outdated industry ideology.  

I made a Glassdoor account to start sifting through companies and how they ranked among their employees as well as their salaries and compensation packages for employees. I was able to save or bookmark the ones I was interested in and start reading their job listings so I could tailor my resume to align better with what they were looking for. A former professor told me “you’ll never have one resume” — which confused me. How could I have more than one? With only one job history what could possibly go on multiple resumes? Well, the same things essentially but in different words, tones and activities. I developed different resumes, designs and tones for different companies or job roles to be able to start click applying and as I start applying I’ll keep you all updated on my journey!!

#WomenEmpowerment

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I grew up in matriarchal home, so female independence was a strong influence in my childhood. Terms like “… a man should take care of the house maintenance.” or “… heavy lifting is a masculine task.” were never apparent in my adolescence. We did things for ourselves, so the need for a man’s aid didn’t seem as much of a necessity to me from a very young age. After I realized the social gender differences, I began to have fun with pushing beyond the means of my feminine role in society. I was a tomboy as a kid; cornrows in my hair and a hoodie slung over my broad shoulders was my daily wardrobe, it was simple and sporty. I had also made a promise to myself never to use my femininity as an excuse not to do something out of my predetermined societal role. But the odd stares from older women and men always intrigued me and it only got more enjoyable as I got older.

Nowadays it’s the small things that make me feel empowered to be a woman. Regardless of the grandeur in my life, the little things tend to add up; giving me a certain kind of confidence I didn’t realize was missing.

Concurrently, the thing that makes me the most empowered is going to the wholesale club (laugh all you want, but wholesale shopping can a very emotionally cleansing experience lol). There’s nothing like walking through those red framed sliding doors, with a platform truck trailing behind my extended arm. I walk into the space differently than any other day, as if my intentions are seeping through my pores. I’m walking, briskly, through the forest of aisles; because I only have one thing in mind and I won’t stop until I get it. As I approach the water pantry, I’m already mentally rolling up my sleeves; thinking of game plans, how many cases I need, and how I plan to maneuver the platform truck out of the tight space without colliding with other shopping carts. Once I roll the truck near the seemingly endless stacks of six-gallon water cases, I begin heaving each 50 pound box one by one. Chuckling at every man that offers his manly services and every other guy trying to take two boxes at time, vying to match my intensity and significantly failing at the attempt. Eight boxes later, I roll the 400 pound load towards the registers; feeling confident with every stride and every glance.

So what inspires you? What makes you feel empowered to be the phenomenal woman that you are in your everyday life? Or guys, what makes you feel motivated by that special woman in your life? Feel free to share in the comments below!

Happy National Women’s History Month, everyone! Enjoy the upcoming holidays!