June

“BE STEADY AND WELL-ORDERED IN YOUR LIFE SO THAT YOU CAN BE FIERCE AND ORIGINAL IN YOUR WORK.”

– Gustave Flaubert

Yes, I forgot to write the newsletter for June.  Why?  It has been such a busy May that I decided to zone out during the Memorial weekend - just me and my boys and all the outdoor activities, hiKing at Elk Meadow Open Space in Evergreen, biKing on Highline Canal Trail, walKing and kayaKing at Aurora Reservoir, to force myself to stop thinking and just be present.  I was essentially trying to cover all the K’s so my brain could get a break.  And then Tuesday, June 1, I believe I spent the whole day responding to emails.  It didn’t hit me until now, later in the day (which is 10 am) on June 2nd that I had completely forgotten to write the newsletter. To be honest, I didn’t want this. I just want to step away from Platform for a year. Since I have been developing and organizing endlessly this last year, the year of the pandemic, I am absolutely exhausted.

So I am hoping to regroup this summer and focus on thinking, formulating, and writing the guide for the leadership program and workshops.  Rather than personally mentor people which can be exhausting for me, I want to reach more people with my writing so that my words, not my energy/presence, can impact people.  Will it be a fruitful summer?  Well, this would really depend on my workload, the difficulty of developing a couple of projects, and whether I will need to work on campus and connect with people.

If I am able to have a productive summer, I know that I will be more effective this upcoming year which for me starts in Fall.  So I will not be so present in social media and virtual space.  Nevertheless, I will try to share news of changes at Platform and couple of activities for the leadership team, a get-together for Platform and YouthPlatform.

Summer has already started and I feel behind already … and yet the key is not to overwork but to focus on finding the balance that would make me more productive in the mornings to do the work. That means I will be outside more often than not - doing all the K’s that help me become more balanced. And among the K’s that I know I have to do is snorkeling …

Wishing all of you a relaxing summer!

Samantha Joo

Founder and CEO

June 2, 2021