The year before the pandemic hit, I had run over a dozen races in the form of 5Ks, 10Ks, half-marathons, marathons, and several distances in between. Running these races has been the highlight of my life.

The lengthy process of dedicating countless hours and miles to train for a race gives me more joy than most things in the world. And then that feeling leading up to a race, stepping to the starting line, and finally crossing the finish line is more rewarding than anything else. It’s a feeling like no other. …

So, I got my first dose of the Moderna Covid-19 vaccine today.

It was completely spontaneous, completely unplanned. My husband had been refreshing the nyc.gov website for the past few days, trying to find an appointment for me and lo and behold, he actually did.

I was sitting at my desk at my apartment, typing out a work e-mail when all of a sudden, he informed me that he just booked me an appointment and that it was in two hours. Naturally, I panicked at first, but the process was quite seamless.

Once my appointment had been confirmed via e-mail…

The brief period of time leading up to work can always be a little bit hectic— you’re getting yourself physically, mentally, and emotionally prepared for the work day so that you can come home in one piece, relax, and recharge for the following day.

That period of time before work is precious because you’re setting the tone for your entire day. If you go into a situation already feeling stressed, then it can often times throw off your game and snowball into a rough day at work.

Yes, it can be stressful to think about all of the things that…

Since graduating college nearly a decade ago, I’ve done my fair share of jumping around between jobs. I’ve had 9 different job titles at 7 different companies, and in that time, I’ve learned a great deal about what’s truly important when it comes to contentment and, dare I say, even happiness within the workplace.

I’ve learned that contentment and happiness are not reliant on one single aspect of your job. Instead, they are the sum of many different factors that need to be carefully evaluated when looking for the job that’s right for you.

For many of us, especially those…

I’ve been writing online for nearly a decade and based on my personal experience, I’ve learned that the articles that ended up being the most successful, most read, and most well-received were the ones that anyone and everyone could relate to— articles that many readers were able to respond to by saying, “Wow, this was totally relatable” or “This is exactly how I feel”.

Those articles were so successful and so well-received because readers found something in there that they could relate to or understand on some level. …

Prior to the pandemic, I rarely indulged in reality television. However, I’ve picked up on some pretty bad reality television shows in the past year and among those is The Bachelor and The Bachelorette. I never previously watched nor cared to watch a single episode of either show — seeing the previews alone made me cringe.

I just couldn’t imagine being on a show where I was simultaneously dating and competing against dozens of people, all whom live under the same roof as me, for the “love” of one person. It just seems downright nightmarish and stressful.

Of course, now…

Last week, I was waist-deep shoveling snow in the suburbs of New Jersey. The tristate area was just hit with one of the biggest snowstorms in literally decades, but I couldn’t even be excited about it.

Instead, the timing couldn’t have come at a more inconvenient time.

My Dad was just sent to the emergency room days earlier and because of COVID-19, my family couldn’t physically visit him in-person. All we had to do was constantly call the hospital, sit at home, and wait.

My sister, my Mom, and I attempted to fill the time by keeping ourselves busy, but…

It’s been nearly a full year since the pandemic happened and sadly, things aren’t looking too different from where they were when it first began. For many of us, we had a lot to look forward to in 2020 — plans, trips, parties, and events were all lined up, but little did we know, we would be robbed of all of those moments.

Like millions of others out there, I myself was one of those people who was robbed of a big moment — my wedding. …