I spend an inordinate amount of time watching “living alone”, “life on the homestead” and “large family” vlogs. Also, I love reading Refinery 29s and Reddit’s Money Diaries. I don’t want to idolize others’ lifestyles, so I thought I’d give it a go myself, and share with you what a given day-in-my life looks like. I live with my parents, and am trying to prioritize personal growth, time with them and cultivating good relationships. Writing this makes me more thankful for the time I spend with my parents and the great friends that I have.
Friday
6:00am – My alarm goes off, and, nope. I disabled the “snooze” option on my phone to eliminate the option, however, defeating the purpose, what I now do is set 10 minute timers until I’m actually ready to get up. It’s freezing in our house and SO difficult to physically get out from under the covers. Due to some problems with the radiator leaking when the thermostat is set higher than 60 degrees, this is the maximum temperature we’ve been keeping the thermostat. (It’s an expensive time of year, so we need to save up in order to get this fixed. For now, we trudge on in the cold with extra blankets lol).
6:30am – After re-setting the 10 minute timer three times, I’m up and drink my mandatory cup of water. I head to the bathroom, take out my retainers, and brush my teeth. I change out of my pajamas and throw on a pink sports bra, blue hoodie with my high school’s logo, and gray sweatpants. I gather my Bible, journal and a book about the Psalms and go to my favorite spot in the house—the basement.
6:45am – I spend some time in prayer and Bible Study. I meditate on Psalm 62 and 63, then read through a bit of 1 Timothy. Lately, I’ve been experiencing some feelings of anxiety, so I ask the Lord to help me to “wage the good warfare, holding faith and a good conscience”. Particularly, I pray about using the full armor of God such as the “shield of Faith” and the “helmet of Salvation” and recognizing spiritual battles that I face.
7:15am – Usually, I exercise in the evening, but because I’m working from home today and have plans for tonight after work, I decide to do my workout now. I don’t have a lot of time, so follow a 20 minute HIIT workout from Fitness Blender that takes me OUT. It’s a series of Mountain Climbers and Jumping Jacks with squats.
7:45am – After stretching and straightening up, I re-slick my (very dirty) hair back into a high bun with a deep front swoop and put on a headscarf to lay it down while I do my morning skincare. It is literally just wiping my face with a washcloth and warm water, swiping on unscented witch hazel, and then slathering on some Black Girl Sunscreen. After taking off my headscarf and admiring my swoop, I say good morning to my mom, letting her know that I’m heading out to the bakery. I put on some gold hoops, my gray New Balance sneakers, and a short black puffer coat from Quince, and begin my seven minute walk to the bakery.
7:55am – It snowed last night?! After walking slowly, I make it to the bakery where a man pacing back-and-forth outside tries to get my attention. (I politely smiled, but ignored him). This bakery was my first job back when I was 16, so whenever I stop by, I always chat with my old manager and the owner. (They also, graciously, often give me free treats). On the way out, the same man is standing there and asks me to buy him a cup of coffee but in a bit of a rush, I respond, “Sorry, not right now”.
8:10am – I make it home, where I make turkey bacon, egg and cheese sandwiches on the bagels that I picked up from the bakery. My dad gets home from wherever he went early this morning (he’s off from work today), and hand him his plate that he says is “better than any deli sandwich”—thanks, dad. While eating, I drink some black coffee and watch the latest vlog of one of my favorite Youtubers, Only One Jess. I follow-up the sandwich with a sliced apple with lemon juice and an orange. Eventually, my mom comes downstairs as well and eats.
9:15am – I log into my work laptop and chug away at data entry and data validation. (For reference, I work as a Clinical Research Coordinator at a large hospital system. Our main study recently stopped the data-collection phase and is now in the data validation phase. I used to go in-person five days a week, but with this new phase, I’ve been able to work remotely three days a week since November). While working, I start to feel a bit guilty for not being generous to the man who asked for coffee earlier.
10:45am – My laptop decides to re-start, and so I use this time to pack up some leftover bacon and eggs in foil and walk back over to the bakery to give it to the man who was in need. Before leaving, my mom asks me to drop some Christmas cards in the USPS mailbox on the way there. While walking, I give my friend a call and we laugh about some childhood memories. Once I make it to the bakery, I get a bit nervous to approach the man, but my friend encourages me over the phone. I put her on mute, walk up to the man and remind him that I saw him earlier and wanted to bring him some breakfast. To my surprise, he declines saying that he’s not hungry. A bit awkwardly, I turn towards another man who is in need and offer the food to him, which he accepts. I feel a bit more at ease knowing that someone got some food and that the original man at least knew that someone was thinking about him.
11:00am – Make it back home and finish up chatting with my friend. Do some more work on my laptop while listening to the Worship 24/7 radio station.
12:00pm – Shower time! I take a nice hot shower, during which I give my hair some well-needed TLC. I shampoo with Aussie Moist, then deep condition with Shea Moisture Jamaican Black Castor Oil Treatment. No time for a real deep condition, so I wash the rest of my body, then rinse out the conditioner after about 10 minutes. After getting out of the shower, I lotion my body with my store-brand unscented cream and put on Dove’s Green Tea and Cucumber Aluminum-free deodorant. I put on some blue sweatpants and a black cropped zip-up hoodie with fuzzy socks. Then, I do a quick and easy wash-and-go on my hair using Shea Moisture’s Curl Enhancing Smoothie and Aunt Jackie’s Flaxeed Gel and seal with castor oil.
12:30pm – I get back to work, listening to some social commentary channels on Youtube at the same time.
1:30pm – I have a (slightly annoying) one-one-one meeting with my manager (basically, there was an issue on the team that I had nothing to do with, but was expected to clean up; however, there was no acknowledgement that the issue wasn’t my fault). I’m not upset though, my manager is generally a great person, and we end up talking about holiday baking. She said she will bring me some butter cookies the next time we both are in-office. All is well!
2:00pm – I’m starving. Over Thanksgiving, I made a ton of lasagna for a Friendsgiving and so had some left in the freezer. After heating it up in the microwave for 12 minutes (!), it’s finally hot. I eat two hearty servings with some leftover steamed cabbage while talking with my mom. I end the meal with a nice cold glass of almond milk. Typically, I eat just two meals a day (breakfast and lunch), so this will keep me satisfied through the night.
3:00pm – Back to work, more Youtube, more worship music…
4:20pm – I’m feeling a little anxious, so I think some quiet time is what I need. I put my hair up in a pineapple and go lay down for a 25-minute catnap and wake up feeling better. Back to the laptop.
5:40pm – Sign out of my laptop; it’s the weekend baby! I go downstairs and chat with my dad a bit, then get ready for the night. I brush my teeth, then do my everyday makeup look—N.Y.X. eyebrow pencil, E.L.F under-eye concealer in the shade Deep Chestnut, a winged eyeliner, Tarte mascara, a bit of highlighter and contour for my cheekbones, E.L.F. blush in the shade Coral Chrush, and NYX lip liner in the shade Espresso with some clear lipgloss. Then, I use a blow-dryer to make sure hair is fully dry and to stretch out my wash-and-go. I put on some gold hoop earrings and my outfit is a fitted gray t-shirt tucked into high-waisted fitted black flared pants with some old tattered platform Steve Madden black loafers. My outfit would look so much cuter if I didn’t need to wear glasses (lol, darn you Astigmatism!), but I still look good with my thin-framed teal glasses.
6:40pm – I was going to take an Uber but my dad offers to give me a ride. (I don’t drive yet, so I use public transit and rideshares). Happily accepted, we head out. Tonight is the first night of my church’s annual Christmas show weekend! This year, I’ll be attending all three days of the show, as tonight is with friends from church, tomorrow is with my mom, and Sunday I’ll be a host, helping people to find their seats. At my church, I am part of the young adults group. Every Friday night, anywhere from fifteen to thirty of us 18-to-30ish year-olds hang out either at church or someone’s home or doing some sort of activity. We do life together, praying for each other and learning more about Jesus Christ in community truly fills me with joy.
7:00pm – I meet up with my friends. There are six of us watching the show tonight, but we run into other folks who are volunteering at this show. We sing, clap, and praise God during all of the amazing musical numbers.
8:30pm – Show’s over, so the six of us meet up with the rest of the young adults who were either volunteering or starring in the show (there’s now about twelve of us). Giving a great applause to those who sang, we all head outside the church where there is an elaborate holiday light show and some local food trucks. I’m trying to save money (plus am not hungry anyway), so resist the urge to buy Crab poutine fries. After those of us who got something to eat get their plates, we all head up to the church lobby and sit at one of the long tables.
10:00pm – After some great conversations (including debates about the worst fast-food pizza chain; which is hands-down, Dominoes. I don’t make the rules), I am knackered. A friend who passes my house on her way home, and nearly always drops me off after service on Sundays, offers me a ride home. During the drive, we have a conversation about the things we are praying for, particularly for boldness, humility, and a lifestyle of forgiveness. As always, we sit and chat for twenty more minutes in the car even after she pulls up to my house. I give her a hug goodbye and head inside. I am so grateful for my church and the family that I’ve made through Christ.
10:30pm – Do my nighttime skincare which is Cerave cleanser, witch hazel and a store-bought unscented cream with a few added drops of castor oil. I put my hair up into two pigtails and cover it with a bonnet, then change into a black sweatshirt and some blue Under Armour shorts. I lay in bed, reflecting on the day in prayer. Then, I read a few pages of Girl’s Still Got It: Take a Walk with Ruth and the God Who Rocked Her World, and continue the book of 1 Samuel in the Bible.
11:15pm – Set my alarm for 6:00am (wishful thinking!), and shut the lights.