In the words of Justin Timberlake, it was going to be me-ayy.

(Badumtssss, thank you thank you, my wit knows no bounds. NSYNC's iconic for a reason.)

Alright, seriously though – that wasn't the kind of May I'd envisioned.

You know, when planning goals back in January, I hadn't thought of goals per month specifically. If you'd asked me about May, I'd have told you, "Ohh, busy with clients and a thriving Instagram blog!"

The narrator begs to differ: It didn't happen, dear reader.

Maybe it's a "now or never" mentality, maybe it's the idealistic thinking about goals – but you don't go from 1 to 100 in one month, no matter what kind of dreamy routine you set at the beginning of the year. You ease in and have fun.

After April's butterfly effect, let's see how it rippled into my May 2024.

1. My first month of exercising daily – be it stretches, or muscle conditioning, or strength! I admit, I still negotiate with myself every morning about exercising. And that makes me think, when will my identity and thinking start shifting that I'm someone who takes care of her body and exercises daily? Because deep down the hesitation to label myself as one still lingers. I wonder, what if instead of waiting for it to click for me or for someone to validate me, I take this step myself, pro-actively? There's something in that.

2. For half of month, I faced decision paralysis – until my husband Jannis suggested going back to the Paper Age set-up. You see, I've always been obsessed with digital set-ups – Notion, Tana, you name it. Yet, when I feel overwhelmed and uncertain about the next steps, I don't need "more" in my face, I need "less." A clean slate. A blank space to unload my thoughts and make a decision for myself. That's where small green post-its come in: Limited space to plan in the evening, stick next to my bed, and see when I wake up. It now feels like a small gift from Past Mariia to Present Mariia!

3. Speaking of Jannis, we celebrated our 3-year wedding anniversary ❤️ It's become our little tradition to go to a local by-the-lake restaurant and have the most delicious food. I want to say that we had meaningful conversations and reflections but truly, we gossiped about the cheating drama that unfolded in front of us – and had the best laughs together. (Okay, we clinked to our most memorable moments, too!)

4. There was another incredibly important holiday aka Eurovision – and in this household, we celebrate it religiously. This year was my first time dressing up and watching the finale and drag performances with friends at the gay bar. I looked like a vampy vision in green feathers – thanks to Jannis! (Yes, that's me on the cover 💅)

5. I read 13 books (and hit my Goodreads 2024 goal of 52 books, lol) – and my key sentiment is... it's okay to disagree with the author's choices. I'd usually give you a recommendation but in May, I stumbled into too many stories that could've been better. And that's completely okay! Develop and own your voice 👏 (Okay, maybe "Feel-Good Productivity" by Ali Abdaal was good – not something eye-opening but rather the approach he has that aligns with mine a lot, along with interesting experiments.)

6. I'm this 🤏 close to releasing my "Unpacking Your Character" offer! Having worked with Jannis on Magic Pages and bringing out his superpowers into how he does business & communicates, I'm sooo giddy to work with more entrepreneurs & creatives on how they can stand out through their voice & views and channel it more into their content, offers, you name it. (If this sounds interesting, drop me a line and I'll share it with you first!)

7. Oh, also – I won in Monopoly. Is it a winner behaviour to take happy photos when your friends are upset after losing? ABSOLUTELY, BECAUSE YOU SMASHED IT. *my game subpersona laughs in rich*