I’m almost halfway through my 30s, child free so far, and recently recognizing the need to build, foster, provide, and maintain a support network outside of blood relatives.

My life is starting to smooth out now, after a lifetime of bumps and potholes. Lost both of my parents in the last 5 years - it has profoundly impacted my life, both the weight of the loss, and the weightlessness of the newfound freedom from toxic negativity.

My dogs, and my partner. Taking a deep breath, coming back to the present moment with various grounding exercises. If time permits, taking 5-15 minutes to journal, starting with 1, 3, or 5 things I'm grateful for right now.

Nurturing my relationships, keeping my loved ones close, establishing professional stability to alleviate my anxiety about the future, learning about personal finances.

Learning to cook different things, practicing mindfulness and gratitude, doing balance exercises and paying attention to my body and what it needs

I’m a 26 year old originally from SoCal living in the Bay. I am enrolled in online grad school full time with a full time job as well, hoping to transition into another field a bit. I have very little free time but want to maximize time for my hobbies and meeting new genuine people as my most of my close friends live far or are moving away!

Life is unpredictable. There are good, bad, sad, stressful, etc. Currently somewhat lonely, looking for more adventure and friends to enjoy it with. Transition periods are always overwhelming, but I make the most of my days :)

I recently have been into Pilates & Yoga which helps keep me grounded. I am a home body, but I do crave a change of routine often. I enjoy playing on my switch, going to concerts, movies, dancing, painting (though I’m not so good), and reading. I like trying new things and I am open to different activities.

First, finishing grad school and reaching my career goals. I also want to be more physically, mentally, and emotionally healthy.

How hard it is to make friends as an adult! lol

Mid-30s, pretty settled in my career, and have a fantastic community of friends and family in and outside of the Bay. I'm single, searching for a long-term partner, and am looking to expand my circle/community (in all ways!).

Zooming out, it's pretty good! Sometimes I feel like a kid still, just with more money and responsibilities. I never thought I'd laugh this much as an adult!

I'm quite happy with my day to day life, but when I'm 80 and reflecting on my life, I want to feel fulfilled and content and like I squeezed a lot of love, meaning, gratitude, purpose, and memories into it. So I'm always looking for ways to add more of those things!

Being outside, hiking, cycling, beach volleyball; croissants, berries, pizza, sushi, dark roast coffee; tall mountains + glacial lakes; traveling; finding great bakeries in small little towns; a heavy dose of laughing with friends and family balanced with a few minutes of introvert time per day

Spending meaningful time with family and friends while developing new connections and relationships, including finding a long-term partner.

Seeing the outdoors and exploring new places.

Understanding myself and understanding others. Continuous self-reflection and growth.

I still can't wrap my head around how large the number 52! is (the number of unique ways you can shuffle a deck of cards)

I'm at my quarter-life-, what-do-i-want-for-a-midlife crisis stage. I'm in my mid-twenties, moved to San Francisco a little bit more than a year ago (have loved every minute of it). I'm also early in my career doing something I am passionate about but work, for me, has been a way to do the things that make me earn life experiences; I predominantly get this by doing a lot of things outdoors so I am very active but I also love to consume art as well be that through reading, watching, or listening.

Peaceful, content, and exciting. It surprises me daily that my life is this way because there was a point 2-3 years ago where I wouldn't have imagined life would ever be good to me. I'm extremely grateful for where I am today. I have a couple close friends with whom I do a lot of activities but I mostly do things by myself (I enjoy them very much) — things like picking a neighborhood and zigzagging through it to explore. I haven't made many new friends since moving to the city because I just end up doing things by myself but I want to break that and try to go out of my comfort zone, hoping this happens through AroundTheCorner because meeting new people, and making new friendships is a life experience I struggle to earn.

3 o'clock tea time. It is a sacred time, a non-negotiable that I look forward to daily. Making tea, while singing along to my tea time playlist with the sun shining through my windows and the breeze playing with my curtains is a sight I will never get tired of. Along with this, I also have reading time, gaming time, and exploration time. Each meaningful and special to me its own way.

Not losing the wonder with which I saw the world as a kid. Do you remember how the grass, wind, sun, clouds and everything else, small and big, (even the gray of the walls) awed you as a kid? I think we get caught up in life and stop appreciating all that after a point. I live slow, to relearn the wonder and curiosity I inadvertently put aside. I love to travel (currently planning my first solo trip to Costa Rica!), taking photos, and looking with awe at everything this fabulous pale blue dot has to offer.

A travelogue called "Cyclettes". It's about all the cycles the author has owned and the impact each one of them had on them. My cycle, and cycling in general, is something I hold dear because it was how I was first able to express my freedom. I always heard "freedom", and "free" as a kid but never really expressed it or experienced it's meaning until I started cycling. This travelogue/memoir caught my eye immediately because I could relate to it in a lot of ways.

Late 20s!

I recently got affected by back-to-back tech job layoffs in the past 2 years, along with loss of a friend to cancer. The pandemic took a large toll out of who I was so I have been spending the last however long trying to go back to "normal" (whatever normal is in this time). One thing though - I am trying to say 'yes' to more things.

Mentally, the best it has been in a while. I am taking some time off from drinking, "recreational fun" and eating junk which has made things a lot better. Regular exercise has been important but also taking some breaks is also important.

I spent winter of this year heavily socializing but looking forward to traveling more as well as getting a stable job so I can accomplish more of my long and short term goals.

Both a mixture of alone time & time with friends and family. I burn out from one or the other but having a balance is very important.

I blow off steam by myself by going to the gym a few times a week, being a really big foodie (say no to chain restaurants!), playing games & watching my curated interests on Youtube. When I'm around friends we are usually eating (HAHA), going to concerts, and enjoying what the bay has to offer.

Stability, Peace & Routine

Life is a lot better when you are not constantly stressing and managing your stress well. Worrying about the future & past does nothing to help you in the present.

My wife and I are in our early 30s and trying to settle into the bay after moving here in 2022. I've been in my career doing commodities consulting for over a decade and am trying to grow more outside of my career. Kids are in the plans for the next few years, but currently child-free.

In many ways it's great, but since moving to the bay establishing a social circle has been challenging. Working from home only compounds that.

Traveling and getting away from work. My wife and I try to make many small trips throughout the year with some bigger ones. Enjoy as much of our youth until kids make travel harder. I became adept at getting cheap/free travel when I traveled regularly for work, so playing that game and planning the next vacation is my favorite daydream.

Right now getting my wife and I to feel more at home in the Bay Area is my biggest priority. We've been here for more than 18 months but haven't found many close friendships.

It's an hour faster to fly SFO-London than it is SFO-Tokyo. The scale of the Pacific is just insane and makes the success of the Polynesian explorers seem impossible.

I'm someone in my early 40s, currently dating. The hardest part is 1) making new connections (I'm a transplant) and 2) maintaining the ones I have because most of my friends are busy with their spouses and kids. Recently one of my best friends had shoulder surgery and is currently housebound for the next 6 weeks and I'm secretly thrilled! I call her at anytime without worrying that I'm interfering with her life and she likes it when I call because she's super bored haha.

It's a lot better ever since I switched jobs and aren't pulling 14-hour days. I got really burned out at one point. So I'm learning to take breaks and not make my whole life about work (even though I enjoy my career!). Tomorrow I'm doing a movie night with coworkers and in a couple of weeks I'm visiting Japan for the first time. It feels weirdly scary to take PTO but I'm telling myself it's OK. I think being the daughter of refugees has made me think that life is just about work and survival but I'm sure my parents would want me to be happy too.

Getting lost in a good book

Wellness. Got a personal trainer! I'm getting my azz kicked! :D

Okay so I used to think sports were really boring. Guys going back and forth across the field? Racecars going around and around in circles? I have never been so happy to be so wrong. One of my exes taught me about American football and WOW it is endlessly interesting. There are so many cool scenarios that can happen right down to the last 2 seconds. And then there's Formula 1 -- so many interesting situations there too! The choice of tire compound the weather conditions the tracks themselves it's all so so interesting and so great.