Category: lifestyle

Posted on in lifestyle

Five Years of Renrenspeaks – End of 2025 Recap 

Hello, Renrenspeakers! Happy end of the year! Can you believe that we have made it to the end of 2025? I simply cannot. Today marks the FIFTH anniversary of Renrenspeaks. I started this blog during the height of the pandemic, and to say that it is half a decade old already is just mind blowing. As yall may have noticed, I unintentionally took a year hiatus from my blog. I apologize for this! It has been a crazy, whirlwind of a year, but it is so good to get back in touch with you all.

This year has been one filled with so many emotions and life altering events. I’ve experienced significant changes, invoking sadness, joy, laughs, hurt, worry, and peace. Truthfully, the first few months of the year were tough mentally and emotionally. In January, I had to abruptly move to a new home in which I was not mentally nor financially prepared to do so. In February, one of my childhood friends suddenly passed away. This was the first time I experienced the loss of someone close to me. And in March, I felt overall job pressures, imposter syndrome, and burnout take a toll on my overall mental health. It felt like one event after another event tested my resilience. However, turning to my support systems, prioritizing self-care, and finding impactful coping skills really helped with processing the first few months of grief and uncertainty.

Fast forward to the second half of the year, I felt much better holistically. I was able to travel back home more often and spend more time with loved ones. As I get older, I am so appreciative of the roots that I have and how they’ve shaped me to be the person I am today. I witnessed beautiful engagements and unions of love, celebrated family gatherings, and saw people from many different chapters of my life that were pivotal in different time periods of my life.

I was also able to complete four out of five of my financial goals for this year! This year, I really focused on growing my financial literacy and hitting financial goals since this was the first year of starting my career. I have a HEFTY amount of student loans (shoutout six-figure debt club), and I’ve been able to pay $30,000 of it back so far. I feel incredibly blessed that I have been able to achieve such a feat, as having six-figure debt takes a toll on you mentally, financially and emotionally. I am very proud of the mindset shift that I obtained during this year when it comes to finances. Having such a large amount of debt felt embarrassing to talk about and share. Moreover, it felt extremely isolating especially when it can feel like other people are ahead financially. However, it taught me SO much discipline and patience in the process. I’ve picked up another job per diem to help achieve these financial goals, and I am very blessed and privileged to be able to have the stamina and drive to do it. I pray for and claim financial freedom hopefully by my mid-30s. I do believe it is possible for myself, as hard as the daily grind is. 

Going into 2026 will be an interesting year. I think it will be a time of great reflection and mourning to some capacity, as it will be my last year of my 20s– I CAN’T believe it! Some of my personal goals for next year are to continue expanding my financial literacy, pay these loans DOWN even more, pivot settings as an occupational therapist, prioritize sleep and fitness, and tap into my previous hobbies prior to graduate school. I also want to be more present on my blog, even if it is quarterly check-ins! Despite those goals, I really have no specific expectations for 2026. All I hope and pray for is that it is one of joy, growth, safety, and good health. I am thankful for another year of life, especially after witnessing first-hand how short life can be. 

We are that much closer to the next decade of the century. I am wishing everyone a happy new year! 

Peace and love,

Irene 

*In remembrance of Sarah. My sweet friend, you may not be here on this physical earth with us anymore, but you remain in my heart forever. I know you are made whole in heaven. Your spirit shines bright still, and you’ve changed so many lives around you with your testimony. ❤ 

Posted on in lifestyle

Celebrating Four Years of Renrenspeaks: A Journey Through 2024

Hello, Renrenspeakers! Happy end of the year! Can you believe it – we are wrapping up the end of 2024 and heading into 2025. This time tomorrow, we will officially be halfway between 2020 and 2030.

First, I thank God that I made it through the year to even write this post. Life is truly a blessing. One thing that has really hit me recently is that our days are numbered and are finite. I hope and pray for continuous longevity and covering over my life and the lives of others, God willing.  

Also, HAPPY FOUR YEAR ANNIVERSARY OF RENRENSPEAKS.COM! Technically, it was yesterday (I am a day late!). This time 4 years ago I launched my blog. This has been a wonderful documentation of my life’s reflections. I can see as this blog progresses how much support and growth I have had in my communities throughout the years. Give ya girl some love to celebrate the anniversary!

It definitely has been some time since I last caught up with yall. This post is not focused on any one particular topic. I am here to simply share some of my reflections throughout the year and wrap up with some lessons I learned in 2024!

This year has been one of many ups and downs for me. It has been a HUGE year for me, as I have had many life changes, time to reflect, and growing pains/triumphs. Emotionally, I feel like I have been all over the place. I had some hard conversations and hard realizations that honestly made me so unsure of myself and my various identities at various points of the year. However, through those emotional hardships, I believe have blossomed into a stronger individual who can set boundaries, advocate for her needs, and create space for myself. And for that, I am really proud of myself.

Some highlights of 2024 that I have been blessed to experience include some, but not all, of the following:

  • Moving to a new home in a wonderful city central to many sights to see
  • Going to concerts and being outside more often
  • Cultivating a beautiful relationship with refugees/asylum-seekers through my capstone
  • Attending my first OT national conference
  • Graduating from OT school and becoming a Doctor of Occupational Therapy
  • Passing my NBCOT exam
  • My graduation party
  • Traveling around the country (Miami, Orlando, Philly) and internationally via my first cruise (Mexico, Honduras)
  • Attending a weekly Pyro Pilates class and sticking to it
  • Starting my first big girl job as an official OT
  • Building and rebuilding community collectively  

Going into 2025, I honestly do not know what the year holds for me. I am hoping that it is one of continuous growth, as always, in all aspects of my life – spiritually, mentally, emotionally, physically, professionally, socially, financially – and the list goes on! This will be the first year of my life that I do not hold the “student” identity, so discovering what my next life goals will be shall be an interesting journey, to say the least.

I hope to be generally more positive and have more faith in God for my purpose in life. I think I realized that many times in 2024, I was not truly operating out of faith and positivity, but rather constant fear and worry. As a result, anxiety and a lack of confidence crippled me at various times throughout the year. I want to be better in knowing that I always have God on my side to help me through life and encourage me because as we know, life be LIFING! I am not the only one who is feeling the weight of the world on her shoulders through responsibilities such as student loans, for example (and mind you, mine are a hefty one). I’ve learned that after persevering through my stressors, things always end up being more okay than I thought they would. I probably should channel more Type B energy so that I can live my life well-balanced instead of chronically stressing over little aspects that just may not be that serious at the end of the day.

I am also hoping to be more present on this blog, as it is something that I started during the height of the pandemic as a digital diary. I hope to create more mini blog series, highlighting various stories and life experiences of my peers, colleagues, and loved ones. It helps me stay connected with the world around me.

Thank you to everyone who continues to support me and love on me, whether it is through good vibes, prayers, social media networking, in-person quality time, etc. I am incredibly grateful for another year of life, and cheers to what the next year has in store for us! Happy New Year, everyone!

Peace and love,

Irene

Posted on in lifestyle

Renrenspeaks 2023 Wrap-Up and 3 Year Anniversary!

Hello Renrenspeakers! Happy New Year’s Eve and Happy 3 year anniversary to Renrenspeaks.com staying alive and thriving! I cannot believe that the end of the year is here. Earlier today, my younger sister told me that today is especially unique because the date is 12/31/23, which is 123, 123, so enjoy that fun fact because we will never see it again!

Yesterday, I had a beautiful time of reflection with my college friend group as we shared some major goals, aspirations, and wishes that we accomplished this year and aim to achieve next year. Our time together allowed me sit down and ponder on the blessings, opportunities, celebrations, and renewal that graced me this year. I outlined my thoughts and reflections on my handy-dandy iPad, and some highlights from our reflective activity I concluded with included the following:

  1. One word to describe my 2023: Growth
  2. Favorite accomplishment this year: Finished my clinical rotations
  3. Favorite concert this year: Robert Glasper and Kirk Franklin’s Reunion tour
  4. How to engage in joy for 2024: Spontaneous trips
  5. One thing I am looking forward to adding to my self-care routine: An exercise class of some sort – a spin class or Pilates

One thing that really brought me joy this year is the amount of love and support from you all on Renrenspeaks.com! WordPress constructed my site’s version of a year in review, and look at how amazing these stats are down below! It is because of yall I continue to pour into my site and engage in meaningful, reflective conversations with you all. Making an Instagram for Renrenspeaks was an avenue for me to continue to expand my blog and reach so many people I haven’t connected with in a while. I got to collaborate with Black folks in health care for my Black is Beautiful series, participate in a podcast episode with the Banquet Hall Podcast, and feature inspiring world travelers and friends on my Travelers Abroad Speak mini blog series! These experiences all re-emphasize my love for amplifying beautiful voices via written form through a platform like this blog.

As the year wraps up, I am going to briefly share some of my personal fun highlights of the year!

2023 Highlights!

My 26th birthday with my Apple Watch as my photographer!
A summer day in San Diego at Seaport Village visiting family!
First day of my third and final year of grad school ever!
Landscape of the beautiful Sedona. This was my second time visiting this city!
My beautiful best friend and soul sister who came down to visit me in AZ. We discovered a super cool coffee shop not too far from where I live.
The entrance of Tlaquepaque, a stunning arts and shopping district my best friend and I visited after our morning hike in Sedona.

—

They say a picture is worth a thousand words, right? So I gave yall a surplus of 6000 words. 😉 I have a lot to be grateful for this year as you can see. As grand as 2023 was, I believe 2024 is going to be the year of the come up for me, as I get to look forward to FINALLY GRADUATING from OT school (can you believe that?? That will be a whole post later down the road) and getting a real grown-girl job in a profession that I love! I am also claiming that I am going to take another trip abroad somewhere to revive my zeal for travel. I would also like to incorporate more fasting into my life, go to therapy, augment my physical health and nutrition, get back into photography, and become more financially literate. With that being said, God bless yall and I am so thankful for yall! I hope everyone has a marvelous start to their new year. Talk to yall next year! 🙂

Peace and love,

Irene

Posted on in lifestyle, other cool topics!

Renrenspeaks Feature – The Banquet Hall Podcast!

Hello, Renrenspeakers! Happy Friday and almost end of August! How are folks doing? Feel free to send me a message! It has been a nice and relaxing month overall for me with a few stressors sprinkled in. Gotta have a few stressors to live life, right? I don’t have many updates for you all, but it has been a great social media week for Renrenspeaks. Renrenspeaks was featured in a PODCAST, friends! How fun, right? I had the wonderful opportunity to collaborate with an old friend, Kyler Nathan IV, whom I met at UC San Diego on his dynamic podcast, The Banquet Hall Podcast.

A little about Kyler’s podcast – it is “designed to highlight future leaders, influencers, entrepreneurs, artists, activists, and more, who are tired of looking for a seat at ‘the table.'” In his podcast, Kyler “invites each of [his] guests into the hall to share their journeys and aspirations as they grow into the fully bloomed version of themselves.” The podcast aims to “tell tomorrow’s stories, today.” I LOVEEEE what the pod stands for and for giving people the opportunity to share their beautiful stories!

I’ve been only featured in one podcast prior (shoutout to my friend Vay who started her pod journey in 2020), but this was the first time that Renrenspeaks got to share her voice verbally instead of in the written form yall are accustomed to. Through this podcast episode, yall finally get to know and experience the face and voice behind Renrenspeaks! Fun fact – when starting my blog, I contemplated making it a podcast. A loved one recently told me that I have the gift of gab (LOL) so I guess a podcast could have been pretty fitting. But yall know that I am a storyteller at heart. Hence, the podcast episode I was featured in was such a suitable name and speaks volumes to my content on this blog. This podcast episode was very fun and refreshing, as I got to chat about many memories such as the moment I met my grandparents in Congo, my love for travel, skincare, and photography, what OT is all about, and Renrenspeaks, of course. The goal of The Banquet Hall Podcast aligns well with some of my own content because I was graced with the opportunity to also highlight amazing stories through features such as my Black is Beautiful series and my Occupational Therapy Speaks series. Through the podcast, I learned that my voice is powerful and that my story speaks volumes to who I am as a person today. I am glad that Renrenspeaks was able to represent and shine through The Banquet Hall this week. Who knows, maybe Renrenspeaks will start embracing her gift of gab through a microphone one day. 😉

CHECK OUT MY EPISODE DOWN BELOW! It is available on multiple platforms! Renrenspeaks is on the map, yall!

Youtube link

Spotify link

Instagram sneak peak

Peace and love,

Irene

Posted on in graduate school, lifestyle

End of the Year Reflection – Moving Into 2023 with Intention + Two-Year Anniversary of Renrenspeaks!

Hello, friends! Happy Friday, and most importantly, happy end of the year! We are two days away from the new year, and as most of you are doing, I am reflecting on this very busy year called 2022. I am currently feeling so much peace and happiness, as I have been blessed to have made it through another year safely and in good health. I made my first Instagram Reel that I posted to reflect on this year, and it was so much fun! I am def going to have to incorporate Reels more into 2023 😉 Also, fun fact! It has been TWO YEARS since I started my blog too. Happy two years, Renrenspeakers! I learned so much about myself through this blog, and I am so thankful that you all have been reading my content and supporting me along the way. What are yall’s goals and resolutions for the new year? What has been your favorite blog post on Renrenspeaks since 2020? I would love to hear them (comment down below or email your answers to me)!

This year has been one filled with so many fun memories, sad moments, heartache, times of pure stress and anxiety, and lots of love. For starters, I am now officially halfway done with grad school, friends! She did THAT! Your fav OT doctorate student is 50% done with grad school and I could not be any more proud of myself because I am telling yall, grad school is not for the weak. I’ll be honest. This past semester has not been an easy one for me. It was a lot for me mentally, emotionally, and spiritually. I felt at so many points during this semester that I was not creative enough, not competent enough, or not confident enough to understand the material I was learning in my lab courses. I found myself still comparing my progress and my processing to other people, whether it was in their capstone research process or in their clinical reasoning skills. However, this semester has also taught me a lot about myself. I am confident, I can do hard things, and I have pretty solid people skills. It has been really neat to see myself slowly blossom into a practitioner in training and I am thankful for the support system that I have had on my side thus far to get to where I am currently.

A highlight of the semester was that I received my white coat since I am pursuing a doctoral degree. I think I fooled the masses – I did not graduate friends, so I want to clarify that, though it did feel like graduation. The white coat symbolizes the next step in my graduate career of contributing to occupational therapy academia and scholarship. I was honored to be the student speaker, and I think I gave a pretty humorous speech that was personable and relevant to my cohort. I also got to see my tribe come and support me too.

I was also able to do some traveling this year! I know, I did not go abroad as you may have anticipated. Instead, I went to Dallas, Texas in September for the very first time ever. When I tell you it was the break that I needed, I am not lying. My love for traveling has been halted with grad school for obvious reasons. I visited my best friend, explored the area, and caught up with old friends and family members. It was a trip that was well-deserved and allowed me to unwind from all the stressors in my life at that time. Shoutout to Harena for being the best tour guide ever and for making me feel welcome in Dallas! 😉

Another monumental moment for me this year is that I moved to a different home literally right after my week getaway to Dallas. I was impressed by how fast I was able to pack up and move all my things within two days (a very stressful two days, might I add). But shoutout to my wonderful friends who helped me move and to my awesome roommates who have made me feel so welcome in this new home. I am so grateful for people like them who have been alongside me cheering me on and supporting me through a stressful time such as moving. Moving to a different home felt like closing a chapter of my life, which I did. My old apartment was symbolic of me stepping into my mid-20s and living independently in a different state for the first time ever. I laughed, cried, yelled, prayed, and sang in that apartment. It connected me to many different types of people and helped me to prioritize my physical and mental health. It was the first time I was really on my #growngirlmoves apart from living abroad for a bit.

I know I asked yall about your new year’s resolutions, so I will share some of mine! My biggest goal is to be more intentional. I feel that God has put this word into my heart, intention. I want to be more intentional about who I surround myself with, the relationships that I build, the places that I explore, the career I pursue, the money that I spend and who/where I give it to, the food that I intake, the networks that I develop, the way I treat my body inside and out, and the way that I navigate spaces. It is easy to do things just to do them without purpose such as getting assignments done just for the sake of completing them rather than learning through them. I will say, there are so many times in school that I will continue doing things just to get them done because of a lack of time and that is the reality of life sometimes. However, I want to really try my best to take every moment as a learning opportunity, whether it be a positive or a negative experience. I am gonna start off the year with my 26th birthday, which is always a time for new beginnings and a new outlook on the year for me. I am excited to see how I bring intentionality to all parts of my everyday life and how it shapes me into a better person. I also want to be more consistent with blogging, friends! I miss talking to yall on this platform. School often gets in the way of me feeling like I have time for myself, but so many changes are happening that I would love to keep yall posted on. I cannot commit to a certain number of posts, but I am gonna try to keep yall in the loop as much as I can, especially now that I will be starting my internships next year.

All in all, I feel very accomplished this year, though it has been one that has been very challenging mentally for me. I am feeling wholesome, renewed, and restored, as I have spent the last few weeks in San Diego reconnecting with old friends, spending time with family, and revisiting some of my favorite spots around town. I wish everyone the best new year. I hope that you all can claim 2023 as a year of intention as well.

Peace and love and a very happy new year,

Irene

Posted on in graduate school, lifestyle, occupational therapy

Three Weeks of OT School DOWN!

Hello, friends! Can you believe it? I made it through THREE WEEKS of my occupational therapy program! I feel like I literally just started my program, but at the same time, I also feel like I have been in school for months based on the content that I’ve been absorbing these three weeks. Honestly, I am definitely feeling the pace of graduate school. Most of my days are spent studying, digesting, and absorbing new knowledge and content learned. I would say out of my curriculum thus far, anatomy is definitely the most rigorous course I am taking. I don’t think that learning anatomy is an easy task to the everyday person, but I honestly have such a supportive classroom setup, environment, and professors that have made learning anatomy a bit less daunting. I had my first anatomy exam earlier this week which I actually did well on so thank God because I literally studied my butt off! I hope I can keep this same momentum throughout the semester, lol!

I can honestly say that I have seen a stark difference in undergrad compared to grad school. I’ve always considered myself a studier and thought that I had pretty good study habits set in undergrad. However, cramming for an exam and then forgetting about the material was more or less something that I made an unhealthy habit of. In GRAD SCHOOL though, SO much studying is required of you every day. Cramming? I don’t know her (at least I do not want to know her). The expectations are much more different. It is expected that you are responsible for interacting with the material that is presented to you so that you can critically think and apply it beyond the classroom. Because there is a lot of content to consistently interact with, I can admit that it has been pretty easy for me to forget to take care of myself and engage in constant small acts of self-care, whether this is sleeping on time, eating my dinner at a reasonable hour, or taking a break and getting some movement in. It is something that I am actively working on, I promise!

I am thankful that I have found resources and a friend group to help guide me and embark on this journey with me. Unlike in many of my undergrad classes, my grad school cohort actually looks out for each other and all want to see each other succeed! I appreciate and admire the cohesive, united, and collaborative environment that is continuously cultivated. Competing for the best grades is literally irrelevant because we are all in the same place getting the same degree, and genuine learning is MUCH more important than a letter grade! This is something that I have been actively unlearning, and it is truly liberating to reframe measures of academic success that society has shaped.

One thing that I think is SO important to my overall well-being and occupational balance is getting that social input outside of school! I realized that after all the studying I have been doing for a few weeks, I missed being social! I really have not explored the area that I am at, so I made it a point today to go out with friends and treat myself to lunch. Social input is very refreshing and rejuvenating, and sometimes it is hard to realize that when you are constantly on the grind.

Overall, grad school has been a time of critical reflection, self-awareness, unlearning, and relearning. I am glad that I am on this journey though and I am anticipating seeing where I am headed!

Peace and love,

Irene

Posted on in lifestyle, occupational therapy

I Made It to the Grand Canyon State!

Hello, friends! I am reporting to you LIVE from Arizona, ah! I am settling into my first week being here in Arizona, and let me tell you, I have definitely seen a shift in the weather coming from sunny San Diego. I moved here on Saturday with my family after a five and a half-hour drive that mostly comprised of the I-8 East. It was my longest drive that I had ever done by myself, but it was actually a very easy drive (let’s disregard the fact that I got 5 hours of sleep the night before and did not drink my usual 20 oz of chia seed water the morning of). I literally saw the temperature climb from high 60s to low 100s as I continued my journey east. I tried to not use my air conditioner to see how I could handle the heat since Arizona is notoriously known for being HOT, but this Cali girl couldn’t do it as she passed through Yuma (it was already 104 degrees there!). I already caught myself saying ‘Oh, it is only 100 degrees today, not that bad!’ whereas in California, I’d start whining if it hit 90 degrees, lol.

Besides the heat, which actually has been more manageable than I thought since 100-105 degrees is not an anomaly when living in Escondido in the summer, Arizona has been treating me well! Where I am located has very familiar stores such as Trader Joes, Ross, and Aldi, so I am truly good to go! Some things that I have noticed while being in Arizona for four days now include the following:

  1. Arizona is well-equipped to handle the heat. I really do forget that it is actually 111 degrees outside (which it has been the past few days) since I am mostly indoors with nice AC systems.
  2. Folks drive a bit recklessly here, either going too fast or too slow. Maybe it is because I am trying to be a cautious driver since I am not used to the traffic laws here or I am a bit more hyperaware of the road. But I definitely got cut off on the freeway more frequently than I typically do in San Diego.
  3. It is quite dusty here and little rocks can hit and cause a crack in your windshield easily.
  4. Black folks seem to be scattered everywhere, but there is no concentration of Black neighborhoods that I have heard of nor seen yet.
  5. There are ‘cooling stations’ commonly located around the town where sprays of mist are continuously spraying to help keep people cool. I saw this at the gas station and at a few restaurants that I passed by!
  6. Mosquitos around this area are very small but still make my arm swell terribly! I got bit by chilling at the poolside this past weekend and did not even notice it until I started itching vigorously.
  7. GAS IS CHEAPER HERE THAN IN CA. Before I came to Arizona, the cheapest gas station I could find was $3.89, and I was saying that was a good price compared to the +$4.00 I had been seeing everywhere else. In the area that I’m at, I have been finding a good range of $2.83-$3.20 ($3.20 being the most expensive I have witnessed). Even $3.20 is too expensive for me now, lol.

So far, my transition has been pretty smooth. The first day was a bit rough for me because I was physically and mentally tired/overwhelmed (I think a lot of it had to do with a lack of proper hydration), so I did not feel like I could fully absorb the novelty of being in a different state. After the first day, I have had positive experiences with the people that I have briefly met, ranging from neighbors to current OT students at my school. I finally have my own room too, which I am still trying to customize and personalize. I went to Ross the other day and got some cute (and cheap) room decor such as a comfy rug, a lamp, and artwork for my empty walls. After I set up the lighting and aesthetic of my room, I think I will finally feel settled in officially! I will have to change my license plate to an Arizona one, so I am gonna blend in really soon into an ‘Arizonian’ (sorry, Cali folks! My heart will always be in Cali, but my car is definitely in Arizona, haha).

I’ve already entered the grad school grind by doing some assigned readings. I am trying to establish a good morning routine that will set a positive tone for my day. Does anyone have a great morning routine that they’d like to share? If so, shoot me a message! I am trying to get into the habit of waking up at 5:30 am (maybe 6:00 pm, realistically) to start off my day so that my mind is equipped to take on the busy day ahead of me.

This is my quick check-in! Stay tuned to my grad school adventures coming up very shortly! (I start on Monday, can you believe it? Because I am still processing that).

Peace and love,

Irene