i need autonomy

welcome to introspection ft. harsehaj! ⭐️ i’m harsehaj, a 19 y/o always up to something in social good x tech.

this publication is a place for me to reflect on productivity, health and tech, and drop unique opportunities in the space right to your inbox daily. if you’re new here, sign up to tune in! 💌 

btw, feel free to reply with topic ideas you want me to write about for future posts.

onto today’s topic: i need autonomy 🚗 

coming back home from sf back in december was a drastic change. i went from hopping on a bus and going anywhere i wanted at any time to needing to make plans a week in advance just to go to the mall … the change in autonomy i had over my life was rough. once you get a taste of truly being in total control, it’s hard going back. even before san francisco, i’ve always been the type to exert control over my own life — some would call it being stubborn, i call it living a life that’s truly mine.

a huge reason why the lack of autonomy hit me in full force when i came home in the winter was because of inaccessibility to transportation. buses suck in my city, and i wasn’t allowed to drive (that’s a whole other story ….), so i was literally stuck in the house. it’s not like i could even go out and rollerblade, it was winter. ❄️ 

now when i’ve come home from japan/asia after 4 months, however, it hasn’t felt so jarring. i can take the wheel (literally) and drive to the library or a café if i want. the sun is out so i can rollerblade too. autonomy is crucial for me. otherwise, feeling tied down without any room to act on my desires sends me into a spiral of wanting to escape.

i was also able to break out my jet lag slump today because i knocked out a bunch of work at the library. i would have had to ask my parents for a ride 2 days in advance back in the winter ..

daily opportunity + resource drops 🔍️