I'm pretty sure I had never heard the term "soft skill" in my life until I attended a tech bootcamp last year. In my head, all I came there to do was to learn how to code, develop mobile apps, and start making tech money as soon as possible. So during the onboarding day, I didn't understand why they introduced Mrs. Ivory as our soft skill tutor and why we were supposed to dedicate Mondays to soft skill training and interactive sessions. There were a lot of people who had the same thoughts as me. We'd rather sit in front of the laptop all day running out codes and fixing errors than to sit for what we thought would be a boring soft skill session.

As the world keeps spinning and the days keep rolling by, anxiety has seemed to be the weapon fashioned against our mental health. Every day of our lives, we hang on a thread of different worrying thoughts. Sometimes we carry these worries so silently that one might even assume everything is okay, but deep down, our heads are full, yet life keeps moving. There have been times where I’ve sat in deep thought about everything life throws at us and asked myself, "Is this really all we came here to do? An endless cycle of things we're supposed to be anxious about?"

I haven’t always been the type to go on proper holidays and I blame it on life and work. Somehow, there’s always something keeping me busy, and sometimes planned getaways with friends couldn't make it out of the group chat. So most times, my idea of a break or holiday ends up being a weekend at a friend’s place or a short sleepover at my relatives’. Don’t get me wrong, those ones aren't bad at all, but I’m talking about something bigger. An actual holiday. The kind where you pack a bag, leave town for a week or more, and step into a completely different space, far from normal routines and stress.

My friend has been sad for days now because she couldn't get the job she wanted. She literally bawled her eyes out after she got the letter of rejection. This is probably the third time she's applying for a job and couldn't get it, even after the anxious nights where I had to help her prepare for the interviews. I kept reassuring her that she'll be fine and the interview is going to turn out well and she'll get the job.

I've been an apprentice at a hair salon once upon a time, and let me tell you, everything you’ve heard about what goes on there is true. If you want to know what's going on in the neighborhood where you live, just find your way to the nearest hair salon and sit there for a few hours. You can then decide if you want to start up a broadcasting channel later. You walk past a hair salon and it's quiet? That's weird. Maybe they're waiting for you to pass so they can change the topic with your story.

Previously, I'd be torn if I had to choose between movies and books. I enjoy them both, at least for the sake of letting you shift into the world of imagination. Letting you unwind and feel emotions as the characters play out their roles, they both work out fine.