Being surrounded with wonderful and genuine people

 Just dropping by to say that this is one of the best days so far for this year 2021.😊

After a very depressing holiday season, I am so glad I'm finally back at the research institute. Yesterday was my first work day of the year. It was nice to finally be out of my apartment, ride my bike going to work, and see and meet people (aka my labmates and colleagues) in person. And in the evening, as I was about to go home, I saw one of the undergrad students, Joelle, in the lab. We had the usual "How are you? How did you celebrate the New Year?" conversation and then we talked more about various stuff (like literally jumping from one topic to another) and next thing we know, it's already quarter to 9 in the evening! I think we were talking for almost 2 hours! But it was really, really nice to be able to talk to someone again, to have a human interaction, and a good connection. And since both of us are living very close to each other, we both went home riding our bikes, still talking with each other. That kind of moment is really something that I treasure.

And today, she and Quinn (another undergrad student), surprised me with a birthday cake and some gifts. I really had no clue that they will do that. They are just so thoughtful and amazing!💛

The picture above are their gifts for me. And I love each of the item! And the picture below is a gift from our officemate, Ole. She is also one of the closest people I have in the institute. It's just wonderful to meet nice and genuine people even at the workplace. And I'm just excited to read this new book she gave me.

Today, I am reminded that even though I was so down and depressed a couple of days ago, God is surrounding me now with kind and genuine people who bring sunshine in my life. And I am just so so grateful for that!