Major Life Update

Dear readers, 

It's been a really long while since I last posted on this blog, hasn't it? It wasn't just burnout, life decided to throw some very annoying curveballs, and I genuinely didn't have the energy to focus on my blog anymore. A lot happened in a year—actually, it started in November 2023 after I ultimately caught Covid. I managed to avoid it for three years despite my family getting it multiple times, but in the end it got me too and—as my first time—it was really horrible and it took me a long time to recover. 

Down the Rabbit Hole

From that, everything escalated: I was still struggling to find a job (I still am) and kept getting rejections, I had to take care of family members (long story) and at some point my mental health started slipping away bit by bit. It took a breakdown to realise I had to do something about it, something for myself. Ever since I was forced to relocate back to Italy, I've been completely unhappy, and I've been having a hard time ever since. I didn't know how to make the best out of crappy situations anymore, and despite me trying my best to keep a positive attitude, it was difficult to not think negatively all the time. 

Plans for the Future

Luckily, I'm blessed with the bestest of best friends, so we got together and had a very long conversation on what we want in life—since the UK is not an option anymore—and what we should do moving forward. I'm not happy in Italy, I've made no mystery that I would like live in Japan one day, and I've spent enough time doing research to know that it's very complicated. For starters, I took a TEFL diploma. I've loved English since I was a little child, so getting into teaching it to Japanese people could be an option. However, we'd never been to Japan before, so how would we know if we'd be happy there? I mean, we fell in love with Peterborough (the city we used to live in when we were in England) just by looking at the tourist brochure, and one Bank Holiday weekend was enough to consolidate that feeling and move there. We've loved Japan and anything related to it for the past four years, so we figured out it was time to check out if our feelings were correct.

A Trip to Japan

We spent almost three months in Japan, and not only our feelings were completely correct, but our expectations were exceeded by a very long shot. The culture shock was challenging, especially with the limited knowledge of Japanese, but personally, it was eye-opening because I felt like—after struggling for so long—I finally found my place in the world again, and I hadn't felt like that in a very long time. Of course, everything was not perfect—nothing in this world is—but it was the most amazing experience I've ever had, and I know in my heart that I will be happy there. 

Rebranding and New Content

Now that I'm back from Japan, I've had a long think on what kind of content I want to make moving forward, and thanks to my Japan trip, I have so much that I want to share with you all! In fact, please make sure to subscribe to the new mailing list (at the bottom of the sidebar), and also follow @Pic2rePerfect on Instagram, where my best friend and I share the beauty we find during our trips... And yes, there will be LOTS of content about Japan! 

In the wake of this new direction, I've decided to rebrand Life is a Box of Mochi with a new look and a new header design, made by the wonderful and super talented silviartsy. What do you think?

Thank you all for the support you have given me so far, I'll be back very soon with brand new content and also new collaborations (*wink wink)!

次回まで。♥