This year, I have been conscientious at bedtime, putting aside my phone and refraining from doomscrolling so that I can get more sleep. However, perhaps due to the various stresses in my life, I wanted to do something different for once. So I messaged one student to ask how she was doing at her new school. She graduated from the vocational secondary school last year and is starting a new chapter of life at the Institute of Education. She told me that she was adjusting well and shared with me that she would need to do a project with her new friends. Something about how the residents of Dakota Crescent needed to shift house — coincidentally a topic I was interested in!

And then, I messaged another student whom I had forged a bond with during my time with the Japan Exchange Teaching stint. He got married last year. In our last correspondence, he told me that he couldn’t imagine having a life like mine — raising kids. I took the opportunity to encourage his current endeavours and share with him some honest thoughts about parenthood. I hope he will gain some inspiration from my candid sharing.

And then, I took the opportunity to message a third student who passed me his contact number via FB Messenger two years ago. But with life and everything else, I hadn’t acted on it. So, since I was already delaying my sleep, I might as well message him on WhatsApp. We chatted briefly but this brief chat made me catch up on his recent happenings. He’s 20 years younger than me, but is already a father of a four-year-old. Even advised him not to fuck around and have too many babies haha.

Had less than six hours of sleep in the end, but my heart felt full.