Yesterday was my annual budget meeting to go over recommendations with my boss. The last time I did this, I was in his office sitting at his right-hand side, flipping through my PowerPoint presentation. This year, I sat in my makeshift office—a spare bedroom—and gave my presentation via Zoom.

I wore what I would have liked to wear if I were there, a black oversized dress with statement earrings and pointy beige boots. The boots made me feel grounded and feel as though I were “going” to work. They also made me feel confident, like this song I listened to on repeat as I got ready.

 I drew a bit, too, as I waited in the Zoom lobby. The mug you see there was actually supposed to be for a friend (sorry, Shrimp!), but since I never mailed it, my mom put it in the sink. And so, it was washed and became mine. It’s now my new favorite mug.

The presentation only lasted 40 minutes, and it went much better than I had envisioned it the night before. Something that helped calm my nerves down was doing a 5-minute Headspace mediation and breathing practice. I think it is the thing that grounded me the most.