So.. What is this?
Part survival, part therapy
The Story
Welcome to my journey as a tourist exploring Limbo, traveling through the nine circles of hell. The Divine Comedy is one of my favorite reads, so naturally, I had to drop a Dante reference. I moved to the States in 2017 and have been here ever since. Up until 2024, I was a student. I earned both my Bachelor's and Master's degrees from two different American universities, and somewhere along the way, I quite literally married the boy next door.
Without the Benefits
While my life in the U.S. is a blessing and I cannot express my gratitude to be here, I am currently on a pause; career and purpose-wise. For the past couple of months, I have been living in my own personal Groundhog Day, celebrating stillness on repeat. So, I created Existential PTO. I realized I’m living in a space that no one really talks about: the quiet, blurry, mentally exhausting in-between. A space where you have degrees, ambition, and creativity, but no legal way to work. Where your friends are sprinting ahead, and you’re just… refreshing the USCIS tracker. Again.
In a Nutshell
Some days, I try to keep busy. Others, I binge-watch TV shows and movies all day and forget to drink water. This blog lives in that tension.
What You'll Find Here
✦Personal experiences
✦A few jokes
✦A lot of pop culture references as coping mechanisms
✦... and stories that don’t have neat little endings
If you’re in a similar pause caught in paperwork, grief, burnout, or just a weird season of “not yet,” you’re not alone. Let’s go through the motions together, one episode or movie at a time.