After a gathering, I need to be alone
The night she gets home from a family gathering, Eunji unfolds her saju reading again.
After each family gathering, Eunji feels she needs to be alone. She lays out her saju reading and explores ways to recharge with Dowon.
On a holiday evening, after dinner with her family, Eunji sits in the living room surrounded by relatives asking her questions. That night in the counseling room, she talks about the traits listed in her saju reading and says she wants to find a way to recharge on her own. Dowon points to a line saying she needs time alone to process things after spending time with others. Eunji feels it fits how she is after family gatherings, but she hasn’t decided what to do next.
When you want to be alone after a gathering
It may help to look at the time you spend with others alongside the time you need alone to recharge.
When you got home from the family gathering, what did you want to do first?
As her family settled on a date for their next gathering, Eunji’s answer lingered over the table. I thought the tiredness she felt that day might not be just because she disliked being around people. Maybe after spending a long time with others, she needed time alone to catch her breath. If you’ve had an evening like that, tell me what you wanted to do first.
Scenes
- 01 · The next gathering date The date is already set — Without asking Eunji, her aunt enters the date of the next family gathering in the calendar. Aunt: Let’s all get together next Sunday. Eunji: Oh… okay.
- 02 · The night she unfolds the reading I come back when I’m alone — Eunji unfolds her saju reading and says she needs to be alone to recharge after family gatherings. Eunji: After a gathering, I really need to be alone for a while to feel like myself again. Dowon: Eunji, what stayed with you most from that gathering?
- 03 · A passage on the paper A temperament written on the map — Dowon points to a passage in the saju reading saying that after spending a long time with others, she needs time alone to process things. Dowon: Eunji, I read this passage like a map of your temperament. It may be worth looking at it alongside how you feel after family gatherings. Eunji: That sounds a lot like how I felt that night.
- 04 · No answer yet What I couldn’t say when they picked a date — Thinking back to when her family settled on the date for their next gathering, Eunji says she couldn’t say anything. Eunji: Everyone was picking a date, and I just said, “Sure.” Dowon: What was the first thing that came to mind after you said “sure”?
Stories by Dowon
- Dowon
- After the interview, choosing substance over expansion
- Since my body changed, even familiar tasks feel unfamiliar.
- After getting the kids to bed, I wonder if I’m ready to date someone new.
- As I get ready for work, should I start by fixing what I’m lacking?
- You realize the whole morning is gone, and blame yourself for the day again.
- When I get back after a meeting, the money I gave my family is the first thing on my mind.
- I couldn’t tell my husband, even though I’d gone to the interview.
- Even over dinner, I wonder if this is the right work for me.