I'm Yaning

A 46 years old single mom living in China.

Currently I don't have a job.

Today is just a very ordinary day in my life.

Maybe even a little boring.

But stil, welcome to my world.

The fridge is empty.

So I decided to head to the wet market and pick up some groceries.

This is an old-school market.

In Beijing, these traditional markets are slowly disappearing, replaced by supermarkets.

Now, most people prefer to shop at supermarkets or order online and have everything delivered.

This kind of old market, you see more elderly folks here, or people like me who are watching their spending.

Because the prices here are lower than at the supermarkets.

It's 2PM in the afternoon, so it's pretty quiet.

Mornings are when it gets busy.

Crowded, loud, full of people hunting for the freshest produce.

But I've never been one for crowds,

so I usually come in the afternoon.

I actually enjoy browsing these old-school markets.

It's not just about saving money.

There's something about the atmosphere here that feels more alive.

It reminds me of my childhood.

Even the smell in the air that takes me right back.

I picked up some fruit and vegetables.

Not a whole lot, just enough.

Back home, I throw together something to eat.

This is my first meal of the day, just some noodles.

When it's just me, I keep things simple.

It's not purely about saving money, though that's part of it.

Some people might look at this and think I'm playing the pity card.

But honestly,

I just don't really care about food that much anymore.

As long as I'm full, I'm good.

I've noticed that as I get older, my desires, in just about every way, have kind of faded.

I used to love hitting up trendy restaurants,

going shopping,

buying stuff.

But now, my urge to spend just keeps getting lower.

A simple life, that feels good to me.

But I have to admit , while my desire to spend has gone down,

my drive to make money has gone up.

As a single mom,

nothing gives me more peace of mind than the number in my bank account.

Because at the end of the day,

I still want to give my daughter and my parents a better life.

Every day, I go on job sites and send out my resume , but I still haven't heard back.

Even though I don't have a job right now and spend most of my time at home.

I don't want to lose touch with the world.

Every day, I go online and read the news.

I also browse social media to see what's trending.

what young people are into these days.

I really don't want to become one of those middle-aged folks who get left behind by the times.

I also watch foreign language videos on YouTube to learn foreign language.

And now I've got another big thing on my plate , learning how to make videos.

I make it a point to keep exercising.

And since I'm not working right now,

I've got time to hit the gym every day.

It's a nice gym near where I live.

Nice environment and it only cost 100RMB a month, which is roughly 15 bucks.

That's one expense I'm not willing to cut.

Because exercising isn't just about staying in shape, it's a total mood booster.

Whenever life gets overwhelming or my anxiety starts creeping in.

I'll just go for an easy 5K run.

Half an hour of letting my mind go completely blank.

By the time I'm dripping with sweat,

I feel like all that stress has just poured out of me, at least for a while.

Today I stuck to my usual routine, a bit of running, a bit of strength work.

By the time I was done, I was exhausted.

But in a good way, that satisfying kind of tired.

That's my simple day.

Thanks for sticking around.

And I'll see you in the next video.