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May We Have the Chance to Reset?
Published about 2 months ago • 2 min read
Good morning Reader,
Welcome to the return of our monthly newsletter! May has been an eventful month for Aangan so we’re kicking off with a question to reflect on: what do you do to reset during a busy season in life?
This is a question I’ve come back to over and over again especially as I’ve felt more swamped with each passing week this month. I wonder if May is just one of those months when things pick up no matter what profession or what stage in life you’re at. In my corner of the Aangan, I’ve had many conversations about how it feels like the to-do list runs off the page before there’s a chance to cross off everything that needed to be done yesterday. Whether it’s picking up kids from one activity and rushing for another or moving out immediately after graduation or navigating the neverending demands of school/work, there is life and there is “life is happening all at once right now”, and this month has felt like the latter for many.
It is okay if you don’t have an answer that comes to mind for what helps you reset. I’m finding that the answer to this may not always be the same either. If you asked me in college, I would’ve been quick to say watching a show or movie with my friends always worked to keep me sane during busy semesters. As much as I still enjoy that and as much as it allows me to rest, it unfortunately cannot be my go to for this season of life.
Instead I’ve found recently that if I am frustrated or exhausted during the day, I’ve turned towards putting on one song and committing to dancing like nobody is watching. One song is usually somewhere around 3 minutes. Even if it feels like I don’t have time to indulge in something so silly, I’ve found that if I do this while I am getting ready it really helps make those transition periods in the day brighter and more focused rather than the frantic scramble it most often looks like.
Feel free to respond to this email if you'd like to share your thoughts or skip that step and take this conversation outside of your inbox! What song would you choose to put on to reset?
Announcement:
We are officially a 501(c)(3) nonprofit🥳🥳🥳
Keep an eye out for future fundraisers as well as donation and sponsorship opportunities that will support us in the work that we do!
Event Recaps:
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On May 9th, 2026 we presented a workshop entitled Creating our Aangan: Education, Storytelling, Art Expression at the first AAPI Mental Health Conference hosted by NAMI New Jersey. Ritika Merai and Mytreyi Sureshkumar discussed mental health in the South Asian diaspora and led activities that focused on writing, drawing, and telling a story using expressions and hand gestures. Check out some of the amazing artwork from attendees below!
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On May 23rd we presented a workshop entitled We’re Not Really Strangers: Addressing Mental Health Stigma in South Asian Communities at the South Brunswick Library. Reshika Balayan, MPH, CHES and Mytreyi Sureshkumar dove into what mental health is, how it affects South Asians specifically and how to navigate difficult conversations. Throughout the workshop, participants took turns asking and answering questions from the card game We’re Not Really Strangers and practiced how they would respond talking to someone who does not believe in mental health.
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Pictured in order from left to right at AAPI Mental Health Conference: Mytreyi Sureshkumar, Ritika Merai, Reshika Balayan, MPH, CHES, Founder of Aangan
Summer Sneak Peek
Can you guess what type of event we have simmering for the summer?
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