I never know what to write anymore.
Despite my desire to keep a record of my life for future perusal. Nothing is new anymore-- the magic has gone out, it seems. Things rarely excite me, and when they do, I always hold the possibility of disappointment within arm's reach. But since it's NYE, and 10:22PM on the last day of 2014, my birthday, and since I am sitting at my computer instead of getting drunk at a NYE party, I thought I might as well write an entry on thoughts/reflections/hopes/desires.
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1. Resolutions: It's customary to make New Year's resolutions, is it not? I don't think I've actually ever properly made any NY resolutions, though. The one year I'd like to make the resolutions I can't really think of anything to "resolve". I'm not really all too bothered about my health-- I'm already quite conscious about getting sufficient excercise and maintaining a vaguely healthy diet. I'm doing well enough in uni-- I'm not doing excellently, but I am doing well enough to get me where I want. I'm not overly introverted, I have a nice, small and cosy group of friends and I go out to social events frequently enough. I have a boyfriend I'm fond of, and our relationship has been pretty consistently pleasant. Perhaps my NY resolutions should pertain to getting excited about things again. Find the magic in small things. That's hardly a quantifiable goal that can be resolutely achieved, though. I kind of want one, or several of those types of goals.
2. Current: I'm only vaguely worried about money in that I want enough for a ski trip, a new gaming computer and sufficient funds for my trip back to China at the end of 2015. But really, I would be happy if 2/3 of these desires were fulfilled, whichever, they may be. I volunteered at Nantien temple, and I find myself surprisingly fond of the Fo Guan Shan type of buddhism. I can relate, and it can be applied to everyday life in a positive way. People are also genuinely nice in a way that is hard to find in a place outside of the temple. It's refreshing. I don't think I'll ever be able to make the leap of faith required to take comfort in religion, but at least I found a place of solace at Nantien.
3. Future: I've quite a few plans. Both in the long term and short term. Current major plan is the JET programme. I've done quite a bit of research on this-- looked on both official and unofficial forums, wrote to the Japanese embassy regarding my late graduation, and everything looks as though I've got a very good chance of making this an actuality. There has been hearsay that the Abe government is looking to cut JET funding, and thus decreasing the number of applications accepted, which in turn will make getting a placement more difficult. On the other hand, I've heard that the current government is looking to expand the programme, so I'm not going to make any judgement calls. I'm planning to co-run a beginners Japanese workshop, which will give me some experience in "tutoring/teaching". Further, I've studied Japanese for 4+ years, and I'm pretty active in various university clubs and societies, holding various executive positions etc, which will fulfil the "demonstrates leadership" criteria quite well. My volunteering at the cultural festival, being fluent in 2 languages, and having spent a good couple of my early years in different countries should fulfil the criteria that asks for internationalism and experience overseas. I should have a fairly strong application. We shall see how this goes.
4. End: It's 10:53. I think I might finish up soon. 2014 has been a good year, if only I can remember anything important that happened. I might take a look at my previous entries, reply to an RP, and call it a night. A year.
Well.
That's that, then. Goodnight.
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1. Resolutions: It's customary to make New Year's resolutions, is it not? I don't think I've actually ever properly made any NY resolutions, though. The one year I'd like to make the resolutions I can't really think of anything to "resolve". I'm not really all too bothered about my health-- I'm already quite conscious about getting sufficient excercise and maintaining a vaguely healthy diet. I'm doing well enough in uni-- I'm not doing excellently, but I am doing well enough to get me where I want. I'm not overly introverted, I have a nice, small and cosy group of friends and I go out to social events frequently enough. I have a boyfriend I'm fond of, and our relationship has been pretty consistently pleasant. Perhaps my NY resolutions should pertain to getting excited about things again. Find the magic in small things. That's hardly a quantifiable goal that can be resolutely achieved, though. I kind of want one, or several of those types of goals.
2. Current: I'm only vaguely worried about money in that I want enough for a ski trip, a new gaming computer and sufficient funds for my trip back to China at the end of 2015. But really, I would be happy if 2/3 of these desires were fulfilled, whichever, they may be. I volunteered at Nantien temple, and I find myself surprisingly fond of the Fo Guan Shan type of buddhism. I can relate, and it can be applied to everyday life in a positive way. People are also genuinely nice in a way that is hard to find in a place outside of the temple. It's refreshing. I don't think I'll ever be able to make the leap of faith required to take comfort in religion, but at least I found a place of solace at Nantien.
3. Future: I've quite a few plans. Both in the long term and short term. Current major plan is the JET programme. I've done quite a bit of research on this-- looked on both official and unofficial forums, wrote to the Japanese embassy regarding my late graduation, and everything looks as though I've got a very good chance of making this an actuality. There has been hearsay that the Abe government is looking to cut JET funding, and thus decreasing the number of applications accepted, which in turn will make getting a placement more difficult. On the other hand, I've heard that the current government is looking to expand the programme, so I'm not going to make any judgement calls. I'm planning to co-run a beginners Japanese workshop, which will give me some experience in "tutoring/teaching". Further, I've studied Japanese for 4+ years, and I'm pretty active in various university clubs and societies, holding various executive positions etc, which will fulfil the "demonstrates leadership" criteria quite well. My volunteering at the cultural festival, being fluent in 2 languages, and having spent a good couple of my early years in different countries should fulfil the criteria that asks for internationalism and experience overseas. I should have a fairly strong application. We shall see how this goes.
4. End: It's 10:53. I think I might finish up soon. 2014 has been a good year, if only I can remember anything important that happened. I might take a look at my previous entries, reply to an RP, and call it a night. A year.
Well.
That's that, then. Goodnight.