Reflections and Images

Yesterday was my last day at home. In my recent blog titled "Last Days," I mentioned how I expected to feel very excited about leaving for college, but I actually had some mixed feelings. I don't know how to describe the feeling I had on Sunday. It was a rare sensation that I experienced. My body felt heavy and I couldn't breathe as easily compared to a normal day. Of course, I have felt heavy-hearted before whenever I failed some test or competition. This time, however, I didn't have a direct reason linked to this feeling. After reading parts of Being Mortal by Atul Gawande,  I would probably use the word poignant even though I am aware of the positive things about college.   I think the reason I felt kind of sad is that I was no longer going to live in my house, which is more comfortable compared to a dorm. I mean, it is so easy to be comfortable with the known instead of venturing out to the unknown. Before I went to bed, I took a good look at the objects disp...

College move-in day is less than two weeks away. I have been waiting so long for this day to arrive, yet I haven't fully registered that I am going to leave California. I haven't felt super sentimental and sad, though I have noticed that I am spending a lot more time reflecting upon who I want to be in college, such as being more health-conscious and having new interests like singing. These thoughts came with some bad habits I want to break before starting a new chapter of my life, such as entering internet rabbit holes from being too curious about random trivial things. I also thought about the person that I want to leave, as I view California as the place that I spent my adolescent years and something that will be part of the past.  Unlike the previous months of 2021, I am actively trying to live the most out of my life. I visited my high school friends, explored areas outside the Bay Area, and attempted to play all the Chopin nocturnes in my piano book. I wrote down a list o...

During this year, I have read a number of books ranging from YA romance novels to sociology books. Not all of them were memorable or enjoyable, but there were quite a few that stood out to me. I wish that I wrote thoughts about each book that I finished right after I finished the book because now it is hard for me to remember certain details or quotes from the books. Because I don't want to be forgetful again, I should probably buy those cute book lover's journals that are like diary entries, but for books. The books I chose down below are ones that I would highly recommend to you. I purposefully chose these books because of their diverse perspectives and different genres. By the way, this is not a comprehensive list. I don't have enough time to write down thoughts for each book I read, even the ones that I liked.  1. J ust Mercy  by Bryan Stevenson (biography)  After reading this book, I could no longer look at the U.S. criminal and justice system the same way.  Lea...