history - physics student

july 2026 ❄️ pre-sem prep & week 1, 2026-2

2026年7月10日

17.07.26 🥯 such a stressful week but it's over now. the interview for the phd position went just ok but i got another invitation from another uni and i hope to hand in my thesis the week after the next. things are moving so quickly I NEED A MINUTE

look around. find a random book with a cover that catches your attention. read the description. read the first page. if you like the sounds of it, borrow it and take it home to read. borrow a handful of books even.

if a book loses your interest, drop it. if a book grips onto you, ride that wave.

i've struggled to read recreationally for years despite having read so much as a kid. a lot of us are frozen by the seemingly infinite choices. even when we buy books to take home, we don't read them because which book is worth reading first? we don't have to decide, we have it right here in our bookshelves, we have an eternity of never deciding.

in this past month, i have read five books, most of them i've never heard of when i spotted their cover at the library. most of them, i've ended up loving. the due date of library books maintains the ability to read a book so i can return them to the library and leave the library with more books. an even better incentive than borrowing ebooks, because i actually have to leave the house and not be a hermit.

so if you used to enjoy reading but struggle with it now, ignore the book recs you hear. go to the library, come across a book that piques your interest, and read one page after another until you either lose interest or finish the book.

21 June 2026 ☀️☀️☀️

06.15.26

I have an extraordinarily hard time taking a break. I'm always in a preparative state, needing to be productive rather than letting myself breathe. Today, on a rare day with no class, no work, and not even homework or a test to study for, I read ~100 pages of Well of Ascension, made a hot matcha latte, and went on a walk outside to feel the sun.

To be fair, I also sent off a couple cold emails to PIs I've never met for grad school (eeeeek!) and I'm going shopping for a new planner to get organized with deadlines and responsibilities BUT I took time for myself.

When you have the opportunity for rest, you have to take it. Rest your mind, stretch your body, go on a walk, do something you love.