Growing Up is for Kids

Hello everybody! Firstly, I’m going to start off by saying this is an extremely eclectic playlist. I apologise for that, but I promise you there’s an explanation (and that all the songs are really good!!). You may notice that the playlist begins with “One Fine Day” by Carole King. I wanted to include on of her songs because I had seen the musical inspired by her life a few weeks prior, and…

Better Late Than Never, Right?

Hi! Hello! Howdy do! Been a while? First of all, I’m terribly sorry for my rather long absence. I’ve been somewhat carried away with the various new roles I’ve had to take on over the past few months, as well as the various new roles I’ve had to seek out for the future. Oh the joys of junior year in uni, am I right? So much, yet so little has happened whilst I’ve been away. I had my first…

Do you want to build a snowmaaaaan? We did!

I apologize now if I've gotten the song stuck in your head, but there is a reason why I'm posting this much-overplayed song from Frozen. Just yesterday marked the first time my roommates and I made a snowman at uni! It was quite the experience seeing as how all the snow was so fresh that we couldn't roll it but pat it in place. None-the-less it was truly a memorable experience and I'm so excited to be able to some pictures of our dear little Bayolaf Max (can you guess how we came up with his name?)! He's a happy little Canadian Gryffindor, isn't he?

It’s interesting how people change over time. Take old friends for example. Someone you may have been good friends with could become a total stranger to you down the road. I’m not saying it happens to everyone. Sometimes friends change for the better; they become more responsible, more caring, more considerate (I'm starting to sound like my younger sister's Girl Scout mantra). But sometimes it goes the opposite way.

Before you begin reading, please know that my thoughts may otherwise seem pretty jumbled up. I’ve gone ahead and written this as my stream of consciousness has revealed, so just keep that in the back of your head as you browse my ramblings.

Life is way too short. Even when someone lives for a long time, it’s still too short. I know people say this all the time, but you never really know how it feels until someone important in your life passes. It’s like this sudden emptiness that is impossible to fill. At first, the reality seems too surreal. How can someone be with you one moment, then gone the next?

Just last week I attended my great-grandmother’s funeral. It was the first funeral I had ever gone to so naturally, I had no idea what to expect. You see things happen in movies, but you never really know what it’s like to experience them until they happen to you. Funerals are exactly one of these moments. Sure, I’d seen the black dresses, tissues and tears. Of course I’d seen the standard portraits of the deceased at the front of the congregation. I would be lying if I said I’d never cried while watching a character’s funeral on a show and yet despite all of this apparent preparation, I had no idea what an emotional blow it would be to attend this funeral.

All of the cousins in my generation are younger than me, so many of them couldn’t quite articulate the feelings they may have been feeling during the service. Being 19, I’m sort of between generations. I watched my dad struggle with getting his words out on stage while my younger cousin next to me was complaining about how hungry he was. It’s hard to describe the difficulty I felt I was faced with when dealing with emotions. On one hand I felt as though I had to set an example for the younger ones by pulling a brave face and keeping it together for them. Whether that meant focusing on how my shoes were stained from the snow or biting as hard as I could on the inside of my cheek, I did it. On the other hand, it almost felt inhumane to not even shed a tear during the service. I often wondered if my relatives thought I was emotionless or indifferent about my great-grandmother’s passing, when the reality was that I was devastated.

I’m one of those people that have a hard time expressing myself to others, let alone let anyone see me cry. When I received the news that my grandfather had passed away last year, I managed to keep it together until I got to the shower where I absolutely lost it. This time around, I didn’t even make it to the shower – I broke down while on the plane back to school. I couldn’t sleep on that 17 hour flight just thinking about how I would never see my great-grandmother again. How I would never be able to share a meal with her, bond over how we were both born in the year of the Pig or even just watch her sit in her rocking chair while watching Chinese soap operas. It’s the little things, the details that hit home the most.

Like most people, I enjoy setting New Year resolutions. Like most people, I also tend to quickly forget them or say, “Eh, I’ll do it next year.” Well, no more! This year, I’m going to make it my goal to stick by my resolutions as best I can. So here it goes, my 2015 New Year resolutions!

1. Do well with my studies

I'll be completely honest and admit that I've never been the super studious type. To most, it would seem strange to say that since I attend the uni that I do (the work-ethics there are through the roof). That said, I want to change my habits and make academics my number one priority. 

2. Breaking the “eating-because-my-mouth-is-bored” habit.

I’m one of those people who will eat out of boredom, despite whether I’m hungry or not.

I also tend to enjoy treating myself to more than my fair share of indulgent meals on top of it all. This combination can prove lethal, even to the fittest human being. This year, I will maintain a balanced diet, but will also tolerate the occasional indulgent meal when the situation calls for it. Sounds reasonable? This healthy habit will include eating more raw foods, drinking more water, and cutting back on unnecessary snacking.

 3. Maintain my relationship with Yaowawit

Yaowawit is a non-profit boarding school in Thailand that my friend and I formed a close relationship with during our senior year of high school. Since we’ve graduated, keeping in contact with the school has been hard; many of our contacts left the school, and our uni schedules keep us on our toes and up all night. This year, I will revitalise the relationship I have with the school as well as maintain sponsoring the two kids at the school my friend and I had raised initial funds for during high school.

4.  Keep in better contact with friends and family

Sometimes you forget the relationships that matter most to you when caught up in the chaos that is life. Well if there’s one thing I learned while being at uni, it’s that you don’t know what you have until it’s gone. Although my friends and family aren’t necessarily gone, not being able to physically spend time with them is extremely taxing. I know everyone says it’s at uni where I will meet my “friends for life,” but in my opinion, it’s the friends from my past who I find know me best.  This year, I will keep in better contact with everyone I want to maintain a strong bond with.

 5. Explore my surroundings more

I want to do this not only because I’ll have more to post on here, but also because I often find that I get too focused on getting places. Always bothering with going from point A to B never really lets me appreciate the environment I’m fortunate enough to live in. That is all going to change! This year I will make an effort to get out and seek out sites I’ve never been to within my familiar environments (yes, that means more Boston/Cambridge photos!!).

6. Continue updating this blog!

This blog, as most of you know, is new. It was the result of my reluctance to do my homework combined with my yearning to share my thoughts and photographs with the world. With any luck I'll be able to keep regularly updating this blog as a way of documenting my life through this tumultuous time!

What are your resolutions for this new year? I invite you to write your list and if you're willing, leave it for me under the "Contact" link! I'd love to see your ideas for how to make 2015 the best year so far!

Happy New Year everybody!

This post is long overdue, but here are some snaps I took from my holiday in Orlando, Florida. My family and I visited both Universal Studios as well as Walt Disney World!

With any luck I'll be posting something else under my journal, reflecting on goals and thoughts for this new year!

A couple of days ago, I watched a video on YouTube put together by Will Darbyshire, a blogger, photographer, but first and foremost, a man who I, for some reason, find super easy to relate to. He talked about feeling lost and not knowing what to do with his life…

… I can personally say that I can relate.

As a young girl, I never knew what I wanted to do with my life. I never went though that phase where I knew exactly which path I wanted to take and which path would set me up to my dream job. In fact, I don’t think I’ve ever had a dream job.

I’ve always been satisfied with being, well, me.

Like Will, I too tend to like planning out things: I like to know what I’m doing, where I’m doing it and for how long. That said, I suppose life doesn’t work out like that all the time.

There are often times in life where we come to a crossroads and decisions have to be made. Being a second year student in college, I’ve definitely had to deal with these sorts of decisions in large multitudes: What schools to apply to, what classes to take, which major to choose… I can see all of these decisions impacting my future in so many ways, that it’s terrifying to have to come to any decision on one of them. 

As you may be able to tell from the title of my blog, I’m not a fan of growing up. I think my reluctance to mature may essentially be a fear of not knowing what my future will be. I don’t know what profession I will be in. I don’t know if I will be successful with what I will be doing. I don’t even know where I will end up living. All of this when lumped up into one big pile is a terribly heavy weight on my shoulders.

As a result, all I can really hope for is happiness.

In the end, it doesn’t matter what I do or what I pursue as long as I find joy in it. I could be a successful multimillionaire with loads of property or whatever, but none of it will mean anything if I’m not happy.

Like there is with everything, I’ve got hope for myself: I do know what I enjoy doing and what I find interesting, and I do know that I have a home in both the United States as well as Hong Kong, the city where I grew up.

All I have left to do now is wait and see what adventure beckons to me next…!

What are your thoughts on life and the future? Have you given it as much thought as I have, or are you someone who has had your path set out for as long as you can remember?

Whichever the case, I am sure you and I will manage to navigate the treacherous waters of life to find that “awfully big adventure.”

xo C

So this post is long overdue, but I had so much fun exploring I couldn't not post anything! A couple weekends ago, my friend and I spend the day exploring Boston. We ventured around the neighborhood of Beacon Hill, the historic Boston Commons, the scenic wharfs and even managed to find the bench from the classic film Good Will Hunting (starring Robin Williams, Matt Damon and Ben Affleck).

Hello everybody!

How was everyone’s Thanksgiving? I am rounding up the tail end of my holiday with a lovely evening by the fire at my uncle and aunt’s home in Orlando, Florida. I am so, so thankful for everything and everyone in my life and Thanksgiving has really given me the time to embrace that. 

While in Florida, I got to recharge, make new friends, spend time in the warm, Florida sun, but most exciting of all was getting to meet my new baby cousin! I’ll tell you right now, there’s nothing more satisfying than being able to make a baby switch from being absolutely inconsolable to smiling and giving the most adorable giggle.