Last semester I thought I was drowning. I thought I needed to find something to hang onto in order to stay afloat.
It turns out I just needed to learn how to swim.
This week's Weekly Distraction
Thursday, January 29, 2015
Thursday, January 22, 2015
Double-Take
I've seen him smile so many times. But yesterday was the first time I noticed his dimple.
There are times when a regular part of my day seems new all of a sudden.
There's a dent on my wall right at my eye level when I sit at my desk.
I wonder why I hadn't noticed it before...
She usually wears an expression of indifference, but today she looked eager. Maybe she looked the same as she always does, but today I felt it, too.
... or looked at it in that way.
This week's Weekly Distraction
There are times when a regular part of my day seems new all of a sudden.
There's a dent on my wall right at my eye level when I sit at my desk.
I wonder why I hadn't noticed it before...
She usually wears an expression of indifference, but today she looked eager. Maybe she looked the same as she always does, but today I felt it, too.
... or looked at it in that way.
This week's Weekly Distraction
Thursday, January 15, 2015
Daily Challenges (for a week)
This week, I'm going to do a new one of these seven things each day.
Make a new friend.Help a stranger.Push myself to do something I don't want to, but know I should.No recreational internet.Accomplish something to be proud of.Do something outside of my comfort zone.Go without my cell phone.
This week's Weekly Distraction
Thursday, January 8, 2015
Weekend with Rentao
My friend Rentao visited me this last weekend!
The first night we made a pizza from scratch. We made two, actually! Which sounds exciting, but the actual reason we had to make two is because the first one ended up getting thrown in the trash. What a disaster.
We watched Broken Flowers (disappointing) and The Babadook (less disappointing) and of course we watched some Spongebob because you can never be too old for that.
On Saturday we baked cupcakes and on Sunday we made Alton Brown's grilled grilled cheese.
These last two were much more successful than our pizza fiasco.
It's officially a year since I left for Scotland, today. That blows my mind.
This week's Weekly Distraction
The first night we made a pizza from scratch. We made two, actually! Which sounds exciting, but the actual reason we had to make two is because the first one ended up getting thrown in the trash. What a disaster.
We watched Broken Flowers (disappointing) and The Babadook (less disappointing) and of course we watched some Spongebob because you can never be too old for that.
On Saturday we baked cupcakes and on Sunday we made Alton Brown's grilled grilled cheese.
These last two were much more successful than our pizza fiasco.
It's officially a year since I left for Scotland, today. That blows my mind.
This week's Weekly Distraction
Thursday, January 1, 2015
New Year's Resolutions
Hello! Welcome to 2015.
I've come up with five resolutions to focus on this year:
Improve Academic Performance
Since my entire POS changed when I had to drop Transport last semester, from here on out it's smooth sailing. Well, not really. But compared to how it's been in the past... each semester is much more manageable, now. I should have more time and energy to focus on taking things in stride and doing well in each of my classes. It's time to buckle down, procrastinate less, and stick to a study schedule.
Improve Fitness
Having more time on my hands will hopefully equate to more motivation to exercise. I'm getting kind of squishy, so it'd be nice to exercise 4-5 times each week. Even if it's just a short work out, I think it would be a good way to end my days. Ideally, by the end of the semester I will be back to running between four and six miles.
Be Less Apologetic For My Existence
This sounds dramatic, but I know that I can be awkward and self-conscious at times. It gets to the point where it interferes with some of my relationships, so gaining confidence and being more comfortable in my own skin is something I'd like to work on. This probably means I'll have to stop being so self-critical and more accepting, but it also will include changing habits that I'm unhappy with in order to like myself more.
Read More
I love reading, but it's easy to justify lounging around, browsing the internet, watching shows, or listening to music after a day of coursework. None of these things are particularly bad, but I'm hoping if I make a more deliberate point to read frequently, I'll cut down on the amount of time I spend doing useless things and being a bum. Plus, there are too many books on my Booklist for me to keep on ignoring it like I have been.
Keep In Touch Better With Friends
I'm not sure why this is so difficult, but it is. Obviously, this resolution includes international friends, and friends at different schools. But I also want to make a point that this includes friends that are easily accessible to me (like friends that are at Iowa State, or friends that are home when I'm home). Writing more letters, checking in with old friends occasionally, and just calling to make plans with friends that are nearby is all it takes.
So here's how I plan on improving my life for 2015.
Let's do this.
This week's Weekly Distraction
I've come up with five resolutions to focus on this year:
Improve Academic Performance
Since my entire POS changed when I had to drop Transport last semester, from here on out it's smooth sailing. Well, not really. But compared to how it's been in the past... each semester is much more manageable, now. I should have more time and energy to focus on taking things in stride and doing well in each of my classes. It's time to buckle down, procrastinate less, and stick to a study schedule.
Improve Fitness
Having more time on my hands will hopefully equate to more motivation to exercise. I'm getting kind of squishy, so it'd be nice to exercise 4-5 times each week. Even if it's just a short work out, I think it would be a good way to end my days. Ideally, by the end of the semester I will be back to running between four and six miles.
Be Less Apologetic For My Existence
This sounds dramatic, but I know that I can be awkward and self-conscious at times. It gets to the point where it interferes with some of my relationships, so gaining confidence and being more comfortable in my own skin is something I'd like to work on. This probably means I'll have to stop being so self-critical and more accepting, but it also will include changing habits that I'm unhappy with in order to like myself more.
Read More
I love reading, but it's easy to justify lounging around, browsing the internet, watching shows, or listening to music after a day of coursework. None of these things are particularly bad, but I'm hoping if I make a more deliberate point to read frequently, I'll cut down on the amount of time I spend doing useless things and being a bum. Plus, there are too many books on my Booklist for me to keep on ignoring it like I have been.
Keep In Touch Better With Friends
I'm not sure why this is so difficult, but it is. Obviously, this resolution includes international friends, and friends at different schools. But I also want to make a point that this includes friends that are easily accessible to me (like friends that are at Iowa State, or friends that are home when I'm home). Writing more letters, checking in with old friends occasionally, and just calling to make plans with friends that are nearby is all it takes.
So here's how I plan on improving my life for 2015.
Let's do this.
This week's Weekly Distraction
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