Week 2 of school done. Onto Week 3. Since it's my senior fall term, it doesn't surprise me that my days are long and filled with to-dos. I completed a daunting list of to-dos this weekend, which I believe will benefit me greatly in this upcoming week as I shy closer to 1 month from turning in my earlies. When I've had a long emotional day, packed with activities, classes, meetings, and homework from 6:30 to midnight, I whisper to myself before bed that it's just 3 more months before I'm completely done with college work. Even during these long days where sunlight hours grow increasingly short, I'm holding onto new things I'm discovering that I enjoy.
Pilates. I tried Pilates back in June and it's really changed the way I workout. Instead of running 5 miles, which equates around 50 minutes of cardio, and then walking a mile, 20 minutes, I will run around 4 miles and do 30 minutes of pilates in the end. I've gotten better muscle tone, hills are easier to run up, and I can finally do 10 good pushups. Recently, I added resistance bands to my routine and I've found that the same exercises are continuously challenging, which I love.
G.E.M. She's a Chinese singer from Taiwan. I've been in love with her music lately. Not traditional Chinese music, but very upbeat pop. From what I've heard, she's pretty well known in Asia and from listening to her music, it doesn't come as a surprise. Though I have trouble picking out the lyrics, unlike other Chinese pop songs, I find the harmonies, the editing, and G.E.M's mixed usage of Chinese and English appealing. Her songs make up the majority of my "on repeat" playlist on Spotify because they're true "all-occasion" songs.
European History. I'm learning about the Renaissance in my European History right now. In previous history classes, the Renaissance was often referred to as a period of "enlightenment" which didn't really make sense to me. It's clear now that the Renaissance was a period of tremendous progress in the arts, sciences, and philosophy. But what intrigues me most about the time was how people's perceptions of their own life changed; they grew more outward-looking. Rather than focusing on the sole mission of getting to heaven, people wanted to live in the now…to be present. And this mentality is in part responsible for the tremendous amount of growth that occurred academically and culturally during the time. I suppose this points to the very importance of community engagement in today's society. While it was certainly emphasized back then amongst Renaissance thinkers, the importance of community service is no less important today in driving positive societal change.
What are things you love lately?
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