Vision

The title is for two reasons.

A) My poor doggy is going blind. It is so sad to me. She has been a light in our family for so many years, particularly the years that my mom had cancer and was going through chemotherapy. Her name is Theeb, translated from Thai to mean Angel. And she is definitely an angel. Best dog ever. Our neighbor used to say about our family, "They all have curly hair. Even the dog has curly hair." Yup, that's my little baby.

B) It is currently Vision Conference at work. Think of it as a company retreat. One person said, "We don't use the term 'retreat'. We call it a tactical withdrawal." Let me break it down for you: all of the full time employees are away for two days and all of the students get to play! Ahem. Well, we call it work, but it's basically permission for us to have a little bit of fun without being supervised by our bosses. I spent the time learning 한국의: vocab and double vowels. It's fascinating stuff! I'm also learning the lyrics to the song Love Like This by SS501. Should you like a listen, see here. CAUTION: View with an open mind and an understanding that this is a completely different culture. So don't be racist and make fun of them for stupid reasons. I am very passionate about this and will come beat you up with a noodle. You have been warned. Back to Vision Conference. Lots to think about and lots to plan for in the future. It requires a lot of thought and I am doing my best to look into my future, despite how that's not really possible. But I digress. Life, in each minute, is good and beautiful and I have very little to complain for.

There, you have been caught up.

Shout out to my Brissa! ;)

The Times That Try a Woman's Soul... and the times thereafter

It's been a while. I guess that happens when finals come up and there's a change in life's pattern... :) Needless to say, I survived one of the hardest years of my life. That is something to celebrate. First off, I completed my first semester as an official Geography major. And I've also come to hate the question, "So... what do you want to do with that?" Let's be honest. Some people know exactly what they want to do with their education. Some people don't and they go out post-graduation, and apply for a myriad of jobs. Sometimes it just works out that way because sometimes people are simply interested in LEARNING about something particular, not necessarily saying "I'm going to major in biochemistry because I want to make a lot of money as a doctor, because that is what my father did and what his father did, etc." Life doesn't always work out that way. Wouldn't it be awesome if it did? It was April 2012 that I was supposed to graduate. Due to my dedication to a certain dance program and my lack of foresight, I have changed my major a couple of times, thus pushing back my graduation date. Do I regret it? In some ways, yes. It would be nice to be completely done with school by now, the way I'm supposed to. On the other hand, I have learned SO MUCH! And I have lots left to learn. I have experienced a ton of things and I have yet to have the neatest experiences... like a study abroad in India. I may dislike school, but I do love to learn and I have gained a ton of insight from it. There. That's my shpeel on my upcoming super senior year.

Next. So... sometimes life is hard. And things start to fall apart. We've all experienced this in one form or another... unless your life is perfect. And then I hate you. Not really, but sort of... in an 'I love you' kind of way. Ahem. So during these times, we need something that we can hold on to to brighten our day or make us smile. This can be a person or an object and should ALWAYS be our Father in Heaven and our Savior. But that's beside the point. I am lucky enough to have bonded with my two older sisters this past month over something that is probably going to sound pretty ridiculous. Brace yourself. Ready? Korean Drama. There. I said it. Now, as silly as this sounds, it has changed my life. American media is dirty. And I didn't realize how bad it is until I watched something that is just as completely entertaining without all of the muck. Seriously, I don't think I've seen something so clean, void of bad language and innuendos since  I know you've all heard the saying, "Don't knock something until you've tried it" and I'm telling it to you  now. Really. Don't. Because you might just be missing out. Actually, I know you're missing out, but far be it from me to force my likes onto you. I just recommend it, is all. Continuing on. From this newly found awesomeness, I have begun to learn the Korean language. This has been in about the last week and a half. Okay, so it's not a common language and there really aren't many people who speak it here which doesn't make it that useful, but for some reason, I love it. I love the  90s pop culture, the bright colors, the hair that changes style and color every month, the boys that almost dress like girls...

SHINee

 Ask anyone who's talked to me about it; I'm very passionate about it. Whatever the reason, I'm grateful. I've never been so happy to sit down and study before in my life! Korea. I watch their shows, I listen to their music (SS501, SHINee, etc.) I'm learning their language. This isn't something new. I've always been passionate about culture. Why do you think I did folk dance for 3 years? Why do you think I'm a geography major? I love the world and I love learning about the people in the world. Korea is just the most recent example.

It's important to find things that uplift you, that make you happy. Be it a person, place, thing, etc. And when life gets too hard to stand, kneel. That's very important too. :) Here's to the next day in a brighter future. Cheers!