I’ve been busy

I’m watching seven shows from this season so… the Spring 2019 Anime First Impressions post will be up within the next few days. Sorry for the delay.

I’ve been busy these past few weeks. I’ve been studying for finals and working on final assignments for uni. The thing is, I’ve been working four days a week and went to practicum two days a week. I also interviewed for a research assistant job. It’s kind of tiring to write papers after an eight-hour work day…

The good news? I finished my practicum hours yesterday and I got the job I interviewed for. Now I have two jobs. I still have a final exam and an assignment to finish, but I’m excited for future cosplays and blog posts. I have a list of cosplays and blog posts I want to write.

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Listening to: 毛不易 – 消愁

How I Stay Focused Throughout the School Term

A lot of people seemed to like my Study Tips & Uni Advice post so I decided to blog about school again! I’m currently doing a Social Work degree at UBC, so I’m taking five courses while doing a practicum. I can still blog and watch anime because I usually finish all my assignments early.

1. Use a calendar to record all your due dates and make a to-do list. Check these very regularly! 

I try to minimize my to-do list all the time because I know that it will get longer. If I see that I have a lot of due dates in the next couple of weeks, I start working on my assignments whenever I have free time. Thinking about the future will help you to not procrastinate. I don’t mean, think about your future career because that is a long time. Instead, think about your future weeks and how tired or stressed you might feel if you procrastinate now.

More importantly, I think the key to not procrastinate lies within your habits. Working on assignments early is a simple task for me because it’s so ingrained in my daily routine. It doesn’t take much willpower. It just happens on its own.

2. Self-care is super important. 

Taking care of yourself physically and emotionally is important because if you are sick or feel a lot of stress, it will be harder to focus on school. To a lot of people, self-care is jogging or doing some sort of exercise that makes them feel good. Honestly, exercise just makes me tired and I don’t enjoy it at all. Self-care really differs from person to person. To me, self-care is watching anime and getting a lot of sleep. Watching anime is not a waste of time if it helps you relax or take your mind off of school work. We all know that self-care is important, but also understand that it will look different for every person.

3. Understand what your priorities are. 

I prioritize school, doing a good job at practicum, and this blog. When your priorities are clear, it’s easier to say “no” to procrastination with your inner voice.

4. Live a fulfilled personal life, while maintaining balance with your school life. 

My personal life consists of being a cosplayer and blogger, and eating foods with friends. These are important to me because if my identity was only tied to being a student, that would be a very sad life. Your hobbies, interests and friendships give you more purpose and you’ll have fun outside of school.

It’s dangerous when you focus too much on your outside interests and not enough on school, so always do self-reflection and think about these different roles.

I write myself letters whenever I feel dissatisfied with my life, and I make an action plan on the things I can do to immediately change my current situation. It’s generally pretty effective. Take comfort in knowing that no one will read these letters except for you, so there’s no need to filter your thoughts! Be as vulgar, petty, or shallow as you wish, given that you do some reflection afterwards. 🙂

5. Know your self-worth. 

I feel like I am going off-topic but this is also related at the same time because if you feel good about yourself and view yourself as a person of value and importance, you might not procrastinate as much. I feel that often times, procrastination stems for feelings of insecurity or dissatisfaction with some aspect of life.

Every person is important and every life matters. Your grades are NOT an indicator of your worth as a person. Please don’t let negative thoughts get the better of you. Each day is a new day, full of possibilities.

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Every person is different, so maybe just one thing on this list will help you. Maybe all five are helpful, or maybe none at all. I also procrastinate sometimes. However, when I do, I forgive myself and move on. It rarely happens but I’m only human.

I graduated!

As some of you know, I studied at the University of British Columbia in British Columbia, Canada. I am from BC and I finished my Bachelor’s degree in four years. I majored in Psychology and I will be continuing my studies at UBC because I was accepted into the Social Work program.

I do feel proud of myself because I graduated at the age of 21 by taking a full course load. I started university right after high school and you need a high average to get in. The Social Work program was competitive as well and the interview was three hours! Anyways, that’s enough bragging. I have bragging rights on my own blog, right? Right??

I wore my Kiki’s Delivery Service dress from my cosplay.

I like how the horns come out of the graduation cap. Thanks friends for the anime figures!

Thanks R for the flowers, card and presents! The graduation mug is very practical.

Study Tips & Uni Advice

I’m graduating this month! Sometimes younger readers ask me questions about university so I decided to write a post about study tips. Hopefully this post will help some of you!

1. If you fail an exam, forgive yourself. 

I actually did very poorly on a paper this term (barely passed) because I misunderstood the purpose of the paper. There was the initial shock when I checked my grade, but within ten minutes I was back to normal. I’m not going to let a bad mark define who I am as a person. I know my own worth. This is something I love about myself because I am able to forgive myself immediately. I am not working against myself, but with myself.

For my next paper, I got an A. Before I wrote it, I emailed the Teaching Assistant a lot of questions. I knew that I wasn’t dumb – I just didn’t understand the purpose of the first paper. For my final exam, I got an A and my final grade was an A-.

2. When choosing electives, pick courses you are interested in.

I’ve taken German cinema and Japanese cinema as two of my electives. No surprise, but I got a higher grade in Japanese cinema. The class average for Japanese cinema was lower than German, but I still did better. My final grade was 12% higher than the class average. I firmly believe it’s because I am more interested in Japanese culture and cinema. I know almost nothing about Germany!

3. Do not enrol in a class just because your friends are in it. 

This is something a few of my friends can agree with. Make sure you’re interested in the course too! I didn’t take a Psychology course because a couple of my closest friends were taking a different class. To this day, I still don’t think I learned anything in that class. I wasn’t interested in it at all and similar to #2, your interest in the course will probably affect your final grade.

4. Make flashcards. 

I did better on exams when I used flashcards. I use Quizlet.com because 1) it’s better to use less paper for the sake of the planet, 2) it’s more convenient because you don’t have to carry a stack of cards, 3) it’s easier in the long-term because if the final exam is cumulative, the flashcards are in one convenient location. You don’t have to worry about misplacing them.

5. It’s okay to say “no” to a social event because you have to study. 

In my second year of university, I went to a birthday party during the weekend and my exam was on the Monday. I did horribly… In my third year of university, I didn’t go to the birthday party and I got something like a 97% on the exam. When I told my friend, she was happy for me. I know that birthday parties are important, especially if the other person is a close friend, but sometimes you have to put your grades first. Make sure you actually study during that time!

6. You can still do your hobbies.

I only recently started to watch anime again during the school term. Prior to this year, I used to go cold turkey on my hobbies like watching anime. I do not recommend doing this because I felt miserable, like I was missing a crucial part of my life. Anime makes up part of my identity. Of course, you still have to study. This is not an excuse to not study or not do your assignments. Hobbies are healthy to do, but you still have to do work. My grades improved after I watched some anime. It’s not the sole cause, but it probably contributed to my wellbeing and overall happiness.

7. Treat yourself. 

If you feel proud about an academic or non-academic accomplishment, treat yourself! Buy yourself that ice cream cone or thing you really want. You deserve it! You worked so hard and it’s time to thank yourself because you are important and you matter.

8. Try taking power naps. 

I like to take 10-15 minute naps when I have to study for long periods of time. I don’t know about you, but I can fall asleep very quickly so I always feel refreshed after I wake up from a nap. I use an alarm on my phone.

Last day of classes

I bought these games yesterday. I hope I like them.

I treated myself to a matcha ice cream cone. It’s the last day of class for my Bachelor’s degree (Arts) in Psychology at University of British Columbia. After finals, I’m graduating! 🎓 If you look at my Archives, I post the most when I have a break from school. I woke up at 6 AM every Monday to Friday this term. I have a full course load as well, which is why I am graduating after four years of doing my undergrad at the age of 21 (I went to university right after I completed high school).

Readers of my blog (mainly girls in high school) sometimes email me or message me about university inquiries. That’s why I feel compelled to write about my experience, especially since I don’t show the student side of me that much on my blog.

I enjoyed university a lot more than high school and elementary school. I didn’t have great experiences in my high school and elementary schools though… I made great friends and I feel comfortable being myself around them. They are supportive of my anime and cosplaying hobbies and they are very nice to me. As a young adult, I have a lot of freedom and therefore I am able to engage in my hobbies. This blog is a space where I basically show a glimpse of my personal life in terms of anime fandom and other hobbies. Hobbies are very important to me because they allow me to take a break from school and other commitments and responsibilities. Anime and my other interests make up part of my identity.

I was accepted into a UBC program so I’m continuing school in the Fall. ^_^

Life Update

I’m in a couple more polaroid photos but I don’t have good photos of them.

For my electives this term I’m taking Comics and Anime. I’m excited for Comics because I will have a chance to improve my sketching and have it actually count as homework. Anime class is good too because reading manga (ex. Ouran High School Host Club) is my homework! Plus, we will watch some anime films during class time like Kimi no Na Wa.

I also got the Kiki’s Delivery Service cosplay from my Secret Santa. ^^ I don’t have the Kimi no Na Wa bracelet/hair tie but I will still cosplay as Mitsuha one day. I’m still waiting for my eyeshadow to arrive so makeup for cosplays will have to wait.

Thanks to everyone who wished me luck on my search for strawberry water. I found it again, and bought 12 bottles, lol.

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Listening to: BiSH – GiANT KiLLERS. My favourite girls idol group is BiSH (Brand-new idol SHiT).

Happy belated Halloween

This post is a continuation of My Month in Pictures. I’m not sure if I will do this in the future, because I take too many photos.

I wore my Haruhi Suzumiya cosplay, but wore a cardigan with it this time (and tights instead of knee high socks).

A is so cute OMGG

Listening to: flumpool – 明日への賛歌 & Mayday 五月天 – 好好 (想把你寫成一首歌)

I ❤ flumpool & Mayday 五月天!

Class was outside today

We all sat on the grass with the ocean(?) in the background.

Food Adventures (long post)

One Piece is one of my favourite anime because of the friendship the Straw Hat pirate crew have. As I was thinking of this, I thought about my own crew. During the school year, I see my friends almost everyday, but here are some of the times we ate food together.

2014

I didn’t start eating out with my friends until near the end of Term 1 of first year University. We got Qoola and Menchies around campus to celebrate hard work and the end of Econ 101.

2015

In Term 2 of first year, we tried out Bubble Waffle Cafe near campus.

We also got drinks every Friday for our Econ 102 discussion. One of the places we went to was Tim Hortons. My friends got the drinks because I had class before discussion. We also did this in Term 1. For V’s 19th birthday, we went to Kyo Korean BBQ and Sushi House.

Summer 2015

During the summer after first year, we tried to meet up a lot. I couldn’t make it to a lot of the hang outs, but here are two I went to. We went to Cactus Club and Mimibuloveme.

September 2015

In Year 2, we hung out a lot more so I can post photos for every month. Before school started, there was an event held by one of the clubs. Since my friends were leaders for the clubs, I signed up for the event. Even though I didn’t get my friends as my leaders, I had fun. Three of us went to Blenz near campus.

On the bus ride home from school on a different day, I had another bad experience with creepy men. I was still upset the next day but A bought me a drink from Tim Hortons on campus to cheer me up.

October 2015

For my 19th birthday, we went to Kyo. Cotton candy was being handed out on campus so we got some.

November 2015

We decided to try out fried chicken at Flipside at our school, UBC, for the first time. Later that day we got Starbucks on campus. A, G, and I decided to make Fridays our food days so we went to Danbo for ramen.

December 2015

We celebrated the holidays by eating out at Chef Hung Taiwanese Beef Noodle. V treated us to cream puffs at Beard Papa’s later that day. We were on our winter break during this time.

January 2016

We went to Shishinori to celebrate A’s 20th birthday. Later that month we went to Banana Leaf to celebrate J’s 20th birthday.

February 2016

We went to Seoul Cafe to celebrate G’s 20th birthday. We also had dim sum at Western Lake Chinese Seafood Restaurant on a weekend morning.

March 2016

A, G, and I got free pocky on campus. The crew and I went to Red Robins.

April 2016

A, G, and I went shopping for J’s birthday gifts (different J) but we made a stop at Starbucks. The next day, we went to Morak Korean Restaurant to celebrate J’s 20th birthday.

On the last day of Year 2, we went to Pearl Fever Tea House near campus to celebrate. During our summer break, we went to Snowy Village for bingsu.

May 2016

We went to Chau Veggie Express to celebrate V’s 20th birthday. Later that day we went to Off the Grid Waffles.

June 2016

Summer school started for A, J, V, and C. I didn’t have summer school but I did have to go to campus for my lab. A, J, and I went to Pearl Fever.

When G got her N for driving, we went to Sekai Udon Bar to celebrate. On another day on campus, my friends and I got bubble tea at the new place. We got the drinks on the first day it was served. We also went to Panda night market and got different foods. We also had shaved ice from Icy Bar.

It’s almost the end of July and I haven’t seen my friends much this month. We were going to eat but I was too ill so it was cancelled. Two of my crew members are out of the country right now but we will see each other more when they come back.

Before I became friends with the crew, I had not gone to most of these restaurants before. It’s kind of like Luffy’s crew. If it weren’t for Luffy, the Straw Hats probably wouldn’t have travelled to so many islands.

Blogging from the University

Today I had a meeting at the Psychology Lab and the Professor brought strawberries!

Then I went to the rose garden on campus. I love roses. This shouldn’t be a surprise because my name is Rose. These were my favourites. No filter for the next three:

I found these pedals on the ground:

What a great day.