A New Chapter

Little do I know, it's been a year since I last updated, and what do you know, I am going to college soon! Riddles, riddles, riddles.

Anyway, everything seems so hard at the moment of its occurrence, but I promise things will get better as time passes. I was so worried about scores, essays, and my dear life just a few months ago, but luck and fate work in their own magic, so everything is good. :)

Little symmetries in life do work themselves out, so believe in yourself. Here is a picture before I disappear again!

YFU Exchange Program

Hello bloggers! A lot of you may not know, but I'm currently in Japan and will stay in Wakayama for the next six weeks. Today was my first day of school in Japan. I was lucky enough to have my fellow YFU friend, Tom, at my school. We had some of our classes together, and my day was a lot easier because of him. At school, I met a lot of Japanese students. Two "buddies" guided me through the day and I would not survive at all without their help. Akari and Mao reminded me of a friend when I first moved to Hong Kong, where they all translated everything for me and became the best companions they could possibly be. Even though I felt lonely sometimes, it's been really nice to regain that language vitality. I haven't had the urge of wanting to know everything regarding languages in a really long time, and this desire for new knowledge is a really, really nice feeling.

Spring Break 2014

Hello bloggers! Springtime has finally arrived, and I am...I am...I am sick. Nice story, isn't it? I had some fun in the beginning, though. On the first day of spring break, I got two new pairs of sunglasses. Yay! I love sunglasses; they make me look cool and more importantly, they conceal dark circles. On Sunday, my friends and I watched a Japanese Anime called "Pom Poko" at the Portland Art Museum. I never knew animations could carry messages such as protecting little animals and our environment until I watched this film. In general, Japanese animations always convey important meanings. I remember watching "Spirited Away" a long time ago and was touched by Sen's courage, honesty, and innocence. There was also a sculpture in the Portland Art Museum that left me thinking a long time. The sculpture captures a young, African boy who is diagnosed with albinism. It is appalling to read the caption that introduces the sculpture. Patients such as the boy are treated as "ghosts" by their society; instead of being cared, they are discriminated and are excluded from the rest of the society. Monday was officially the "sick day." I couldn't do anything except for homework (hahahaha). Every day that followed was pretty much the same except that I'm done with all of my homework now! :D Yesterday was perhaps the worst. As we all know, spring is also known as the SAT season. Because of my rather pathetic score, my mother is currently going through a tantrum. But this is not the end of the world, because I'll learn from my mistakes and hope the Fluke God will somehow stick with me the next time I take the test. 

May the luck be ever be in my favor. 

Brain-fried!?!

Hello bloggers! This is going to be the first bog of 2014, just ignore the fact that I'm 2 months late. :P Looking back at my past entries, I realize that I only write book reviews nowadays. GASP! (Perhaps I did it on purpose since my life is pretty prosaic.) But today, I want to do an update. Okay, where shall I begin? Perhaps from the IB Diploma topic that I began to write about a year ago? It turns out that the IB Program is comparable to a "prison", or I like to refer it as a "cage". It's bittersweet in a way. In IB classes, students are encouraged to think outside the box, to question the world, and to challenge the traditional beliefs. However, I do feel brain-fried sometimes, actually, a lot of times, trying to be "different" because no one wants to write about hackneyed ideas in IB. Don't get me wrong, there are also things I like about IB (that's new, isn't it? :) ). I have discovered my ardent passion for history as well as my talent in critiquing the societal decay. Also, I'll be going to college in one and a half year! Hooray! Now, I shall go back to studying for the SAT. It's snowing in Oregon; stay warm, my friends! :D
   
P.S: Personally, I think the best way to unleash stress is curling my hair
. Really strange, but it's so fun! Here is a photo attachment. (Homework break, teehee :P)

Allegiant Review

Hello!! It's been a really long time for me to write another book review because I've been so busy with school. Anyhow, I want to talk about Allegiant by Veronica Roth. Now, for those of you who are not familiar with the Divergent series, Allegiant is the final book of the trilogy, and it is supposed to unravel the questions that come up in the previous books. The book does a good job answering the questions; however, I don't find it thrilling. Yes, now we know why there are factions. And there are the GD and GP. Basically, Allegiant gives me a dull feeling about the setting. Tris and Four escape in the first place to find out truth, to seek security, and to avoid the chaotic violence inside the fence. But there are layers and layers of dissents and subgroups that at one point, I feel like they are all going to fail. I like that Four and Tris are able to stay honest with each other, but maybe it's the fact that this series has set my expectation too high, because after reading 200 pages, I just want to stop reading. The duo pov is confusing at times since the narrators' voices are more than similar. I still want to give credit to Veronica Roth, though, for finishing this amazing series. This book is a bit disappointing, but I can tell that she gave effort into it, and that's enough. P.S Tris' death is not as frustrating to me as it is to other readers, but I really wish it would've been another character, i.e Caleb.

My Feels After Finishing the Fault in Our Stars

I have an overabundance of obscure feelings right now. I find it very fascinating that the book is about teens battling with cancer instead of supernatural matters. The main character is not a Disney Princess, glamorous on the outside, or has the ability to exude a sense of beautiful tragedy through her affluent family. Hazel is a prosaic, yet extraordinary sixteen-year-old who falls in love with a handsome but problematic amputee who could not guarantee her a life long acquaintance. Augustus could, however, give her "a forever in the numbered days," which in all the ways surpasses the previous statement. What touches me the most about their love story is the simplicity within. "Okay" is their code of flirting, and an eye contact, a gesture, allows them to comprehend each other. They understand that they will die eventually, but they make the most out of their days, EVERY SINGLE DAY, even when Gus leads Issac to vandalize Monica's 1990 car (Love that scene, by the way). I also like Peter. Though  Peter is apparently the antagonist, he is portrayed very realistically. There is no unicorn or rainbow boo boo in the world. Though cruel, Peter's reaction is not entirely unexpected. Plus, he sounds like a messiah to me, as weird as it sounds. He carries Gus' last message to Hazel, and he him self represents a deprecated self after the death of a loved one. I love how the story ends, and I wouldn't change a bit of it if I were the author. Most importantly, the Fault in Our Stars teaches me to live with no regrets and to make the most out of every situation, even the desperate, hopeless ones. A fight without trying is a dead battle. Gus maybe in a better place now, analyzing the words of every being, but his heroism carries on. He is a martyr on a glorious battlefield. I love him too.

The Perks of Being a Wallflower Review Part 2

I finally finished the book!!! Hoorays! Forgive my lack of "flower knowledge," but I had to google what a wallflower is before starting to read the novel. According to google, "a wallflower is a shy or unpopular individual who doesn't socialize or participate in social events." The perk is the advantage of being something. I don't think I understood the meaning behind the title until the Christmas diary entry. The main character Charlie isn't a very talkative or popular person. He is truly a wallflower, for his mere visibility around his friends and family. He is never the center of attention. He is, however, the type of friend or family member that will be your support no matter what. And he is just so nice, so nice that I strongly believe people like this only exist in fictional stories.  At the Christmas party, only Sam and Patrick remember to give Charlie a present. Charlie, on the other hand, remembers to get everyone one, even if he isn't close to them. He is just so considerate; he puts his friends and family before him. How many 16-year-olds in this world can always do that for their loved ones? At least I know I can't. Towards the end of the novel, I wish Charlie tells Sam that he likes her. Not that this intrepid act will make a difference in their already friend zoned relationship, but I feel like it's the right thing to do. It's important for him to tell her that he likes her even if she can already tell. (Okay, fangirl is getting really emotional right now). Charlie buys a myriad of gifts for his friends throughout the novel, and his honest, pure, and sentimental character all make him my favorite fictional character to day.