Things that made me happy
In true second semester fashion, academia has begun to wear me out even though were only in only week 3.
I suppose it鈥檚 because I know that what鈥檚 waiting at the end of all this is a 3-month long summer break. I can鈥檛 help but want it to come as soon as possible. I鈥檓 just yearning for it to be December so I can swap my coats for t-shirts and my trips to uni for trips to the beach instead.
It also very easy to get lost in the exhaustion and demotivation as a result of this. So to keep my optimism up, I made a list of all the things that made me happy these past two weeks 鈥� some of them small, some of them big.
1. My dream headphones finally came in the mail! I鈥檝e been wanting the Sony XM4s in beige for a while now 鈥� since April to be exact but I kept going back and forth on it. I mean, I had to, especially if I鈥檓 about to commit to a $300+ purchase on a pair of headphones. As expected, I鈥檓 loving it a lot (and no, I鈥檓 not saying that just because it burnt a hole in my wallet).
2. Got my hands on some Ben&Jerry鈥檚 ice-cream, specifically the Chocolate Fudge Brownie flavour which has been sold out for ages.
3. There鈥檚 something so comforting and entertaining about watching celebrities interact with each other for the first time. And by celebrities, I meant remove the late-night show hosts, comedians, and the media-trained ones out of the mix. In other words, the awkward ones like myself. I saw a recording of an Instagram live interview between Phoebe Bridgers and Paul Mescal. That was the first time they鈥檝e ever talked to each other I think and my goodness, the whole interaction was so awkward yet so adorable that I couldn鈥檛 stop grinning from ear to ear. It remedied my insecurity over my awkwardness!
4. The 3 days of sun we got after being stuck in the rainy and windy weather for weeks on end 鈥� seriously, the wind here has no mercy. It will scoop you up like Mary Poppins given the chance.
5. Speaking of Paul Mescal, I鈥檓 also super excited to pick up my copy of the Normal People script I ordered from Dymocks last week! If you don鈥檛 already know, I love that show and that book so much I could probably recite some scenes word-for-word. It was easily one of the best books I read in 2021, so it was only right that I get the script too.
6. Being featured on Fresher Magazine for their student style file series 鈥� treating school like it鈥檚 a fashion show really does pay off, kids.
7. Celebrating my friend鈥檚 birthday with lunch at Valentino鈥檚 101. It鈥檚 a new Italian trattoria that serves some well-priced and yummy food. Oh, and of course I had a lot of fun shopping for her gift!
8. Two strangers complemented my outfit.
Pretty sure there were other minor occasions that gave me a boost of serotonin too but somehow got lost in my hippocampus. Nonetheless, I think it鈥檚 important to step back for a bit and get a good look at the bigger picture. You might find out that it鈥檚 not always academic stress and deadlines after all!