So, for the last month I've been pretty down actually.
It's just not easy to make changes to your life, when all you actually want is to go back in time. x')
Well, I can't go back in time, I'll just have to accept that, which has cost me about 2 months time already. Finally it feels like I'm getting some rest from the pain and the reminiscence! So I'm changing my life! ^-^
Study
I'm so close to graduating for my BA!! =D Actually I'm missing 25 ECTS (of which 5 are in the process of getting processed, haha crazy language)! The only thing I have to do now is write my dissertation and translate 1,5 article. *Happy~!*
I plan on finishing my work before my next birthday, and in that way I plan to "start my new year as a BA-owner" ^-^ *yay~*
Translations are going fine, but my dissertation is quite a pain in the a**. My supervisor is very nice though! ;) I heard stories of annoying supervisors who are absent, don't understand their subjects or cause more trouble and distress than progress, so I'm a lucky girl! ;)
Discipline
Close related to studying is of course my discipline. And I've got to be honest, I'm still not entirely disciplined, although I'm full force fighting it! Actually, I used to wake up at 11 AM and go to sleep at 2 AM. I'd constantly play with my phone, watch YT-videos or read books (latter is not that bad ;)). These days however I mostly get up at 7 or 8 AM (!) and then work productively all morning and midday and in the evening read or check social networks, before I go to sleep at 11 PM (!). ^^ I have to say, I get soooo much more done! However, it's not easy! I still fight with myself every morning and evening. And some mornings I just don't feel like doing anything. Even if I got up, I can't get much work done at all. So that needs some improvement (I'm guessing it will get easier as I continue doing it, also because I feel depressed in the mornings due to the unfortunate happenings of 2 months ago ㅠㅠ).
Korea / Future Plans
Although it will probably hang on my mind for the entire year, I will not go to Korea before the entire 2015 has passed. I can't afford it and I want to make sure I build up a stable future. Hence I will spend my year in my own country, I'll get my BA-degree, enroll for a Masters course and work a part-time job to save up money. If I'm lucky enough I will have a chance to spend most of 2016 in Korea for my MA-degree. These are the big lines I've drawn now, but I'm going to keep my eyes open and focus on the things I can do right now. The future will come as it comes.
So that's it, I'm working on myself. ^-^ I'll be the best version of me there is! ;)
~~~~~X~~~x~~~X~~~~~
*~Maria
Wednesday, November 19, 2014
Wednesday, October 1, 2014
Shun the emotional, activate the rational
The time has come for me to actually write my thesis. (And the deadline is A LOT faster than I thought, A LOT I say!)
From today on, I have about 30 days to compose my first version and then another month to revise that version and shaping it into my final thesis.
I'm so excited to write a masterbachelors piece about Korean fairy tales and to finally put my efforts into creating something I can be proud of. Yet, I'm also terrified of losing spirit and drowning in the amount of literature I started to work through. An added fear is the knowledge that I'll have to write in English rather than Dutch (my native language). Although I know my level of English proficiency is okay when I speak / write informally, but I'm not sure about my academic writing skills in the English language; it might just be very awkward and a little out of my comfort zone (I write on feeling and experience by reading, not on actual knowledge of spelling rules).
Anyhow, with the deadlines approaching and the work load being not so little, I'll probably not blog for a while. The same goes for pretty much everything in my life. I will not have time for personal relationships (except the family and Church), for dreams and future planning, for philosophical thinking, for hobbies like reading/writing/playing piano, for entertainment and everything other than my thesis, my food and my sleep (and hygiene ;])... So until Christmas, regard me as a hedgehog in hibernation, while I'm preparing forworld domination my graduation. ^-^
Byebye~!!! Wish me luck!!! =D
~~~~~X~~~x~~~X~~~~~
*~Maria
From today on, I have about 30 days to compose my first version and then another month to revise that version and shaping it into my final thesis.
I'm so excited to write a master
Anyhow, with the deadlines approaching and the work load being not so little, I'll probably not blog for a while. The same goes for pretty much everything in my life. I will not have time for personal relationships (except the family and Church), for dreams and future planning, for philosophical thinking, for hobbies like reading/writing/playing piano, for entertainment and everything other than my thesis, my food and my sleep (and hygiene ;])... So until Christmas, regard me as a hedgehog in hibernation, while I'm preparing for
Byebye~!!! Wish me luck!!! =D
~~~~~X~~~x~~~X~~~~~
*~Maria
Friday, June 13, 2014
Friday the 13th; total opposite of bad luck!
On Friday the 13th many people, jokingly or seriously, observe a day of potential bad luck to overcome them. As it is always wise to avoid potential dangers, people tend to be slightly more aware of them on a day like Friday the 13th. When bad things happen on this day, it is even blamed on the date.
Very interestingly, Friday the 13th is a day originally observed in countries which have a society based on Christian values and morals (even if the country in question does not inhabit a lot of Christians). With Westernization, this 'tradition' has kind of spread around the globe, but that is beside my point.
What I already hinted at is the connection there is with Friday the 13th and Christianity. In what way exactly are these connected? you may think. Well, allow me to give a brief history on the 'tradition' of Friday the 13th.
In the Bible, in Exodus, the 'exodus' (or escape) of the Israelites out of Egypt is described. This became a celebration observed annually by the Jews. On the 10th of the 1st month (which was March!) a lamb was to be selected. A few days later, on the evening of the 13th day (which was the beginning of the 14th of the month), the lamb was to be slaughtered and eaten. This was the celebration of Pascha, or Easter. The duration of the celebration was two days, because it depended on full moon, which couldn't always be pointed out very precisely (sometimes it was full moon during daytime, for example).
So when Jesus was going to celebrate Pascha with his apostles, it was actually the 12th of the month (on the Thursday evening), when he celebrated the first day of Pascha. This was because the 14th would be on the Saturday, which was a sabbath (a day on which no works were to be done). On this day, at the beginning of the 13th, he celebrated Pascha and afterwards he was captured. The day after, on Friday the 13th, he was sentenced with death and crucified.
This is the reason Friday the 13th became a day on which bad luck was said to overcome the people.
However, as a Christian, Friday the 13th should not be a bad luck day. On the contrary, it should be a day for celebration. A day to observe the great mercy God gave us! On a Friday the 13th, God offered His Son for us, to release us from the evil that had us all die. He took the death away from us by having His Son pay for our sins.
If Friday the 13th should be observed; His great mercy shall be the thing to celebrate.
~~~~~X~~~x~~~X~~~~~
*~Maria
Very interestingly, Friday the 13th is a day originally observed in countries which have a society based on Christian values and morals (even if the country in question does not inhabit a lot of Christians). With Westernization, this 'tradition' has kind of spread around the globe, but that is beside my point.
What I already hinted at is the connection there is with Friday the 13th and Christianity. In what way exactly are these connected? you may think. Well, allow me to give a brief history on the 'tradition' of Friday the 13th.
In the Bible, in Exodus, the 'exodus' (or escape) of the Israelites out of Egypt is described. This became a celebration observed annually by the Jews. On the 10th of the 1st month (which was March!) a lamb was to be selected. A few days later, on the evening of the 13th day (which was the beginning of the 14th of the month), the lamb was to be slaughtered and eaten. This was the celebration of Pascha, or Easter. The duration of the celebration was two days, because it depended on full moon, which couldn't always be pointed out very precisely (sometimes it was full moon during daytime, for example).
So when Jesus was going to celebrate Pascha with his apostles, it was actually the 12th of the month (on the Thursday evening), when he celebrated the first day of Pascha. This was because the 14th would be on the Saturday, which was a sabbath (a day on which no works were to be done). On this day, at the beginning of the 13th, he celebrated Pascha and afterwards he was captured. The day after, on Friday the 13th, he was sentenced with death and crucified.
This is the reason Friday the 13th became a day on which bad luck was said to overcome the people.
However, as a Christian, Friday the 13th should not be a bad luck day. On the contrary, it should be a day for celebration. A day to observe the great mercy God gave us! On a Friday the 13th, God offered His Son for us, to release us from the evil that had us all die. He took the death away from us by having His Son pay for our sins.
If Friday the 13th should be observed; His great mercy shall be the thing to celebrate.
~~~~~X~~~x~~~X~~~~~
*~Maria
Thursday, April 17, 2014
Facebook identity
Facebook 'stalking'... Who hasn't?!
Throughout my time on Facebook I've been doing quite some 'stalking' as well. Actually, Facebook stalking isn't actual stalking... (Unless you DO more than go through people's wall and pictures and notes and whatever info they have provided themselves). Just for the record, I never actually stalked anyone! ;)
Well, let's get to my main point.
As I'm quite familiar with the Facebook stalking, I noticed a few things. First of all, you may think you know someone better if you've seen their Facebook page... Which is not all that true. Sure, you can see that someone goes to parties, joins a hockey club, has many friends, posts a lot about their work, and so on.
The thing is, if someone does NOT post about parties, sport clubs, books, movies, work, whatever, they can still be into it. If I don't post about sports, that doesn't mean I'm not doing anything related to sports. So you can't but gather given information, you can't speculate at all. Also, there's different reasons someone might add for example a sports club to their 'likes'. Do they play, do they support, does someone they know play or support, do they like their posts, do they like someone who likes their posts? Not to mention people aren't always truthful on the internet (although this thing doesn't seem to be happening on Facebook a lot).
So, how would you know them?!
From the bits of information you can gather on someone's Facebook page, you can form some basic idea of what kind of person someone is. Here is the thing: whatever picture you paint of them, the only thing you are actually doing is putting them into a box...
Here are some example boxes: Bookworm without many friends, party animal whose ability to think is probably negatively affected by alcohol, sporty person who likes to travel, person who is obsessed with going to the gym and maintaining their body, selca king/queen whose immense fan base likes every single duckface photo they upload. And these are just a few of the boxes.
Admit it, we all know at least one person to fit in each of the above boxes. Which also immediately shows that the boxes do not define a person's being; they are merely a summary of 'symptoms', not even characteristics. Yet on Facebook it's only these kind of symptoms that are visible.
So next time you go Facebook stalking, remember you only see whatever traces someone left for you to see. Don't judge, just enjoy! ;) ㅋㅋㅋ
~~~~~X~~~x~~~X~~~~~
*~Maria
Throughout my time on Facebook I've been doing quite some 'stalking' as well. Actually, Facebook stalking isn't actual stalking... (Unless you DO more than go through people's wall and pictures and notes and whatever info they have provided themselves). Just for the record, I never actually stalked anyone! ;)
Well, let's get to my main point.
As I'm quite familiar with the Facebook stalking, I noticed a few things. First of all, you may think you know someone better if you've seen their Facebook page... Which is not all that true. Sure, you can see that someone goes to parties, joins a hockey club, has many friends, posts a lot about their work, and so on.
The thing is, if someone does NOT post about parties, sport clubs, books, movies, work, whatever, they can still be into it. If I don't post about sports, that doesn't mean I'm not doing anything related to sports. So you can't but gather given information, you can't speculate at all. Also, there's different reasons someone might add for example a sports club to their 'likes'. Do they play, do they support, does someone they know play or support, do they like their posts, do they like someone who likes their posts? Not to mention people aren't always truthful on the internet (although this thing doesn't seem to be happening on Facebook a lot).
So, how would you know them?!
From the bits of information you can gather on someone's Facebook page, you can form some basic idea of what kind of person someone is. Here is the thing: whatever picture you paint of them, the only thing you are actually doing is putting them into a box...
Here are some example boxes: Bookworm without many friends, party animal whose ability to think is probably negatively affected by alcohol, sporty person who likes to travel, person who is obsessed with going to the gym and maintaining their body, selca king/queen whose immense fan base likes every single duckface photo they upload. And these are just a few of the boxes.
Admit it, we all know at least one person to fit in each of the above boxes. Which also immediately shows that the boxes do not define a person's being; they are merely a summary of 'symptoms', not even characteristics. Yet on Facebook it's only these kind of symptoms that are visible.
So next time you go Facebook stalking, remember you only see whatever traces someone left for you to see. Don't judge, just enjoy! ;) ㅋㅋㅋ
~~~~~X~~~x~~~X~~~~~
*~Maria
Saturday, January 11, 2014
Romance
Not immediately, but when the time comes, I just want my guy to be there.
I want to fall in love slowly with a person who is not a Men's Health cover kind of guy.
Beauty is in the eyes of the beholder and true beauty comes from inside.
When I fall in love I want us to be friends already, not strangers.
I want to fall in love with his soul and have butterflies giggling.
I'd tell him I don't mind if he'll grow bald at 27 or if his skin is scarred and sensitive.
Our relationship should be an oasis among the storms and the deserts of loneliness.
I want to feel freed by his presence and laugh into the sun.
No pressure to be someone or to keep a conversation on the roll.
I want to share my life, hopes, dreams, sorrows and all the rollercoasters I have and will be in.
We can laugh at silly things together or have deep conversations over coffee.
An unspoken but substantial trust and a bond so deep we understand the other at a glance.
I want to have a slow relationship with solid grounds and endless dreamy skies.
And the whole world shall be a field of flowers to walk in together.
I want to hold hands and share soft kisses on the cheeks.
Then when we dance to imaginative music, I want to whisper "I love you".
That, to me, is true romance.
~~~~~X~~~x~~~X~~~~~
*~Maria
Sunday, January 5, 2014
Happy New Year! =D
Let 2014 become a good year~!! =D
A good moment to start afresh and get things out of the pipeline and into action ^^
Okay, so here you're probably expecting the "new years resolutions"-talk...
Hmmm, to be honest, I think new years resolutions are sort of too meaningless for me to make them.
I don't think you need a special day to start working on things. I mean why shouldn't you do something about it when the idea first came up?
Of course a special day to start or stop doing something should give you an extra impuls in achieving what you set out to do. However the rate of people who actually achieve their new years resolution is so low (I read somewhere it's about 6%) that it wouldn't surprise me if special days for these goals actually worked against you in reality...
Having that said, I do have some things I want to work on this year (and I already was working on them in the previous year). The first is discipline (has been the case for... forever!) and the second is to fight procrastination! x'D That second one is very brave I think! ㅋㅋㅋ
A few practical goals I want to achieve in 2014 are:
- Get my bachelor degree.
- Post at least 5 posts a month.
- Write at least 1 short story.
- Work a parttime job.
- Find out which master degree to get.
- Have an awesome vacation in South Korea! (in January)
Weee~ And let's all be happy and stay happy!!!
Wish you all the best for this year and let's make it count!
~~~~~X~~~x~~~X~~~~~
*~Maria
A good moment to start afresh and get things out of the pipeline and into action ^^
Okay, so here you're probably expecting the "new years resolutions"-talk...
Hmmm, to be honest, I think new years resolutions are sort of too meaningless for me to make them.
I don't think you need a special day to start working on things. I mean why shouldn't you do something about it when the idea first came up?
Of course a special day to start or stop doing something should give you an extra impuls in achieving what you set out to do. However the rate of people who actually achieve their new years resolution is so low (I read somewhere it's about 6%) that it wouldn't surprise me if special days for these goals actually worked against you in reality...
Having that said, I do have some things I want to work on this year (and I already was working on them in the previous year). The first is discipline (has been the case for... forever!) and the second is to fight procrastination! x'D That second one is very brave I think! ㅋㅋㅋ
A few practical goals I want to achieve in 2014 are:
- Get my bachelor degree.
- Post at least 5 posts a month.
- Write at least 1 short story.
- Work a parttime job.
- Find out which master degree to get.
- Have an awesome vacation in South Korea! (in January)
Weee~ And let's all be happy and stay happy!!!
Wish you all the best for this year and let's make it count!
~~~~~X~~~x~~~X~~~~~
*~Maria
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