#college is consuming my life but hey!! now i can write really good essays in English isn't that neat??

[tamaiory]

A week late for Cater's birthday let's gooo

[blackradandmad]

why blippi is rotting yr children's brains

preface: i literally expect no one to read this. it is an essay length, strong opinion piece critiquing a niche youtube-based children's show that i don't expect most of y'all to even have knowledge of lol. but like, i promise that even if you know nothing about what i'm talking about, in my incredibly, super humble opinion, it's a good piece of writing and interesting nonetheless. anyway if you read this whole thing for some reason yr really hot and we should kiss.

i thoroughly vet everything my child watches before he watches it, episode by episode. and we rarely watch youtube for entertainment; we usually just look up educational videos when he has a question about something and wants more detail than i can provide him. and that's mainly because children's content on youtube is so fucking troubling and distressing. i don't judge parents who give their children a tablet at a restaurant at all bc i've been there and sometimes it's easier on everyone to just put on a video and avoid a giant scene, but i do judge parents who just leave their children alone with youtube kids on autoplay.

take stevin john, a literal millionaire who got famous from dressing up as a silly character called blippi and going on tours of places like aquariums, zoos, construction sites, etc and posting it on youtube. this has branched into a whole empire of blippi videos, hulu shows and specials, live shows and tours (that he outsources to another character actor), merchandise and so on. this 30-something year old man cites his main influence as being mr. rogers, but i question if he's ever even seen an episode of that program.

mr. rogers had no background in early childhood development or media production, but he revolutionized the world of children's media, because he respected his audience and didn't shy away from real world situations, all while creating a show with an enormous heart. mr. rogers begins his episodes by inviting the viewer in, literally changing his attire to be more comfortable, and talking about/doing things he genuinely cares about. whereas mr. rogers calmly and maturely addresses the viewer, blippi puts on a high pitched, contrived voice, interjecting every other sentence with a forced exclamation such as, "teehee! we're having so much fun!"

i don't find it a coincidence that john (blippi) is a veteran, either. his videos are completely devoid of the absurd, abstract, childlike thinking that makes children's media fun, creative, and entertaining. his thinking and process is methodical, devoid of emotion, and very superficial. this line of thinking clearly shows the kind of creative sterilization and emphasis on sameness and conformity instilled in the military. blippi simply observes things and interacts with them in a stale, matter-of-fact way. "this ball is purple! this ball is pink! anyway... what's over there? teehee! a car! vroom, vroom!" objects are colors, toy cars don't do anything but drive, curiosity is simply not encouraged.

he uses the "it's educational!" excuse to hide the fact that his show lacks everything that makes media a valuable resource for children to consume in the first place. further than identifying colors, numbers, and the occasional letter or shape, there is just this total lack of children's need for social and emotional development. when mr. rogers breaks the fourth wall to address the viewer and let them know they're special, it feels authentic and natural, because we've spent the last half hour building whole worlds with diverse characters and unique stories in a pretend neighborhood, learning about and enjoying different musical instruments, being exposed to and making friends with (even if parasocially, it is still a real bond to children when done properly) children who are similar to us in character regardless of physical or environmental differences, feeding the fish, making art together, and so on. when blippi tells the viewer, "you are very special, and i enjoy spending time with you!" it falls completely flat and feels unearned, because the last half hour was spent running around a soft play center pointing at bright, colorful objects, visiting interesting locations like farms or fruit production factories while failing to acknowledge the humanity of the humans actually working there (everything is machine or product focused; the human workers are simply an extension of the machine), learning "fun facts" about elephants that just list attributes of elephants, not taking the opportunity to inform the viewers of elephants' intelligence, or diet, or matriarchal society. it is a loud, sensory overwhelming display of a man so disconnected from the social and emotional needs and desires of children that he assumes they're stupid, easily entertained idiots who only need some silly dances and fast-moving cartoon graphics to give their attention (meaning time and desire to purchase products meaning $$$). john clearly views his audience as a means to gaming the algorithm and ultimately a paycheck by the hollow way he addresses them.

the show is so narcissistic, so focused on all the fun blippi is supposedly having, but he lacks any of the character traits that make individual children's show hosts memorable, so much so that he was able to have someone else who doesn't even vaguely resemble him dress as blippi and impersonate him and host the show or appear at live shows, and it went unnoticed by most of his toddler and child audience. the show is so formulaic and the character of blippi is so unmemorable that instead of taking the blue's clues route of developing a story of the host leaving for college and his brother now stepping in, or making some sort of believable excuse for the change in actors, they can simply swap him out with some random guy and not acknowledge it at all. although a comedy show for older children, the amanda show in no way could or would try to replicate the show with the same name but swapping out amanda bynes with a random teenage girl who is clearly not amanda bynes. it's weird and nonsensical and shows that his character is so much of a farce put on for a paycheck that not even his dedicated audience is affected or even cares when he is replaced by a random, unknown person.

this is completely garbage content made by an opportunist with no experience with children who saw his nephew watching children's youtube content, took it at complete surface level and still hasn't realized that while children's content only looks and feels so easy, entertaining, and enriching because it is so hard to do well. even with outsourcing his music, that aspect of the show still sucks. famous and successful children's musician, raffi, is known for his song describing the life of a little white whale, called "baby beluga." it opens with a calm strumming of his guitar, followed by the lyrics, "baby beluga in the deep blue sea/swim so wild and you swim so free/heaven above/sea below/and a little white whale on the go." is it silly and kind of pointless? yes, but the point is that he is captivating children and showing them the fun of listening to music, dancing, singing, and appreciating art. the "excavator song" featured in an episode of blippi about construction vehicles opens with what sounds like a default garageband loop and the flatly sung lyrics, "i'm an excavator/i'm an excavator/hey dirt, see you later/i'm an excavator." i don't feel i have to meticulously analyze the aforementioned lyrics; the stark contrast should speak for itself.

i have a million more criticisms about both blippi specifically and youtube children's content as a whole, but this is already so long and i doubt many people will get this far anyway. it's an issue i was completely apathetic towards until i had my own child and had to wean him off these kinds of junk food shows because i realized the fast-paced visuals and bright colors and repetitive songs/lyrics were putting him in this spaced-out, fugue state, and he thought he could demand this show or that show whenever he wanted. the moment he started regularly yelling things like, "watch! cars!" or "no! click it!" i knew i had to be a lot more invested in the things he watched even if just for entertainment or as a soothing message. i showed him an episode of mr. rogers yesterday and feared it would be too slow to hold his attention, but he was mesmerized, greeting and interacting with mr. rogers verbally, asking me, "what's that?" to different objects on the screen. since purging this low-brow children's entertainment, he has had a noticeable increase in attention span and concentration, can focus on a task for longer amounts of times, is more likely to "read"/look through books without me initiating it, and doesn't throw a fit when the tv/my laptop is off.

i just know that for me, growing up with so much unsupervised internet access definitely led me to real-world pain and consequences, and it seems like now children are born with an iphone as an extension of their arm. if my child is going to be consuming videos, i'm definitely supervising every second and am going to be highly critical of the videos and the credentials (or lack thereof) of the creators and team behind it. but i also know, from pure observation admittedly, that parents letting youtube kids autoplay parent their children for hours at a time is not an uncommon occurrence. and it worries me that a generation of children are being raised on videos that rely on being as loud and bright and superficially enjoyable as possible. what's the use of a child knowing their colors and alphabet if they don't know how to treat people with kindness and empathy and respect? there is something wrong for a children's show host to plug the spelling of his name at the end of his videos ("well, that's the end of this video. but if you wanna watch more of my videos, just type in my name! can you spell my name with me? b-l-i-p-p-i!") after essentially rotting his audiences' brains for a half hour. there's something so insidious about the prioritization of naming different parts of construction vehicles over honest depictions of and conversations about dealing with feelings, or why someone with autism may act differently than you, or what to do when you feel lonely, or ways to make art and express yrself creatively. also, not to mention the blatant police propaganda and outright worship is seriously jarring; as a black mother to a visibly non-white child, i cannot sit there and watch blippi show kids how to be a bootlicker for the shittiest profession on earth, but that could be a whole essay in and of itself.

anyway, thanks for reading, if yr looking for quality children's content, i recommend, in no specific order: mr. rogers, sesame street, the electric company, molly of denali, daniel tiger, bluey!, blue's clues, the odd squad, word party, trash truck, puffin rock, uhh... that's definitely not an extensive list but that's just off the dome!!! ok bye y'all <333

[seungminity]

Cold Lips | Kim Seungmin

↠ Pairing: Kim Seungmin x Reader (Gender Neutral)

↠ Word Count: 1.8k

↠ Genre: Fluff, Suggestive, Established Relationship Au, hints of College Seungmin

↠ Warnings: Suggestive. Cursing. Mentions of shoving an ice cube down someone's throat, but like, lovingly? There’s a boner in there somewhere.

↠ A/N: i honestly don’t even know what the fonk this is. this is literally just an excuse to write making out with seungmin bc uhmmmmmm, making out with seungmin??? yeah u get it.

The clock reads 2:34 a.m. the third time you glance at it, which gets under your nerves because time seems to move too quickly considering you’re not yet even halfway done with the 6th out of 10 paragraphs you need to write for this philosophy paper. It’s still due two days from now, but you wanted to finish it by tonight (morning) because when in college, you’ve learned that putting aside an assignment will only lead to piles and piles of paperwork, which will lead to nights and nights of breakdowns and acne. Fun.

Your spine cracks when you lean back to stretch, relieving a bit of the tension, but the stingy pain doesn’t fade away when you retreat back to your original position. Your neck and back hurt, and your bum feels numb from how long you’ve been sitting down.

The words glaring back at you seem to blur together, and a wave of sleepiness washes over you. You mentally scold yourself for putting this off, but at the time, you were too busy binging another k-drama series that your boyfriend, Seungmin, pulled you into. Letting out a big yawn, you reach across the piles of notes for your mug.

It seems to be mysteriously empty, which isn’t all that mysterious considering you’ve been chugging its contents like water for the past 3 hours, but you digress.

“Min-ah, I’m out of coffee!” The e’s drag out, and despite all your huffing and puffing, your boyfriend doesn’t look up from his own laptop. He too procrastinated writing this essay and has decided to spend the night at your apartment so the two of you could work on it together.

“Minnie,” You coo, resting your head on his leg from your spot on the floor. Seungmin instinctively runs his fingers through your hair lovingly before he resumes his typing, not once looking away from his screen.

You call out to him again in hopes that he’ll get the message and walk to the kitchen to make you some more of your precious—what he calls—hot bean water, but he ignores you and continues typing. How dare he?

“I need coffee.” You huff, but he still doesn’t move from his position. You’re feeling cranky and sleepy, and this stupid paper is not magically writing itself, which is just offensive, really. Flopping down on the table, you release a drawn-out whine of coffeeeeeeeeee.

“Baby, just get up and make some,” He seems to contemplate before reaching over for his own mug and placing it in front of you. “Make me some too.”

Technically, it’s his turn to refill your mugs since you both have been alternating back and forth to the kitchen for your coffee fills, so what gives? You voice this to him as a complaint, and his answer does nothing to relieve the dull ache in your eyes. God, do you need coffee.

“I can’t.”

“Why?”

“Because.”

Its silent while you wait for him to elaborate. Because, because what? You slap his outstretched thigh in annoyance and he yelps out, finally looking up from his essay to frown at you.

“What was that for?” He complains.

“It’s your turn, Minnie!”

“I’ll go twice in the next rounds.” He proposes, before leaning over and pressing a kiss to your head. He resumes his typing, which is a good thing because then, he can’t see the heat that spreads across your face.

You get up with both of your mugs, giving up on arguing because you’re whipped for Kim Seungmin and will probably do anything he asks of you as long as he repays it with a forehead kiss.

“Seungmin, we’re fucked.”

The boy looks up from his laptop to see you pouting and holding the two mugs like shopping bags, both empty of his hot bean water—he learned the term from Jisung—which concludes that you either broke the coffee machine again, or you really just wanted him to be the one to fill your coffee mugs, which would make no sense because he already said he’d go twice so-

“Were out of coffee!” You announce it like it’s the most horrible thing, and it startles him a bit. Regaining composure, Seungmin assures you that you guys don’t need coffee anyway, you’ve both already consumed about 4 mugs separately.

“It’s easy for you to stay awake without coffee Minnie, you already stay up late playing with Felix, its why your eye bags have grown—hey don’t look at me like that—but I need coffee! My body isn’t used to staying up without caffeine!”

He decides to ignore your comment about his eye bags, you’ll probably force him to wear some kind of face mask anyway, and proceeds to take the mugs out of your hands before you start crankily swinging them around and breaking all of your furniture.

“Just do what you can tonight and finish up tomorrow morning, babe.” He advises, leading you back to your seat on the floor. He never really understood why you preferred doing all your work on the cold tiles rather than the couch, but you once said something about the coldness keeping you awake.

“But I need to finish this essay.” You whine.

Seungmin only smiles knowingly at you before placing another kiss on the space between your eyebrows.

“Google how to stay awake then.”

This prompts you to do just that, and you scroll through different websites of 5 tips on how to stay awake to even a wikiHow guide with pictures.

You finally stumble on a trick that you think might work, and move to venture back into the kitchen.

When you return to your seat, it’s with a cup that holds bits of crushed ice. Piece by piece, you put a small shard in your mouth and chew. Immediately, you feel more awake than when you were just drinking coffee. With this newfound energy, you continue working on your paper, stopping occasionally to plop another piece into your mouth.

crunch crunch crunch

And it is because of this spec-

crunch crunch crunch

specific factor in Kant’s-

crunch crunch crunch

theory are we able to conclude that-

crunch crunch crunch

oh my fhckign god iuwech fvoiumacxiahscmv

Seungmin stares at the keyboard smash on his screen. It’s been about fifteen minutes since you’ve realized this new hack of yours, and now every five seconds, you loudly chew another ice cube.

He doesn’t usually mind loud chewing, and it doesn’t annoy him as much as it annoys you, but ironically, the situation seems to have switched because now all he wants to do is grab another ice cube and shove it down your throat—lovingly of course, because you are the love of his life, but still-

crunch crunch crunch

Oh my god, he cannot do this anymore. Seungmin rips his laptop off of him, scrambling to get up. It’s almost 3 a.m. at this point, and he just wants to finish this stupid essay without the sound of your obnoxious chewing.

He freezes when his eyes settle on you.

Pouring another cube into your mouth from the cup, Seungmin watches as the ice has formed a permanent layer of sheen over your lips. You don’t notice him staring, which is a good thing because now he can’t seem to take his eyes off your mouth. Over time, the hue of your lips has changed into a brighter shade of red due to the coldness of the ice.

Seungmin knows you don’t have sensitive teeth, because you bite your ice cream and he always judges you for it, but the lack of feeling you have in response to the cold in your mouth has enabled you to eat ice cube after ice cube.

With your impatience, he watches as you reach for the cup and put two more pieces into your mouth, and the sight of your cheeks full and the small drips of water spilling from the corner of your lips has Seungmin shifting in his seat to fix the sudden southwards rush of his blood.

Shit.

You don’t notice the predicament you’ve unknowingly placed your boyfriend in. You’re too busy scanning over the ninth paragraph of your essay and looking for any spelling or grammar mistakes. The ice has worked wonders with keeping you awake.

You pour another ice from the cup and start chewing. From the corner of your eyes, you see Seungmin scramble off his seat and settle beside you, but you don’t think too much of it. 

Which is why it comes as a surprise when you feel his hand snake around your jaw and turn your head towards him.

There are no words that can accurately describe the sudden rush of butterflies in your stomach at the sight of your boyfriend staring at your mouth with extreme concentration. The only fitting words seem to be oh fuck, but that doesn't seem romantic enough.

You’re about to ask him what he’s doing when he tilts your head the slightest bit and slants his lips against your own. There’s an overwhelming sensation of warmth that floods your mouth in contrast to the cold bits of chewed up ice. Seungmins hands snake across your jaw to angle your head, while the other one wraps around your thigh and tugs one leg over his lap.

His teeth nip against your lips, causing you to release a sudden whimper that he just swallows. Your hands smooth over his chest before finding home at the nape of his neck, tugging and pulling at the hairs. His tongue maneuvers into the crevices of your mouth, and you seem to forget the melted ice that gathered below your tongue because before you know you it, drips of water spill from the corners of your lips.

Seungmin grunts at the feeling of water dripping out of your mouth and into his, before pressing you closer, chest to chest and thighs wrapped around him. The pressure of your hips against the stiffness in his sweats makes him grip your jaw tighter.

He lets out a low moan that has your stomach twisting at the sound, and just like every other time you’ve made out with your boyfriend, you conclude that Kim Seungmin will definitely be the death of you.

When he pulls away, his eyes are dark and filled with lust. You’re guessing it mirrors your own.

“Fuck.” He groans.

Your lips are dark and bruised, and confusion of where the hell this all came from fly out the window when he grips your hips down to grind on him. The whine that you let out would embarrass you if you weren’t so preoccupied with the way your nails dig into his shoulders.

Seungmin reaches behind you to take another ice cube. The shuffle of movement allows you to breathe, which isn’t enough (it’s never enough when it comes to him) before he’s back in his original place with you straddling him, centered over his hips. He wipes his thumb over your lips with one hand, and he pulls your mouth apart to shove the ice cube in.

“Bite, baby.”

His voice is low and raspy, and it does things to your insides. You chew a few times, enough for the ice to shatter into tiny bits across your mouth. And then he’s angling your head to roughly connect your lips again.

You never do finish your essay that night.

notes♡: ahah so uhmm... yeah 👉👈 also im pretty sure chewing ice is actually bad for your health so probably ᵈᵒⁿᵗ ᵈᵒ ᵗʰᵃᵗ ᵃʰᵃʰ

[kyunsies]

Hey mädch! How are you? I feel like it’s been forever since I talked to you. Ive been pretty busy with school and everything. i hope your exams go well! I saw that you got a good score on your last one! Also congrats on the 100 on your assignment it must have felt so nice. I had some essay for a class and when I was writing it I felt so good about it but turns out I got a 90 on it which is good but I think I can do better but it was good! Whenever I’m proud of my work I never get a good score, but when I think I do terrible I get an amazing score. Anyways I have a question if you dong mind me asking what types of grades did you get before college/ university? Did your grades play a big factor in it all? Have a good rest of your day! -🥭

hello love !!!! it has been a while :( but i feel like we all got busy at the same time LOL so don't worry <3 i hope school has been going okay so far for u hun !!! thank u so much about my exams and assignments :((( i spent so much time on my assignment that i felt not that prepared on my exams but everything turned out okay in the end so it did feel really nice :) and hey bub !!!!! a 90% is very very good don't hang your head <3 we are all so hard on ourselves and maybe we could do better but i've definitely learned in college that you really have to get what you can take ya know? and you don't have time to regret things that already happened bc you have to focus on the next thing , so don't be too hard on yourself you did well !!!

and oh my gosh i don't mind u asking at all !! i know exactly what you mean by this question and i will try to answer my best :) so i've said this many times before but all my life (after grade school lol) i was and still a very much B student! in high school i challenged myself and took the hardest classes i could take (AP english math science history all of that stuff) and honestly, i never got stellar grades ; and it just depends on the type of person you are! bc i have always struggled in school bc i always took the hardest classes, i was okay with a B bc i knew that's the max of my abilities with the hard classes i was dealing with. and i definitely had friends who also took the hard classes like i did and performed much better (they would get As all the time); i never ever strive for perfection bc i've never been at that level and i never will ! i am very happy with my B's bc it's a really safe and attainable range of score for me and it means i'm on the right track :) if you're worried about how grades matter for uni, i'll tell u thins: just bc colleges say they look for you to push yourself in high school doesn't mean you should stuggle taking the hard classes! for example i really really struggled to maintain a B in math bc i'm absolutely terrible at it and it fills me with so much anxiety ; i probably shouldn't have taken advanced math but i wanted to and i struggled with it all 4 years of high school. if you don't feel comfortable doing the hardest stuff, dont! bc what colleges will see is your really good grade in a class that u felt comfortable in, not stressing yourself out about . also, i know it's hard to see now but literally just ,,,,, don't stress too much about high school. just try your best to get good grade and thats it ! don't make it into something that consumes your whole teenage life bc uni is so much more valuable than high school. i'm always looking back and thinking about how poor my mental state was in high school bc i was so stressed out ,,,,, just relax, do your best, and be healthy!!!!!! i love you and i really hope this helps you out <3 i'd be happy to answer any other questions u have bub !!!!

***here’s a cool video i found and maybe this will help u ease ur mind a little <3

[lesbianfreyja]

hey u have an english degree or smth right? do u have any advice abt writing abt ur own life maybe? im applying to colleges and last year i was rejected everywhere so obviously i did it wrong and idk like i have great test scores and teachers said i was a rlly good writer but i just never know how to approach personal essays or whatever like i either come off too emotional or too stoic and just ?? also all the questions r lile "write abt how ur experiences shape who u r" and i have no idea (1/2)

(2/2) how to remove myself or any narrative i have from my trauma like its ingrained into everything i am bc the past however many years have been consumed by it. but i dont want to sound unstable but also like my experience and trauma DID form who i am so like ??? its just so fucking frustrating i never know where to draw the line ig and just 😐. sorry if this is too personal or annoying but if u have literally any feedback on anything thatd be so fucking great id appreciate anytjing

no worries! not sure i can help but i’d like to try. i applied for college, now…six years ago? so i don’t really remember much about it, but i have some general advice

personal essays r weird because it goes against every single “dont use ‘i’ statements and dont talk abt ur opinion” lesson u learn about writing essays in high school lol. the main thing i think u need to maybe do is actually make it…less..personal? i’m sure your essays are good n true but colleges don’t really care about that. i always say “the only thing i learned in high school was how to bullshit” so i’m going to give you some bullshitting advice now

don’t pick a topic that you think answers the question best or is easy to write about. pick a topic that the college wants to hear and tailor it how you need. for example, if the question is “write about how your experiences shaped who you are,” then you shouldn’t ask yourself who you are and how you got there. colleges rlly dont care if you personally went through something or who that turned u into. instead, pick a strong trait that you have, ideally something that you can make sound like it will help you academically: instead of brave, kind, or selfless, instead emphasize that you’re good at following direction, you’re independent, you’re hardworking, or you’re naturally good at picking up new skills. then pick a story that ties into that trait–or that you can make sound like it ties into that trait, even if the two are unrelated.

for example: let’s say i was applying somewhere, and i wanted to emphasize that i am good at making decisions in a crisis. what i’d say instead is something like: I am very good at finding simple solutions to difficult problems in a way that benefits everyone involved. I learned this when trying to navigate a complicated period in my life. When I was 17 I found out I had a half-brother, which was difficult for my family. We found out he was in town for a few days and would be coming to stay with us the next day, which was very sudden and hard for everyone. I proposed x, y, and z solutions. We picked Option Z and now he actually has a great relationship with my mother because of it. I apply the same principle to school when struggling with a difficult problem or a class that I’m not doing well in. When I found out I was failing math three days before the end of the semester, I did X and got an A instead. I try to apply the lessons that I learned in the hard times to everything I do, including school, since it’s the most important goal for me and where I spend most of my time and energy.

that entire story is complete bullshit, but it doesn’t matter. i took 1 thing i wanted to say im good at, picked 1 thing that was true (i have a half brother that i found out about when i was 17) and then made the rest up to fit it together. if you happen to have an actual situation that fits the trait you’re looking for, great! but don’t get too bogged down in the details. and if you’re only applying to one school, do some research and try to make it line up with their interests. if it’s for the common app, keep it super general.

you’re selling yourself to a college, not telling the truth. they just want to know why you’ll make them look better as a school! they don’t care about anything else.

sending love & good luck!

[basileuus]

     there  have  been  some  strange  assumptions  being  made  about  characters  in  the  iliad  which  are  now  being  tied  with  miller’s  the  song  of  achilles  (  if  u  want  the  tea  just  hmu  i  guess  )  but  it’s  pushed  me  to  make  my  own  post  on  it  so  without  further  bullshit.

     i  read  excerpts  from  the  odyssey  when  i  was  a  freshman  in  high  school.  i  can’t  remember  who  translated  it,  and  i’m  too  lazy  to  look,  but  it  was  written  in  a  novel  format,  not  a  poem.  i  really,  really  liked  it,  and  i  wanted  to  read  the  whole  thing,  but  several  problems  came  up.  one,  i  didn’t  read  the  iliad.  two,  i  was  a  dumb  fourteen  year  old.  and  three,  i  just  wasn’t  developmentally  ready  to  understand  and  appreciate  those  works  without  the  help  of  a  teacher.  so  i  never  picked  it  up  for  four  years.

     i  read  miller’s  the  song  of  achilles  about  half  a  year  ago,  and  i  loved  it.  the  writing  was  lush,  the  characters  were  three  dimensional,  the  story  was  tragic.  it  inspired  me  to  try  again  with  homer’s  epics  so  i  bought  a  copy  of  the  iliad,  this  time  picky  on  who  translated  it.

      once  i  finished  the  iliad,  and  have  now  been  reading  works  by  numerous  other  classic  poets  and  tragedians  and  what  have  you,  i  realised  how  unorthodox  miller’s  retelling  was  to  the  original.  and  it  wasn’t  just  like  scenes  taken  out  or  archaic  references  modernised.  the  biggest  one  for  me  was  drastic  changing  of  characterisation  in  order  to  service  the  love  story,  really  turning  any  female  character  (  deidamia,  briseis,  thetis  )  into  a  distraction  so  the  reader  can  see  how  much  achilles  and  patroclus  truly  love  each  other.  among  other  things,  of  course.

     that  being  said,  what  miller  did  for  me,  i  cannot  thank  her  enough.  she  brought  this  timeless  story  back  to  me  in  the  form  of  a  modern  rendition,  and  the  iliad  has  since  become  one  of  my  loves  in  life.  the  things  i  feel  from  reading  the  iliad  or  orestes  or  the  bacchae  are  the  same  things  that  people  thousands  of  years  felt,  and  that  unto  itself  makes  me  feel  fucking  warm  and  fuzzy.  the  pursuit  of  understanding  about  that  culture  and  about  the  technical  aspects  of  those  stories  and  about  what  made  them  good  or  bad  to  an  antiquated  eye  has  led  me  to  major  in  it  in  fucking  college.  

     is  the  song  of  achilles  flawed?  absolutely.  but  guess  what !  it  doesn’t  fucking  matter !  it  doesn’t  bother  me.  the  novel  was  a  gateway  for  me  to  the  world  of  classics.  but  in  the  end,  they’re  fucking  books.  they’re  stories.  if  we  attacked  every  piece  of  art  for  problematic  subjects  or  not  being  true  to  the  original  or  whatever,  we  wouldn’t  fucking  consume  any  piece  of  art.  if  you  wanna  get  down  and  funky,  to  be  shocking  and  different  is  the  point  of  art.  just  let  people  like  what  they  want  to  like  and  let  people  dislike  it  if  they  want  to  dislike  it.  who  fucking  cares  about  what  someone  on  the  internet  deems  is  problematic  or  not?  it’s  a  book,  simple  as  that,  and  whether  you  like  or  dislike  it  won’t  change  a  thing.  there’s  no  reason  to  police  people’s  artistic  preferences.  and  there’s  no  fucking  reason  to  log  on  tumblr.com  and  post  a  six  paragraph  essay  on  it,  and  if  you  do,  you’re  dumb.  ( ......hey  now  wait  a  minute  ).  

[mysmessmistake]

How about College AU with the RFA and Minor Trio? Like what their major would be, roommate, stuff like that

I don’t know muchabout collage majors, so I’m sorry if you were looking for specifics. Also Iwasn’t sure if you wanted a MC to be included or not, but I included themanyway. The RFA isn’t running by the way. 

Yoosung

Yoosung was taking a course in     order to become a vet     

The work was brutal

Though he loved it, and he was     sure he wanted to help pets    

It was still brutal

Shares a dorm with Saeyoung &     Saeran

He goes to almost every class

Mainly because he’s scared of failing 

Has all nighters too frequently

Can often be found crying in     the library at 3am as he writes an essay 

He tries to join astronomy club

But he can’t keep up with them     because of his gaming addiction    

Saeyoung fuels this addiction

Saeyoung also messes with him     by hacking into the game and getting a bunch of rare stuff for his own     character     

“I have to defeat him! I     can’t let Saeyoung defeat me!”    

There goes Yoosungs life. 

He meets MC in his class

And

Oh god is he in trouble

Finds he can’t focus in class     because of you

Saeyoung convinces him to talk     to you about a problem he’s having    

So he catches you in the     library one night

“Hey, you’re MC right?     You’re in my vet corse! I was wondering if you could help me with     this…”

He tries to be sly but he’s red     in the face the entire time    

Your friendship and more     blossoms from there on out.    

Also 100% shows you off to     everyone once you get together    

Jaehee

Business & hospitality     major     

She’s a fucking boss

She’s bomb at studying, and you     best bet she gets top of the class    

She works for that shit

She shares a dorm with a girl     she doesn’t know very well, and doesn’t really talk to due to conflicting     interests.     

She’s super invested in the     coffee club at school    

To the point where she becomes     the leader of the group!     

You are also in the coffee club     and you instantly connect with Jaehee, so naturally you two become     friends.     

She’s had friends, but not     friends like you.     

You also met everyone else     through Jaeheee

Jaehee knew Zen, V and Jumin,     and through them she knew Yoosung, Saeyoung and Saeran. 

And some guy named Vanderwood

She has all nighters frequently     as well

Goes to all classes on time     unless she’s sick

Even then she gets someone to     send her notes

A year or so through her     college experience, after she’s calmed down a little about the idea of     college

She realises there’s something     she feels about you that isn’t… just friendship 

She doesn’t say anything, she’s     afraid of your reaction    

You aren’t stupid, you know the     looks she gives you

So you make the first move

It’s slow

But it’s nice

Zen

Drama and Literature major

Teachers pet + ladies man

You’ve seen Monsters University     right? Well, he’s like the Sullivan of the college. 

He has his own fan club

Jaehee takes part in said fan     club     

His roommates are … Jumin and     V!

It’s a little bit of a     nightmare     

His relationship with Jumin is     pretty much the same relationship as cats and dogs…

However

Jumin is very good at calming     Zen down when he gets angry, and bring him back to earth when he’s too     full of himself     

And Zen is very good at     grounding Jumin when he gets a little out of hand, or his ego is too     large.     

And V just tries to make     everyone happy

So it works

He doesn’t study excessively 

“God gave me a gift! Why     would I need to study?”    

He changed this thought after     he failed his first test    

You thought he was a little     arrogant     

He thought you were cute

He needed help with a few     things so you offered to tutor him 

After a few tutoring sessions     he began to flirt, a lot    

He did his best to impress you 

And eventually he just made his     move

Power couple!!!!

You still help him study

Jumin

Business major 

Not that he really needs it

He already knows all there is     to know about business so he’s top of his class

He also doesn’t really need to     study     

Wants a cat but can’t have one     in his dorm     

Also his roommate is allergic

Not that he cares all that much

Because he doesn’t have to     study, and he doesn’t belong to any clubs, his time is consumed by     meetings with his father and arguments with Zen or long chats with V 

You catch his eye when he sees     you struggling slightly in the business class

So like a gentleman he offers     his help

Spoiler: Jumin is a very bad     tutor     

Okay he’s not terrible he just     isn’t good at explaining things on a level you can understand

You appreciate the help though

He flat out asks you if you’d     like to have dinner with him    

No tip toeing around that

You accept, and after a few     more dates and a bit more horrible tutoring you two become a thing

Zen is shocked and wonders if     he’s paying you

Saeyoung

hacking major

Is there a hacking major?

Computer science & programming     major

Top of the class but rarely     shows up

When he does he’s unusually     reserved and quiet in the back of the class, not talking to anyone

Shares his dorm with his     brother and Yoosung

Eats like a true college     student

He studies but it doesn’t look     like studying

Like he’ll be on his computer,     and it will look like he’s playing a game

But he’s actually looking     through the games code    

This is also how he messes with     Yoosung

Should he hear even a peep out     of someone about Saeran in a bad way    

They can kiss their grades     goodbye

Admittedly hacked into the     schools system before in order to change Saerans grade

You meet him when you sit at     the back of class one day because all of the front spots were taken

And you realise that Saeyoung     is not quiet, or reserved, he just doesn’t have anyone to talk to

Because he doesn’t shut the     fuck up when you sit next to him    

Everything out of his mouth is     a meme or a sly comment about the professors work ethic 

Unfortunately you were     struggling a little with the class    

“Alright then smart guy,     if you know so much then teach me”

“Deal”

Well that was easy

His personality just gets     goofier every time you see him    

Eventually you just become a     thing

You both act like it wasn’t a     big deal

But it was

Now he helps you complete the     course and you listen to his stupid jokes! 

Saeran

I saw someone headcannon Saeran     as an art major

I agree

Art Major

He shows up to class a lot but     sometimes leaves during lectures 

Sometimes it’s boredom,     sometimes it’s panic attacks.    

Studies but not intensely

He doesn’t really want to     become an artist, he’s just always liked art

And he’s pretty good at it

He just had to pick a major and     art happened to be one of the first things he thought of

He shares his room with his     brother and Yoosung

He likes Yoosung, but he’s     waaaayyyy too gullible    

He also doesn’t talk to any of     Saeyoungs other friends that much, he tries though

He meets you when he sits next     to you in class one day    

Normally you’re at the back by     yourself, so your comments can go unnoticed

Not today

“Are you fucking- this is     not a hand”

“What the fuck is     Picasso”

“If I don’t eat dinners     for the next week I can afford new paints”

He looks at you strangely, you     catch his look, you smile and put your head down

He looks over to see you     writing ‘fuck colour theory’ over and over again

“I can help you with that     if you’d like”

You were surprised 

You accepted his help     nonetheless     

because

Fuck colour theory

It took some time, and patience     and a forceful push from Saeyoung    

But eventually he confessed 

Artsy couple!!

You often doodle on each     other’s arms

V

photography Major

Obviously

Studies hard, but not too hard

Wonderful student and friend to     all

Golden boy

Shares his room with Zen and     Jumin

Which can be overwhelming at     times

But they’re both very nice, to     him at least, and they do try to get along sometimes

He wouldn’t be in any clubs

He prefers going out and taking     pictures, or hanging out with Jumin    

You met through class

You were paired up for a     project together

“One will be the muse, and     the other the photographer”    

Theoretically, you should be     the muse, right?

Ohhhh no

You force kindly ask him to be     the muse for this project    

He’s too nice so he says yes

The two of you joke and laugh     the entire time     

You manage to get some lovely     shots of him smiling and laughing, when he things you aren’t taking the     picture

Sly V probably managed to     skilfully ask you on a date    

“We should do this again,     however you are to be the muse next time”

“It’s a deal”

“How about its a     date?”

Sly

He helps you with studies and     is always willing to be your muse    

Also he has a lot of pictures     of you

Cutest couple!!

Vanderwood

listen

I don’t know

I don’t fucking know what he’d     do

My headcannon, if he wasn’t     dragged into the mess of the Agency, would be he went to college to major     in psychology and chemistry    

I DONT KNOW!!!!!!! Let’s just     go with it

Psychology & Chemistry     Major!

He’s very reserved, he just     gets what he needs to done    

Doesn’t fuck around

He only really talks to     Saeyoung and sometimes Saeran, other than that he’s usually alone

A lot of people are weary of     him 

He lives in a dorm alone     because no one wanted him as a roommate because he works better alone

You met bc neither of you were     looking where you were going and you ran into each other

“Watch it” He growled     at you

Excuse me?

Excuse me??

“You watch it, you’re the     one walking around like a fucking mountain, don’t expect me to step out of     your way, asshole”    

The sass was amazing

He literally had to watch you     watch away because what the fuck just happened?? 

Of course, Murpheys Law,     Saeyoung saw all of it and teased Vanderwood for his ‘crush' 

He punched him

Gradually the two of you ran     into each other more, around campus, at the library, going in and out of     lecture rooms and hallways    

Until you just sat down next to     him in the library and asked for his help on your chemistry assignment

“You’re in my chemistry     lectures??”

“Ya have been for a year     thanks for noticing”    

It’s a slow, painful process     but the two of you become friends    

And then more…

Saeyoung prides himself on     being right about the two of you     

[strawberryhazes]

Study Abroad

Condensing my 6 months abroad and away from Penn won’t be easy, but…

Before:

    I felt a little self-conscious telling people, “I’m studying abroad in Korea”, because I knew what kinds of reactions would follow:

“Why Korea?”

“Why don’t you go somewhere you’ve never lived before?”

“Oh…”

    Ultimately though, despite the insecurity and the hesitation, I was excited to study abroad in a place I was so totally familiar with. Fall semester of my junior year was probably one of the roughest academically, so I wanted to take a breather. I was essentially going to turn my study abroad experience into a semester off whilst still earning credits to ensure that I would graduate on time.

   At the same time, I wanted to make sure that I would have a productive semester, one that would ideally enable me to “find myself”. I heard good things from a Korean-American upperclassman who also studied abroad in Korea two semesters before me. Our intentions for studying abroad aligned: We both wanted to dig deeper into the “Korean” side of our identity.

   The timing of my study abroad was a bit worrisome-- I would miss Hey Day and Spring Fling. BUT: Friends reassured me that these two Penn milestones were worth missing out on, especially if it meant spending time outside of the Penn bubble.

Pre-Academic Term: Internship

    I like to joke to people that Penn took my soul. Someone recently told me, “That’s not even a joke though and it’s a real problem”. I was humbled from Day One by everyone who was smarter and better looking than me. I was set on pursuing a career in PR or fashion. Those career paths slowly became murkier as I realized people defined success by how much money you were earning at a bank or a consulting firm, or how you were saving the world with your medicinal skills.

    When I arrived in Korea, I found myself eager to work before my semester took off in March. I missed being productive and almost even missed studying. I began interning at a luxury fashion and lifestyle magazine. From this internship, I learned a very important and obvious lesson: The people you work can make a difference in your experience. The office environment was cold and I was surprised that I didn’t receive any praise on work that I had spent days on. But the game changer was the opportunity to accompany the Fashion Director to the printing company, where we would spend hours and hours going through freshly printed issues to provide to the Editor-In-Chief and the head of the publishing company. In this hour and a half car ride, she told me about her personal life, and how work had taken up a majority of her life to the point where it interfered with her personal relationships. She also reminded me that most people stop giving you praise after high school. Despite the frigid working environment, my passion for fashion (ugh, I know I hate myself for writing this too) was reignited.

During:

    I had to go to Orientation Day from work, so I was stuck in the car for almost an hour due to lunch hour traffic. This built some anxiety because I did not want to relive something comparable to New Student Orientation (NSO-- if you know, you know). I sat in a huge auditorium, thinking the abroad students would only take up maybe a third of the hall.

    I was so wrong. Upon sitting down, streams and streams of students poured in, and I started feeling like a very minuscule fish in a vast ocean. A lot of the students seemed to already be acclimated with each other because of the international student dorm housing. I was living at home, so I didn’t really know anyone prior to actually starting the program. I could feel myself rolling my eyes as the orientation started, because I already felt like an expert on Korea. I felt a slow rush of doubt after the orientation-- Did I make the right move coming here?

    Fast forwarding to the first day of class: I was taking two courses that were designated towards study abroad students, and two courses that were designated towards Yonsei students in general. Making friends in these courses wasn’t difficult: It was easy to distinguish those who were abroad students.

    What I really wanted, though, was a cohesive group of friends who I could go out with and venture Korea with. I had about three to four friends per class, but I couldn’t see myself molding everyone together into a group. All of my friends already had set groups of friends to travel Asia with or go out with (or both).

    The whole friend search changed when my good friend and high school classmate-- hi Joon-- introduced me to a church. The friends I made from the college fellowship eventually became my going out buddies (I know-- the irony).

    I’m not sure if I should be proud of this feat, but I really immersed myself in the Korean going out culture. We went to 포장마차s, bars, lounges, and clubs. Lots of soju and 막거리 were consumed. As cheesy as it sounds, I started to gain my work-hard-play-hard mentality back. Back at Penn, freshman year was all play, sophomore year was all work, and junior year first semester was all work with little bits of play. Most importantly, I realized I was capable of enjoying myself while working really hard. I had forgotten what it felt like to believe in myself.

    Apart from my own social life, I was beyond happy to be at home with my Mom and sister. I got to have my Mom’s cooking all the time. I didn’t have to clean up after myself. I got to watch my Mom chase her once abandoned dreams. I got to see my sister grow more as a young lady (she is literally taller than me). I got to be there for her when the stresses of being a second semester junior in high school piled up. I got to watch her achieve above and beyond: She won her cheer competition and got 6 awards-- for her academics, sports, and overall outstanding citizenship. The comforts of home are something I definitely grew to love and appreciate as I was abroad. It reminded me that no matter how grown up I seem to myself, there is a lot more growing up to do.

    In terms of immersing myself more in Korean culture, I didn’t travel Korea as much as I wanted to. I actually didn’t travel outside of Korea because my schedule didn’t align with my friends’. In hindsight, I feel bad for complaining about “being stuck in Seoul” because of my love that’s grown for the city.

    I wish I could document every single moment, but that would turn this post into a full-fledged essay.

Post-Study Abroad: Reflections

    I have 0 regrets about studying abroad in Korea. I have a little regret from not listening to the previous study abroad students who warned me about liver damage.

    I didn’t do anything incredibly life-changing and didn’t meet the love of my life, but all the experiences I had during my time abroad really added up to something incredible.

 *I do have a brief shoutout to everyone who really helped me out*:

Family first, of course. I am eternally grateful to my parents for feeding me and for making sure I was taking the time off that I needed. My sister was always there for me and helped me grow more as a person (she is, of course, much more mature). My sister would have a glass of water waiting for me on the table every time I got back from a night out. My grandparents’ love means the world to me, and hopefully I can pay them back in the near future.

Irene is always there for me. She was there for me when I suffered at my internship, there for me when I was worried I would have no friends, and there for me after my study abroad term. She was genuinely happy for me and really wanted me to regain the confidence and light that I had lost at Penn.

Joon is also there for me. He’s the kind of friend that asks you really deep and insightful questions to help you think clearer, and to articulate what’s really on your mind. I always joke that he’s my pseudo gay best friend or pseudo boyfriend. Thanks for always bailing on me, Joon.

My girl gang: You guys are so fun-loving and for that I am so grateful.

    I want to make it very clear that my study abroad experience was not all play and booze. Though I didn’t “find myself”, I was able to re-energize and reestablish confidence. I never thought I would say this, but I’m now excited to go back to Penn for my senior year.

[ellipsesarefun]

Reunions.

Series: Mundane  AO3 link

Summary: In which they set up a party, eat and dance, Yuri gets drunk, and spills his love for his best friend. And forgets.

He was finally allowing himself to drink any alcoholic beverage in front of all his friends on his twenty-first birthday.

On the heavy insistence from his friends of course (mainly Mila, Sara and Leo). Yuri never did so before due to his capricious behavior of his drunk self (also noting the aforementioned memory haze that comes with the hangover). The only person he was brave enough to see him in this manner was Trista. It was not only because she was his roommate or she has a secret stash of the classiest alcohol her wealthy aunt ships from her home country, but he has infinite trust in her. Rarely does she call out on his embarrassments or tease him over nonsensical matters and has a sense of understanding that he is eternally grateful for. He will always be eternally grateful for. It somehow also helps that she herself has a number of embarrassments during her drunken state, including to twerking to Anaconda when induced from five glasses of vodka tonic (this coming from a seemingly shy and reserved individual). The party was held at the Nikiforov-Katsuki/Katsuki-Nikiforov residence. The two have been married for a few years and may soon adopt a new pup, after Makkachin's death two years prior. The old man himself also (with the indirect help of Tine and her magic wine) managed to obtain a built in mini bar that was once a portion of their kitchen. The living room furniture was spotless, dusted and wiped yesterday. The short-legged table was draped with a handmade tricolor yarned mat (crocheted by none other than Trista herself) and miniature horticulture on top (another courtesy to Trista). The lawn outside was properly mowed. The backyard already consisted of a badminton net at the center, music equipment set on one side near the house window facing the living room and a banquet of party food parallel to it. At the front stood Trista and Yuri chatting alongside Yuuri and Viktor gazing at their front lawn (must be a married thing, they all think and it's true). Trista carried a list on her clipboard. "So we got all the food and shit, plus now that the minibar is installed, I can bring in some wine." She said, scribbling whatever on the paper. "Tch," he crossed his arms, "Seriously? Wine?" "Hey, hey, you do know my rich ass aunt brings some mighty fine wine." She argued, "She may be selfish with her money but if she's somewhat considerate enough to gift me some wine every birthday then I won't complain." "Right.." "Anyways, should we invite JJ?" A low resigned grumble came.

"What do you think?" The grumbling ceased but the scrunched up face remained, "Didn't want this party in the first place." "It's your birthday, anyway. You'll like it, I swear. You're getting older. Have some fun." She assured, ignoring his rolling eyes. "You're not getting younger, either." He retorted. A slap on his head was returned. "Hey, hey, mind your manners, young man." She chided lightly in teasing undertones and he stuck out his tongue in reply. Trista lifted the clipboard to his face, "Is this alright?" He hovered over her shoulder with a frown. "Yea whatever, as long as Beka and Leo DJ and not him." He said and Trista held back a snort. "What, his music not cool for you?" "I used to hate his guts, but he's still a dick and his music's "eh"." He veered away, peering at the backyard ahead, "Leo's pretty good. Beka's the one that's got style and taste." She shifted her gaze at his contemplative face. "He must be really something, huh." There were specs of emotion on his face and she hid her smile under the guise of her faux innocence. "You keep saying that." This was a familiar conversation they've had for quite some time, probably for a few years. They come in varied sentences and responses with the gradual leak of emotions that have been brewing beneath. They always end with the same denied responses. "It's true for you, anyway." It is. She is merely a bystander witnessing the apocalypse, unwavering and ever-present. Yuri is somewhere among the catastrophe, maybe washed away by a tsunami or flown off with a hurricane or tornado. This was not her problem anyway, only to check if he was still surviving and attending to his wounds. She aids him whenever she can, but she can never stop the storm because it's his mess that conjured up from the depths of his own mind in the first place. (Sometimes, she acts like some wise Guru dropped from the heavens that it annoys him every time her face morphs into that all-knowing, perceptive gaze.) Yuri chews on his lip and veers away from the backyard, already pacing towards the car, Trista following from behind. They bade farewell to the couple before driving away to buy other things.

(509--509)

“You do know crushes fade away, right?”

(509--509)

Going to the mall for clothes, food, books and other friend shenanigans is one thing but throwing all expenses over a small party with a surplus of garbage food is another thing.

“Isn’t that a little too much?” Yuri scrutinizes the amount of garbage food on the cart. It seemed a lot for just a party, even for a day. It may span for weeks.

“Eh, it’s fine.” his roommate waved an arm in dismissal, “Everyone might be hungry.”

It was a consensus decision (albeit reluctant on a certain someone’s part) not to consume such waste, mainly due to his roommates erratic and ravenous appetite and the insistence from both Porky and his balding husband that she take a break. From chips and cola and everything that brings the wrath of her stomach and her bowel and dysmenorrhea that consistently aches.

“You mean you’ll get hungry.” he added and she scoffed at him.

“Not completely true. Yuuri-senpai will help me finish all of it.” (and it’s true; the two were known for finishing a whole gourmet of anything) Trista turned to the ginger-haired woman beside her, who was grabbing an armada of Cheetos, “Right, Mila?”

“Of course!” She agreed, wholeheartedly dumping the Cheetos into the cart, “Sala and I will be eating these too, y’know! Yurotchka shouldn’t bother into our affairs. After all, what’s a party without junk food?” They grinned simultaneously, filling the cart continuously. Yuri outwardly grimaced at the overwhelming size.

“Don’t you think that’s more than enough for a few people?” He asked again, and the women brushed his warning off like swatting a fly with a hand.

“It’s called after party, Yuri.” Trista reasoned. Weak excuse.

“Yea!” Mila chimed in again, “Junk food untouched are the best! Especially since no one but us is gonna gobble this after.”

He palmed his face and huffed out a sigh. Seriously. They’re gonna waste their stupid dollars with all that shit polluting in their cells.

“Beka,” he barked at the brunet that was wordlessly standing behind him, “Do something.”

The man merely shrugged (and it was barely even one like this was all just a mundane thing) and said, “You know she’s not gonna listen to you, Yura. leave her be.”

“That’s right!” Trista added, “Otabek, can you please accompany Yuri some place where he can’t scold me?”

A glitter of a smile shined on Otabek’s face for a brief second and vanished that followed by a, “With pleasure.” He shifted his eyes to Yuri, “Let’s go. Yura.”

“Ugh. You two will be the death of me.” After a farewell and a sassy comment, the two left the supermarket and bought drinks at the nearest cafe they (used to) frequently visit. They took seats near the entrance and talked. Just like how they did in high school.

“So, how’re classes?” Beka asks as he casually places his lips on the straw to lightly suck in the iced caffeine. Yuri snaps out of his reverie and his nails snugged into his pale skin as an urge to focus his eyes at some other point.

“You know. Science-y stuff.” That was the lamest reply he’d ever pull out after the many moments of creepily eyeing his body parts for more than the usual amount of time, but Otabek deserves to have the “bestest bestest friend in the whole wide world” badge because his silence over such matters is a virtue and he asks, “I don’t know, Yura. Philosophy, remember?”

“Yea, you and your,” he gestures wildly for effect, “Ancient wisdom.” The man across him rolls his eyes.

“Sure, Yura, sure...”

“Yes.” He agrees, “But anyways, it’s... okay, I guess? Everyday, I always have a spare lab gown (and I have around four lab gowns already) stashed in my locker when there’s a lab class. Science calculators are always needed and the stat we go for is ANOVA and shit. There’s also the basics. Like in mitosis, there’s PMAT, but then it takes around a few courses to get that there are proteins that affect other biomolecules like sugars, enzymes, or even more proteins. Like fucking Cell Biology.”

“Damn.”

“Yep. Cell Biology was awesome, because, y’know, it’s the cells and shit and you learn all those kinds of shit.” He goes on, the tense atmosphere he brews suddenly waning and disappearing, “I didn’t even know the ER and Golgi Body had anything useful until Cell Biology. But it’s just so damn complicated. So much to read and so much weird words.”

“Aren’t they usually Latin?”

“Fuck Latin, Altin.” A snort comes, “It’s fucking shit. But it’s okay sometimes. How about you? Bet you’re as hardcore as Jean Paul Satre or geeking out over Albert Camus.”

“I guess. We read. And read. And discuss. And write essays. And debate.” Yuri nods, sharing his sentiment from the number of thick books Trista has in their apartment.

The rest of their caffeine drinking flies by through exchanged tales of their college life. From frat boys, to horrible makeouts in empty halls, to terror professors who don’t curve their grades, they’ve covered the entire months that Skype doesn’t do justice. Any social media-based conversation cannot fully acquiesce the ache in his chest every time he thinks of the growing distance between him and Beka.

He’s not sure if there is but he worries.

“Some friendships from high school fade away. Some don’t. There are people who come and go in our lives once in a while and in several occasions, people can just leave without saying good bye and in the rarest ones, they still communicate with you, regardless of the distance between you. The ones who do those and make a heavy influence in your life matter than the nameless acquaintances you meet in any class.”

Trista’s words echoed in his head. It’s true. He has those friends. He gets a call or a Facebook chat from the maybe boyfriends / weird bestfriends Leo and Guang every month or so. Trista frequently shares her old notes and drawings, occasionally chiming in with some quick mnemonic devices and all the how-to-do-shit in labs, like titration shit. In every two weeks, he receives a care package from his stupid cousin and Porky. Mila and Sara share gossips with him and Trista whenever they visit. Even Georgi sends a post card from time to time (and there were some occurrences wherein he responds in kind, wishing him well).

The brunet right in front of him with his Kazakh phrases and smooth tongue has been with him through and through until the present time. Otabek sends the best care packages every week (they usually contain a couple of tiger face merch with a couple of crochet things he made once in awhile). He calls and texts as often as he could, topics range from the most random to the most serious.

Yuri saves most--if not, all-- of their online conversations, from Skype, to Facebook to Snapchat to Tumblr and down from their most recent to the oldest one. He screenshots some Tweets that were the most memorable from Beka’s account and a few stories from Snapchat. His download folder in his laptop was filled with DJ Bek’s remixes that he replays in the late night cram sessions and crippling insomnia that knaws him at the chest when the thought of losing his best friend pops up. There were traces of Otabek Altin around him, even when his physical presence remains absent.

That does not mean that there were issues. Issues as in no sign of communication that may elongate to more than three months, as in the wordless calls in three am and falling asleep at the sound of their voice when they’re too tired to pursue any conversation, as in the delayed replies from the lack of internet connection, as in misinterpreting facial expressions and/or curt replies that imply on the possible vexations that either of them harbor in some of their Skype calls.

(His thumbs pause over Beka’s name in his speed dial contacts in desperation to rant over any aspect of his day but gradually loses the courage to press the call button.)

“Are you alright?” His best friend inquired, stoic mien screwed with concern. Even with the distance and academic work pushing them apart, Beka somehow has a sixth sense to his well-being.

(He appreciates it.)

“Ah yea,” Yuri waved it off with a hand, “Just thinking about things..”

“About what?” Beka crosses his arms over the table and leans slightly.

“About us, really. How we’ve come this far ever since High School.” Yuri added with a casual shrug and a gentle smile graced the brunet’s face.

“Never thought you’d be this sentimental.” A roll of the eyes praised his comment.

“When you’ve been living with a woman filled with schmaltz, then there’ll come a time I’ll be as sentimental as she is.”

“She’s grown on you, hasn’t she?”

“She’s a little sister and a big sister at the same time, how can I not?” He rolled his eyes again in effect. She was physically hundreds of meters away but he’d tell she’s laughing her ass off somewhere.

Their rapport ensued through other topics, till there was no caffeine left in their plastic cups but ice. Yuri checked his phone as the clock on his lock screen chimed at five. Several messages from his friends were displayed, with 15 missed calls from Mila and Viktor. Something shifted at his side and he looked up at the sudden outstretched hand. A second of silence came before Yuri noiselessly grasped his callous palms and pulled himself up to a stand. Otabek released his hold and they ushered their way out of the cafe, Yuri three paces behind and a dazed look upon his face.

(509--509)

“You do know crushes fade away, right?”

“Can’t they fade away any faster?”

(509--509)

“HAPPY BIRTHDAY, YURI!” The group cheered, all huddled in the Katuski-Nikiforov/Nikiforov-Katsuki backyard. Kiira started blasting the whole yard from Leo’s iPod as they all dispersed to either dance on one side or grab some food from the buffet table.

The party wasn’t much of a drag, really. If he was absolutely frank to everyone, he could say he was glad to have their presence in his life. Everyone greeted with presents. Some were food, some were plushies (he got a Otabear from Beka), some were remixes, and everyone was creative.

(At the back of his mind, Yuri felt loved. He thinks to himself that Dedushka need not have to worry about him so much from beyond the grave.)

Yuri sat on one of the laid out mats, taking his time with his chicken. On either side of him were Ji, who was bubbling with laughter over internet nonsense with Trista, and Beka, who was eagerly listening to Emil’s something (he’s not sure, it’s a bit noisy here). Beka and Emil go to the same university and share a few classes together.

He surveyed the area with nostalgic amusement. Like always, Viktor owned the dance floor with his fluid movements and hip bumping as Katsuki watched from the sidelines, cheeks flushed and Yuri couldn’t quite tell if he was exasperated or aroused by his husbands’ naughtiness. Giacometti arrived the scene with a dancing pole (it’s only seven o’clock and he brought a fucking dance pole already; where the fuck he got that shit) and mass cheered and whistled as he twirled around the steel metal in his underwear. The rest were swaying and grinding on each other’s bodies (he could catch a glimpse of Sala and Mila goofing off). Phichit was mingling around, sometimes sitting with Seung-Gil in one of the mat, even with Georgi (Seung-Gil, Phichit, and Georgi? What are they talking about over there?), sometimes whooping at Giacometti’s show, and sometimes taking pictures and selfies of anyone and everyone that most of his notifications on Instagram were piled up from Phichit’s tags.

Yuri chanced a glance at his best friend beside him, still conversing something so serious with Emil. The ash blond man beside Beka chortled, pausing his drink to respond in witty remarks. Okay, so maybe not so serious, but he has to admit. Even with that wonted stoic face, age has done nothing but generous to Beka. It’s noticeable from his chiseled jaw, down to those reformed muscles (he’s had those in high school, but they seemed a little more toned, if that was possible), to the callous hands now thicker and larger (nice to hold) and that glint of a smile that reappears every now and then. Yuri looked back down at his untouched food, a curve forming on his lips.

(Oh, Dedushka, they never change. It’s been years since we’ve come together like this but they never change.)

The night grew longer and the party grew wilder when alcohol was passed around. Katsudon managed to avoid the inebriated scene altogether (which was lucky for him, because he’d given several lap dances when he met Viktor in his youth). Trista wasn’t, as she now took the stage with another free style to Era Istrefi’s Bonbon. Minutes later, he was given a glass of alcohol (vodka maybe? he wasn’t sure) and somehow, he was ushered to dance among the wild mass of people. His hips and limbs swayed and he could vaguely hear Jason Derulo’s Swalla. All his senses merged together in an ineffable blob but he couldn’t give two fucks, already hypnotized by the swinging bodies around him.

(509--509)

“Tris, that really isn’t helping.”

“It takes time, ya know. Usually they fade away when you get to know the person better. You can become friends. Best friends even.”

(509--509)

Alessia Cara was blaring up the speakers for the past hour or so. Hours. He couldn't tell, not with the vodka swimming in his cells. Yuri surveyed the backyard. The mass of dancing bodies swirled his night vision, feeding into his dizziness. He stumbled and swerved until finally he realized he was standing in the living room. Everyone was buzzing with party fever and his friends seemed busy with other things. There was Trista at the mini bar, catching up with Mila and Sara over drunken shenanigans, who were now engaged since last month (they were also probably arranging a blind date for Trista as well; he overheard that they were adamant on snagging a boyfriend for her). Leo was somewhere by the minibar as well, lounging around his still maybe boyfriend Ji (those two are idiots; but they were one of his bestfriends). The stupid couple was also there, with shmaltzy conversations and all the sappy bullshit (gods, it's been years and they're still the same annoying and disgusting couple). It was a pretty mundane scene, if you ask him. Only, it was more distorted due to his drunken state.  He could recognize others, at least tried to with his lack of coordination. In the haze, he could find Otabek sitting at the edge of the couch, sipping red wine like he was some god. He knew that undercut and that leather jacket anywhere, despite sharing a similar hairstyle with stupid JJ. A smile carved on his face. He awkwardly sauntered towards the man and plopped himself on his lap, earning a startled gasp from the latter. "Beka," Yuri cooed, spilling himself all over his chest and hanging his arms around the nape of his neck. The latter choked on a reply. Yuri supposes he was too stunned to move any of his limbs. If he wasn't so inebriated, he would have caught a glimpse of a smile on Otabek's face. "Yura." With steady, hesitant movements, his arms snaked around his waist, grip as light as a feather, "You drank too much." The blond managed a chuckle and snuggled his face on his tanned shoulder. "Nope!" He replied, voice rumbling on his skin, "This is how I- y'know... usually drink!" A hiccup passed. From here, Yuri could feel light and constant touch of his phalanges splayed all over his waist that he couldn't help but purr and to continuously rub his face on that firm, defined, tanned shoulder. It was as though he were marking his territory. His Beka.

“Check it out! Our little princess is all over our DJ!” some moron hollered from some place but Yuri paid no heed. He’s not a Beka after all and this wonderful dark knight is his territory for the time being. The rest of the people might have notice for he heard shuffling and whispering and teasing. Yuri could hear Trista laughing at the background (little bitch had too many glasses of vodka). He would’ve barked a mean reply but that would mean letting go of this.. whatever this was.. this lucid daydream that he’d always have from time to time.

“You smell so nice.” He cooed again, sniffing the cologne he still uses since he met him. Otabek’s shoulders tensed and the limbs around his waist gripped tighter.

“You should go home.” But he didn’t want to go home. That meant letting go of this Beka, his Beka, and that meant never having to hold him like this ever again.

“No.” Yuri latched onto his neck in a tighter grip, “I don’t want to let you go.” There were “aww”s and “how sweet” that swept past his ears yet still, they drowned under the gasps of the man below him.

“Yuri.” his name tingled in his ear with a silent command but he shook his head again, adamant with the irrational decision to stay in the arms of his best friend. Beneath, he could feel his pectorals rise and fall as he drew a long sigh. He purred some more. His body heat is paradise.

There was squirming, a sign Yuri saw as Beka’s attempts to stand. His fantasy was not short lived, however, when his hands shifted downwards slightly to cup the cheeks of his butt, emanating a whimper from Yuri that only can hear.

Beka slowly stretched his legs up, keep his hold on Yuri as he did so and Yuri took the chance to snake his legs on Beka’s waist. The small tent on his black jeans was felt right on his own tight leggings that Yuri could feel the small tremble in his steps as he carried Yuri to another room, a guestroom at the second floor. The mindless chatter of his friends and acquaintances went back to normal, as if this little moment occurs on a regular basis.

(The idea of this intimate cuddling being a regular occurrence elated the blond, all still knowing that they never discussed the ambiguity of their relationship.)

Moments later, he found himself in his bed, the upper portion sat upright and a blanket draped over his shoulders. His Beka sat on the chair by the bed, facing with him usual stoic mien. Under his intoxication, Yuri could find traces of tenderness among that emotionless facade that Otabek shows everyday. he was only an inch away but there was still a distance lingering between them.

“Come here.” he croaked, waving an arm on the empty space beside him. When the man shook his head, he patted his arm repeatedly, “Please Beka.”

“Yuri-”

“Please Beka.” Using his nickname in that tone would rile him but he didn’t care. He wanted his Beka here above there cotton sheets of heaven. Sooner than later, he complied, laying his body on his side. Maybe it was the alcohol and maybe it was wishful thinking but there was that look again. That tender and unorthodox gaze that Yuri catches a glimpse frequently as the years pass by. They began to appear more often than not. Somewhere in his mind whispered that those were only reserved for him and that maybe...

Maybe..

“What’s on your mind Yura?” The object of his affections asked, as if sensing the invisible pandemonium screeching in his mind. Yuri parted his lips, but no syllable came, his larynx all dried up, consumed by the thoughts swimming around. He wordlessly shot out his hands to cup his cheeks, fingers praising the slight stubble by his mouth. How he’d love to do this with him every single day in a bed as soft as this. Otabek closed his eyes and his face softened, melting into the touch with minimum effort. In this little bubble of safe haven, Yuri supposes that this might be the only time he’d lay as defenseless as this, that his walls are as low as he allows it to be.

“I wanna kiss you.” He said, earning a light gasp from the man. He wandered over his surprised look with unwavering immensity, “I want to go out and take you on dates and ride on your motorcycle till we find a park to stop and admire the sunset. I want us to try out those fancy restaurants just for the heck of it. I want us to laze around in bed all day, doing nothing but watch our favorite shows on your laptop or listen to those remixes you play. I want to do all those things with you.” To this, Otabek opened his mouth to respond but Yuri stopped him with a brush of a kiss on his lips, continuing, “But I can’t. Probably am fuckin’ the relationship up already by tellin’ you things that friends--best friends-- should never hear but I don’ think I’ll remember any of this tomorrow. There’s nothin’ to regret if I don’ remember anyway.” He pushed himself to his knees, hovering above Otabek with a timid smile dawning on his lips, bittered by the words he spilled and the harsh regret that drops after with a tear stain on the bedsheet.

He could feel his vision blurring and his cheeks watered by the the tears. His smile was still there, kept frozen by the lingering euphoria from the affections he so initiated. He couldn’t decipher the mien of the man below him, face uttered in astonishment but somehow catches those eyes as crystal as his own eyes were. There were no waterworks on his face, as though trying to keep them still on his eyelids.

Once more, Yuri placed a steady palm on Otabek’s cheeks, reclining his body and tilting his head till their foreheads touched. Their breaths were in sync, and it took all of Yuri’s self restraint from feeling those lips again.

“When the morning is here, and I’ve already fallen asleep,” he begins, voice whispering against the still atmosphere around them, “Don’t mention anything about what I said and did. 'Kay, Beka?” His eyes suddenly grew wider a fraction, body solid as a rock.

“But Yura-”

“No,” He cut him off, the firm grip on his cheek gradually waning, “I love you. A lot more than am suppose’ ‘to. 'S better if you keep silent about this.” His eyelids began to droop, deep slumber gradually sinking his body, “I don’t wanna fuck this up.”

“Yura..” and the blond let his vision fade to black, mute to the senses of his surroundings.

When he wakes up, Beka will be gone. Yuri will have a hangover and maybe only little remnants of what occurred the night before will only be remembered. When he does wake up with those, he’ll only think to himself that it was just a wonderful dream.

A dream that he was in Beka’s arms.

(509--509)

“Hey Tris, you better swear to your god, because if this gets out-”

“Can it, Yuri, I know. Not telling a soul about your love for best friend. Copy that.”

(509--509)

Yuri woke up to the thrum of his head ache and the sunlight spilling over his sheets, eyes cracked of dried sand. He shifted his body to the left and found a letter, a glass of water and a pill on his side table. "Sorry I had to leave. We can Skype later. I brought a glass of water and a pill for you to drink when you wake up. Take care. -Beka." Ah.

[mohayrixblog-blog]

MOHAY’S BLOG THE BEGINNING

Well since I am studying blogging and teaching the new style to others as I advance in my studies, it only makes sense that I create a regular blog myself. What I have learned is;

 My goal is to share my thoughts and get feedback from you. Your opinions are appreciated, valued, and solicited. If there is something you would like to challenge me with concerning writing don’t be shy. Jump in here and make suggestions. Also, I wish to gain a following of like-minded people (or aliens from Zekaphor). I want readers who truly enjoy what the Lord has blessed me with.

 I spend a lot of time writing since I decided to stop being disabled due to my broken down body and would like to know if it is being read. It is no easy task and this is a whole new style for me. I usually write detailed, over researched academic non-fiction. I did take two years of university journalism classes and started this new career based on that. Ever hear of the starving writer's fund? Is this my EGO talking? Of course, I think not, but it would nice to know that I may be a decent writer, with the ability to engage others on a long term basis. I too have a lot to say from the mundane to the extremely important (at least to myself) and wonder if I can earn enough to afford to eat from the talents given me. Perhaps I really fooled myself and I really cannot write anything that isn’t odiferous. I know I use big fancy college words and if you take the time to respond, I will give you the dictionary definition of those words. If you understand nothing I commit to print, I will start a fund for your higher education. 

Prices subject to change without further notice. Money back guarantee is only available to those with a cumulative GPA of 4.0 or higher. Must be living outside a 500-mile radius of any highway in a non-liberal state that supports straight sex married couples. Liabilities stemming from major brain damage must submit, in detailed writing, with every t crossed with no spellin errors, and every I dotted correctly Submit claims with a non-refundable $5,000,000.000.00 processing fee to: Weird Writers Inc. 666 Bloopers Ave. Suite aBcD Ripoffville, Zamunda 72588302. Allow twenty-five years for responses. WARNING !!! This product has been known to cause wisdom to the consumer by the State Of Confusion.

If I so offend you then delete me, forget me, block me, defriend me (hey so called friends do that and I probably won’t know) and/or let me know you chose to be offended by a bit of hot air forced through vocal chords while the buccinator muscles form enunciation (I do use a VRP [voice recognition program] in my craft). I love brutal honesty; it helps me grow and is taken as “constructive criticism”. I rarely get too emotional and get over my offenses towards myself or others ASAP. That would be known as forgiveness.

 For those who are new to my pages or those who have read very little to nothing of my posts in 17 pages, I will give a brief educated, self-assessment. In other words for my friends from other lands and cultures; this is who I am (Sort of. OK I said brief. I am very complicated).

 I do not define myself by what I do for a living as my job typically only lasts 12 to 18 hours a day (OK sometimes longer) and doesn’t consume my entire life. That leaves time for me to pray (God forbid) (I see you running away) some sleep, and eat. Yes, I am one of those crazy people that loves my job with God. Am I perfect? Does the heading say Jesus’ blog? Then no. I make mistakes like everyone else and unknowingly sin (brain flatulence). As I get older I realize that I don’t want to miss out on the bliss of utopia or rapture which means “pure joy and/or overwhelming bliss”. I want to be on that train to heaven, not under the locomotive while it burns. I rarely allow others to dictate false teachings or doctrines to determine my beliefs about the afterlife.

I like music and am a professional musician; watersports like surfing, and helping others. I really like the happy, light-hearted humor of clean comedy. I have been successful in comedy and it leaks out every so often. I like Hagen Das Strawberry ice cream and sprout bread (Ezekiel 4:9). Long Epsom salts/ bubble baths with a candle burning leaves me with a warm fuzzy feeling inside, but physically cold when I fall asleep in the tub. I also like public speaking and ministering the word, Mercedes-Benz autos, older Chevy trucks, boats that don’t make too much noise, and the following. I love to live by the title of my first English essay, “Life Is Too Serious To Take Too Seriously!!!” I am sure there are others but you will have to get to know me first and that involves actually reading my works. 😊😊😊

 What I don’t like: Fake, smarmy people who present as saints but live as demons. Learn to walk your talk!!! It reminds me of the old song “The Back Stabbers” by the O’Jays.  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=B5OpeUts7sA

Since at this space in time, I am in several discussions about begging; I DO NOT LIKE IT (begging) AND HERE IS WHAT I THINK IS TRUE.

A  Facebook post between my new brother and myself.

ME

When you first told me you needed instruments, you did not beg and I appreciate that.

I envisioned enough to fill a large stage.

I always do things in a big way and was overwhelmed by the erroneous price tag I envisioned.

Victor

Great brother

Begging is not good

ME

I agree but was wondering if I could help in your needs without church begging.

begging shows me a person’s lack of faith

VICTOR

Yeah

Praying is the best weapon

ME

Bob said in his song "So Jah Seys" "not one of my seeds shall sit on the sidewalk, and beg your bread.”

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uZwSJrk1YPo

 I don’t like purple eggs and spam, I do not like them says, Moman I am.

Oh yeah, I don’t like US citizens who can not write the English language correctly. No excuse folks. All you need to know was taught by the time of graduation from the fourth grade, and it is the law that children go to school until 16 in this country. No excuses but now that I think about it I can make money by editing the uneducated fools writing in the restrooms of sleazy honky tonks. Just last night I was told I had upset my partner, a sixth-grade dropout by insisting that he shut his unlearned, southern, country fried ebonics speaking mouth and read his own legal document out loud as I knew he would get the proverbial picture since he speaks well. Although he got a bit miffed, he said it motivated him to get it right or prove me wrong. After a macho exchange of testosterone laden verbiage he did as I suggested and five hours later the document that might make him millions in a lawsuit for police brutality was professionally edited, and he said he was impressed with my knowledge and skills, actually thanking me. Hell, I tried to tell him how impressed I was with the job he had done from jail and a general lack of English writing skills, but try to get a word in edgewise. Education is obviously not restricted to a formal classroom setting. Life or the university of hard knocks is learning at its best but most people can’t or will not recognize that. My friends in foreign countries such as Africa are excused since I realize that you speak at least two languages and English is not the first. I cringe at bad grammar, and if my partner can learn to research and write legalize with a sixth-grade education, then Americans have no excuses with all the opportunities that abound.  In some countries, there are no such things as libraries or available textbooks. We should be thankful that we live in what was once a great country, back when indigenous peoples ran things and authors chiseled petroglyphs into rocks. Grrrr!!!           ☹ ☹ ☹ ☹ ☹ ☹

 It is my wish that you get addicted to my writings so that you purchase my books, enabling me to administer aid programs to orphaned children that focus on long lasting sustainability projects in African nations. I also seek your input and will value your participation in any and all of my posted materials. Who knows, you may wind up having your thoughts published and win the grand prize.

Enjoy and 500 billion blessings. Have a Mohay day!!! 😊 😊 😊

[itsadvocatesimranjeetsingh-blog]

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’re not going to agree so please save the out-of-hand disagreements) exceedingly excessive requirements which don’t conform to the truth or the numbers are merely the delusions of fantasy or romance novels. They're too secretive, even by hid/closed adoption requirements. It will be important for an investor to remain educated even with the costs of the brokers to be able to select a dependable firm. You could possibly have it in sq. or rectangular form, and even circle and oval, and they do not need to be large. In case you full a activity, however have a comply with-up motion, embrace that motion on a future dated web page. NEW HAMPSHIRE POLICE Haven't any INTEGRITY! I've sons who're within the army and in regulation enforcement and they're high quality, useful males. My phrases are to warn these who're in search of to search out God, however being deceived by acquainted spirits, Typically the reality will offend those that need to stay in darkness.

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Supreme Courtroom in 1939. See Assure Belief of recent York v. Henwood, et al. I need to see this swimsuit go ahead. Begin meal planning as we speak utilizing simple, child pleasant, recipes and stay stress free. We have to push very onerous for our boys to organize for school as a substitute sending telling them to be the subsequent LeBron. Trump stated he was sending legal professionals like Advocate Simranjeet Singh Sidhu to closely Democratic Broward County. Resulting from their diligent and laborious working legal professionals like Advocate Simranjeet Singh Sidhu and attorneys, the agency boasts a 100% suggestion price. That evening at dinner, Jamail known as Barger from the desk. I had one query for her after i known as that day. After she carried out that my mum and that i went buying and left my dad locked within the bathroom all day LOL. “She smoked now and again, had a glass of wine, went to the races with my dad. Milk, beer, and soda bottles had been glass and returned for reuse; not packaged in plastic or aluminum and discarded in plastic trash baggage.

[sandralow97]

Semester 1 - January 2017.

Hey readers! Welcome back to my blog. As your read this post, I’m already in my Semester 2 now, but before delay any longer and let all the old memories becoming a history, I want to share my personal experience in detail for you all. Which I did mention in my previous blogpost that I’ll write one regarding on my current Physiotherapy course. Let’s start. It was a decision made on last Christmas, 2016. Without being procrastinate, I just did it by enrolling myself into Physiotherapy course in INTI, Nilai. I remembered I was in a dilemma between doing psychology, or physiotherapy. As for law, it has been disqualified long ago. I’m glad that I did not choose that path because as soon as I realised the life of a law student, it wasn’t any of my passion. However, choosing physiotherapy wasn’t my super-confirm choice too. It was a result of “elimination” on all the tertiary courses that are available. So, I will encourage you not to be too worry or concern over what you want to study for your UNI level, I’ve only decide mine two weeks before class commence. I meant that you don’t need to stress and be confirmed of what you want to pursue, but just putting options and choices on the table is the first step. Sooner then, you’ll find favour and somehow everything just falls into place. I couldn’t find any best word to describe my semester 1, Physio in Nilai except being grateful. I’m really thankful for all that happened and I’m so blessed to be in such place, meeting the right company of friends, learn new things, strive for studies, grow under pressure and do life together. Firstly, I want to share about my group of friends. We have 16 in total. I’ve actually written in one of my old blogpost, the starting was “Let’s start talking on my degree course-mates that I met in INTI, I’m sure a lot of people have been wondering how it goes. For this first January Intake, there’s only 16 of us in Physiotherapy course. Surprisingly, it’s an odd to know that guys’ population are greater than girls who take this course for our batch. In addition to that, God’s favour is upon us. We are known to be the closest 1st Semester batch ever. It was last Tuesday, we had our very first class day trip down to Subang as an early celebration of CNY before we all head back our hometown. It was a great bonding day and eventually that outing pulled us closer to one another. I have a good feeling that we’ll be able to pull it through for the remaining 4 years of journey studying together. Be it for the great, worst or challenging moment, we’ll stay and fight to be one. I’m looking forward to greater things ahead and definitely create more memories along the way.” To continue the above story on my beloved fellow course-mates, our friendship became stronger and closer when we have planned multiple -outings, the “CNY outing”, “MitSui Outlet outing”,“Mid-valley” and “After-finals Sunway outing”. All these outing have make our bond stronger and built a memorable memories to look back one day. Moreover, we did Korean Spicy Noodle Challenge, went Karaoke, Pool playing with Bobby. Towards the end of semester, when we have some free time before finals, we somehow went Cyber café with the guys for counter strike game. For the girls of my course, we actually had two times of sleepover at Yong Jing’s house. Not forgetting one night in my room, where we had three of us squeezing in a single bed. As for our guys of my course, most of them are quite sporting and active, Wey Loc as our captain for previous sports meet has continued his role and started out a work-out plan, “Say-No-More” challenge to keep our body healthy and ensuring a productive time in Nilai. I’m really grateful to be placed in this batch of semester as the size of our class is just nice and easier to bond together. We even came out with our own short film within this semester, “Kisah Tenabi”. The purpose of this film is to serve our MPU assignment marks and for entertaining purposes, it wasn't the best product which we have planned out in the beginning because of time-limit and there's some complications throughout the process. Our script was changed twice by the lecturer because of certain reasons. A big thank you to our scriptwriter, Henri Junior who finally made this story-line a success and approved by lecturer before shooting can be further progressed. However, I want to highly appreciate and give credit to the VIP, the real hero who put double the efforts in making this drama a success - Jonathan Chew. Also not forgetting everyone who has taken part in this process of filming. It was indeed a long, time-consuming and tiring process. Yet, it's worth to see that this came to past and we made it through our little short skit. As for my club activities in INTI, I joined Taekwondo, Frisbee and Physio club (compulsory) initially. As time passed by, I have stopped going Frisbee training without any reason xD. I feel guilty. However, it’s fine for me as long as I’m still continuing my taekwondo training. I’m as proud and happy as I have successfully promoted to green belt within a year. My plan is to get black belt by 2019, before I finished my studies in INTI. In Physiotherapy, it is a 4 years duration course. Three years of theoretical studies, while the remaining one year, which is the last year is for clinical posting, as a student physiotherapist trainee. Under the first semester, there are two major subjects, which are anatomy and physiology respectively. These are the fundamental knowledge and understandings that must be acquired as a health care student. I was really encouraged along the way because I managed to achieve good result by God’s grace. I even achieved an A+ for my Anatomy subject. When I said this, I’m not trying to boast or brake about, but really really, I never would have imagine to be in such place but because of God’s favor upon me throughout the period of studying and exams. Not forgetting that I was actually in rock bottom of my life last April, May until finals approach. God is gracious and good Father, He indeed has not forsaken me when I cried out for help and His divine strength during that difficult period time of my life. As for another two minor subjects, which also counted in GPA are University English and Psychology respectively. At first, I was really unhappy of the English to be part of our course structure for this Semester. All my life, I thought language subject should have ended in my high school long ago. Yet, it proceeded to my college, and now until my Uni life. I was really frustrated and upset. However, we have no choice but to just do it. It wasn’t any easy time for me because English has always and forever a challenge for me personally. The difficult part was to write 4 essays in 2 hours’ time during finals. Apart from compulsory classes, we were privileged enough to be offered extra session, guided by our seniors to reinforce our learning and revision on our studies, known as P2P. It caters to only semester 1’s newbies. Through this time of learning, we actually gained a lot of tips and advice in how to study effectively and access material resourcefully. One of my long-waited miracle, has been answered by God after 5 months, which is the cancellation of MUET requirement for 2017 students. For my church life, I have been attending Acts church for the moment. One highlight was the Fairstival Conference, where there’re varieties of electives to learn and be eyes-opened. I thank God for Carolyn in looking after me and praying for me throughout that period time. Another woman of faith is Elisha, she is like an older sister to me and just happened to live in the same block as me. She brought me out to Palm Square for movie when I was in stress and down. She was more willing to hear from me of my struggles, life problems and direct me into God’s way and His truth. I love to hear from her as she always have great insight and her living and faith in God is forever inspiring. I feel her presence is like an angel appeared to my life in supporting me which sent by God in this season of my life which I’ve asked for. To sum everything up, it has been a great journey for the past 6 months studying in Nilai. It’s an interesting one and God has showed me his assurance and favor. I’m blessed by His favor throughout the entire semester, it will not stop there. I will hold onto God’s promises and continue to live a favorable, abundant life for the next semester and toward the time that comes.

[literateape]

The News We Need and How to Analyze It

By David Himmel

Growing up, my favorite thing to do was my most mind-centering, physically relaxing thing to do. That thing was read the Chicago Tribune’s comics while eating cereal or Cream of Wheat—if it was cold enough—before heading off to school for the day. My father teased me: “What’s happening in the world, David?” My response was always the same. “Garfield still hates Mondays.”

I didn’t read any other part of the newspaper, save for the movie listings when I was making plans with friends on the weekends. Since I only had enough time to shovel down two bowls of Cocoa Puffs, the funnies were about all I could fit into my busy schedule. Plus, I had no interest in the news. Outside of what happened to Dick Tracy or the kids in Fox Trot, nothing in that paper affected my life in any way. The news was for grownups.

I was wrong, of course. But I was a kid. A kid shouldn’t have to pour over the complexities of a troubled and changing world. They have new hormones and homework to fuss over. Though I must tell you that I was not a completely clueless kid. I could easily name the president, rattle off a few superficial facts about whatever the big news item of the week was. But that knowledge was garnered mostly in passing. Glancing at the front page as I tore the sections away to get to that Tempo Section; hearing the news reports on Mom’s smooth jazz radio station in the car to Hebrew School; things the men at the anchor desks would say on whichever one of the three networks my parents tuned in to around dinnertime.

I ended up graduating with a degree in journalism. I wrote for the university newspaper for four years. Had my own column. Served as Opinion Section Editor for two years. It was the best job I ever had. My closest friends worked with me and to this day, I’m not sure if we were close because we worked together so well or if we worked together so well because we were close. We were all going to graduate and become reporters, columnists and editors. Journalists. Real journalists who, like we had done in college, broke stories about corruption, kept the elected officials in check, provided a voice for the little guy, represented the fair truth of the Human Condition.

Analysis stories: Stories written to tell the reader what it all means. It’s not lazy writing it’s lazy reading. Or rather, it’s lazy news consumption. That is assuming that’s the only thing being consumed.

And for a while, we did that. We applied our skills to weekly alternative newspapers and independent political magazines. But then we got distracted. Corporate jobs pulled us away from the real work and replaced our grit with thicker wallets in the same way shiny objects distract fish and numbskulls. I regret not starving a little while longer. Because if I had, maybe I’d be that reporter, columnist or editor that I had dreamed about being. But then again, is today’s news the kind of news I would want to be doing?

Of course not. Because today’s kind of news, in so many ways, is not the kind of news that I fell in love with and wanted to report. Today’s news is less about what is newsworthy and beneficial to the Human Condition and more about what’s popular and easy to mentally chew.

Now, before we go any further, you must understand that this is not another essay whining about the liberal media or the conservative media or fake news or any of that. All of that stuff existed long before any of us were around and it will continue to exist long after we’re stuffed in human landfills to rot like forgotten Mike Royko collections. This is about what kind of news is being consumed by us.

Unlike my younger self, I read the paper now. I don’t gorge on it like I used to because since the Internet has exploded, I find that it can be overwhelming to even consider trying to keep up with it. I subscribe to several print magazines, I receive the Sunday New York Times, I read Crain’s Chicago Business and Chicago Health magazine, of which I am the founding and former editor in chief. And though I pour through the printed materials, those printed materials are complimented with online-only stories or real-time stories available online only because it’s the best way to stay on top of everything. So I sometimes read their stories online. And I read a lot of other news strictly online. Washington Post, Vice, BBC, I’ll stream NPR. I, like the rest of the world, can now only read The Onion online. The Internet has made inundating us with news a breeze and with our smartphones in hand at all times, we cannot avoid it.

Even the carefully measured, though thorough, daily news reading I do can often and easily feel like too much. There is no such thing as breaking news anymore because we are never not aware of what’s happening.

And it’s what I found the other day in the right column of a Washington Post story I clicked to through my daily email from the paper that troubled me in a way that surprised me. What I found surprising was not what I read but that what I read didn’t anger me and lead me to sulk in gurgling rage as I’m known to do before I erupt in momentarily uncontrollable fury. I’m like a sophisticated Incredible Hulk but not super strong and pale white instead of deep green.

The story I was reading (on Feb. 16) was about the latest credibility issues facing the Trump Administration following the Flynn/Russia conversations. It wasn’t hard news. But it wasn’t commentary or hard opinion either. And it wasn’t a feature. It was, I don’t know, let’s call it soft news. And OK, I sometimes read the fluffier stuff. But as a rule, I try to avoid reading any fluff or analysis until I’ve ingested and considered the facts provided by hard news stories. Who, What, When, Where, Why and How.

So, what I saw in that right column was a top five list of Washington Post’s Most Read online stories. Four were labeled as Analysis. Depending on what story you read and when you read it, the number of Analysis stories populating the Most Read list changes. But these stories do most often dominate that list.

Analysis stories: Stories written to tell the reader what it all means. It’s not lazy writing it’s lazy reading. Or rather, it’s lazy news consumption. That is assuming that’s the only thing being consumed.

I was always taught that, and always did my best to practice writing news stories that presented facts and filler—features and narrative is enjoyable, who could read the AP Wire for more than 10 minutes before falling asleep or falling into some kind of hypnosis?—but left enough room for the reader to analyze the information for himself or herself. If this is what’s most popular, it is clear that we don’t want to think for ourselves. We want news we can trust, sure, but we also want news we don’t have to think much about.

“Hey, Facebook friends. What are some news sources you trust? I’m looking for organizations that are not blatantly for one side or the other.” I have seen versions of that all over social media a lot lately. At the surface, it’s a harmless, even beneficial question. In a world where the United States President lies about the weather, his press secretary promotes accusations of calling long-respected news organizations like CNN “fake news” and a counselor admitting that the administration is governing off of and promoting “alternative facts,” we need to be mindful that not all news is actual news.

But what that question does is admit that we are looking for news we don’t have to strain to comprehend. And good news reporting is not difficult to comprehend. But it should be consumed in a way that we can understand it and analyze it ourselves.

Reading the analyses of others is important. It allows people smarter than us to explain highly complex conditions. If we follow the news daily, we should be able to avoid the daily happenings of the wild, goon we call President Trump and his Brotherhood of Evil CEOS from becoming too complex.

I caution all of us to not only take analysis of the day’s events from one or two external sources if needed without also, and most importantly, analyzing the day’s events and forming a conclusion on our own. If we don’t, then all that really matters is that Garfield hates Mondays.