Facing Fears: Paddle Boarding + 100 Days Rekindled

Today, I went paddle boarding.
For those who don't know, that is basically kayaking on a surf board.
For those who know mi, you reaction right now is very appropriate: Really?? Where?? Are you kidding?? On the ocean??
Yup.
I didn't know what it was when I signed up (note to self, always ask before you say 'yes'). For some reason, I assumed it would be some version of kayaking, and on a lake.
Needless to say, it was a scary experience.
The moment we arrived at the harbour, I kept asking myself 'why'. I spent a lot of time praying and begging God (for what, I can't tell you right now).
Looking back now, I can see how and why people will and do enjoy the sport. If you are one for the ocean, it is pretty calm, a version of free falling if you will, if you let the gentle waves take you and your board calmly. Unfortunately and sadly I think, I was too scared and focused on my fear to enjoy the experience.
I did well, in the sense that I didn't fall, and I paddled out and about for an hour fifteen minutes total. But unlike my friends whom I went with, it felt more like P.E homework or a dare (where the alternative was much worse) than a fun activity. I was focused on getting there and getting back.
I did learn that I have a lot more phobias and restrictions than I thought I did. Makes me feel high maintenance, which I've spent a majority of the day struggling to convince myself that that doesn't denote a 'bad' thing.
Added to that, is the 'complaining' factor. Because I was terrified, I spent a lot of time talking about my fears and concerns. Apparently, at one point, it started to come off as mi saying my fears were more important to others (not once did that thought cross my mind), to which, at one point, a friend sarcastically commented saying 'yes you're fears are more important than others'. That was never my intention - making anyone think that way. But then I also realised, maybe I have gotten too comfortable/'trusting'. Complaining to anyone usually meant I have known said person for years, and I am at the point where regardless of how I phrase things, I have a higher chance of not getting misunderstood because he/she understands mi that well. I don't think I can successfully convince myself that being high maintenance and complaining a lot don't denote 'bad' things. So I've decided to rekindle the 100 days.
In general, the day was quite exhausting - physically and emotionally. I intentionally put myself in a terrifying position, and no, I was not comfortable. But I am glad I was able to complete it successfully.
Would I do it again, very very doubtful. Maybe in a lake lol.
xo

Waves in Motion

Today, my first year of five years came to a close. I passed all my exams, some to my surprise I must say. This year has been quite the rollercoaster. I learned, discovered and confirmed a number of things about myself. Some of them I was happy with, others not so much. I found friends, made friends, stumbled upon friends and lost friends. This year was a chapter in my life I was forced to confront things I wished I could have continued to avoid. This year was a chapter in my life I was forced to grow up in areas I still struggle with. It was hard, and I probably could have found an easier way to survive, but I believe God made it this way so I had to go through the year and experience the things I did the way i did.

The first unique thing about this year was the fact that I experienced culture shock for the first time in my life. I've lived in this country for years, but I had never felt like a foreigner until I got here and that was really hard to learn to deal with. But deal with it I had to and deal with it I still am. I learned a lot about people, some things I didn't like, others I'm learning to live with, and yet still, others I completely cherish. I learned a lot about myself. For instance, I am extremely shy and awkward around the opposite sex. I am most comfortable in my own company. I love driving big cars. I love practical assignments, suck at multiple choice. I get easily anxious when I am away from God. I love flirting but I'm terrified of commitments. I cherish the idea of living alone....the list goes on.

By the calendar, the second year starts in the fall. However, officially, the second year starts next week. We start seeing clients, we start making a difference. There is so much I want to achieve and do and see and be. There is so much I can achieve and do and see and be. There is so much I am going to/am yet to achieve and do and see and be. I know God has been with mi, despite my wandering habits, all through this year, and he will be with mi in the times to come.

So  here is to the end of a unique and wonderful year. Here is to the start of a new phase in a new chapter in my life I am finally slowly settling in to. Here is to the future, because the best is yet to come. Here is to the past year, because it has made mi who I am today, or at least contributed to who I am today. Here is to the waves in motion, which continue to change as the tides come in. Here is to life.
Here is to mi. I made it.

xoxo

Blossoms Blooming....

Everyday, I feel a strong sense of emotion. Each day, the location I find myself, on the spectrum ranging from intense sadness to ecstatic, varies. Sometimes, I feel my chest is heavy, and I’m about to burst with excitement and happiness.  I can’t explain why. 

Other times, I am so tired and sad. Not depressed, but unhappy. Again, I can’t explain what I am unhappy about or why. 

I do know it feels like its in relation to someone else. Feels like I am happy for that person or sad for said person. Odd, cause there is no one in my life with that amount of impact on mi. 

In other news, I’m back in school. There is a distinct difference between this quarter and last quarter for mi. Almost as though I am meeting a lot of people for the first time, and seeing a lot of others through a different set of lenses.

For one thing, I’ve withdrawn from a number of people. Both intentionally and unintentionally, but I am fine with it. It’s been less emotionally stressful. I admit, trying to stand on my own and not depending on others as much as I used to, trying to understand and work out the concept of working on my own, going places on my own, etc, though difficult, is something I’ve learned that I need to learn and practice doing things on my own. 

Another thing is I’ve accepted that I have few interests with most of the people around me, and they are closer to each other (than to mi) because they have more in common/more to bond with. This is also okay. This doesn’t mean my friends (the ones left) don’t like mi or aren’t my friends. It’s just a fact. The like football for instance, or health related talks, article readings, or things related to LGBT, etc. and I am not interested in most or all of those things. Which is also okay. 

I have also learned, albeit the hard way, that you can’t ‘make friends’. You become friends with people - either by chance, accident, match making, etc. You can’t make yourself friends with someone or create a friendship. As a result, not everyone would be friends with you, you won’t be friends with everyone, not everyone you want to be friends with will want to be friends with you and you won’t want to become friends with everyone who wants to be friends with you. And the most important thing is, all of that is okay. 

Finally, I made an appointment to begin my 16hrs. Should be interesting considering the fact that I just picked her for her price rather than anything else….

So hello Winter quarter, lets see how you turn out :) 

xo

Mi

The Case of Xavier: #trippn4lucifer

8 years ago some guy crashed into my life. Sept 22nd 2007 to be precise, and disappeared Jan 3rd. I don't recall if it was the 3rd in 2008 or 2009. We shared a birthday, or so he said, and that makes it kind of hard to forget. 

I say crashed and disappeared cause thats essentially what happened. Till now, I still feel Xavier, I won't use his real name (if that indeed was), was a figment of my imagination/an elaborate prank by my friend. 

Why?? 

Because I never met him. Never spoke to him on the phone. And when he disappeared, the only form of contact I had with him, emails, did not exist as a yahoo account. Aside from the emails I did not delete from him, it's hard to tell someone this story ever took place in reality. 

How did we begin??

I don't remember the exact words, but I got a yahoo messenger IM from an email account called 'trippn4lucifer'. I didn't know anyone with this user name, or by the name he introduced himself as (initially) - Xavier Baker. But this person seemed to know some things about mi. We started a guessing game, which quickly escalated into mi getting mad cause I realized it wasn't someone I knew, figuring out he stole my email address from a friend, and finally succumbing to his pleas to be friends. 

This was a while back, so I can't claim to recall all the details. I know we would chat for hours sometimes about nothing in particular. I know I spent a majority of time getting angry at him, but I can't ever remember why. I never saw his face or heard his voice, and the names he gave me were quite unbelievable to mi.

The one thing Xavier told mi was that he was terminally ill. He lived in the hospital most of his life. At 19, he had spent most of his life waiting to die. I remember this cause I came across an email I sent to him, mad at him for saying he was waiting to die. He never said what illness it was. The secrets with this kid were so many. And don't get mi started on his family situation. At this point, I don't mention it out loud because I started to believe watching a lot of movies over the years got my memories muddled up - that is how ludicrous the story is. 

On January 3rd, my birthday, I got a call telling mi Xavier was dead. He apparently decided to donate a kidney for his dad. His father made it through, but Xavier didn't. I checked my email and saw that he had sent mi a message a few days before, telling mi/asking mi if the surgery was a good idea. Then deciding to do it and saying he was 'sorry if he didn't come back' or something to that effect. I tried sending a message back, because naturally, I didn't want to believe this ghost friend I had was gone. In response, I got a 'mail delivery failure' from Yahoo. 

My relationship with Xavier was, for lack of a better word, warped. There was no opening, no middle point, no climax and no closure. It feels like something that happened and didn't happen at the same time. Half the time I am convinced I imagined it all, then I am convinced my friends pulled a fast one on mi. Then I am sure, also backed by the intriguing details of his family, that he was erased, as opposed to died. Sometimes I think I will run into him in life - which is a scary thought because there is a chance that he would know what I look like, but I definitely would not know what he looks like. 

He told mi, many times after we hadn't talked in a bit, that he knew I missed him, even though I never would, could or planned on admitting it to himself, myself or anyone else. What I find curious however, is that years latter, maybe beginning in 2011, I did find myself missing this ghost character. I can't tell you the first thing about this person - not his name for instance, or, with 100% accuracy, that he is a guy. But still every year, on this day, I remember X.B, E.M (the first letter of the names I knew him by), the silly kid who sat at her desk chatting away silly, and I say a happy birthday to both of us - if indeed it is his birthday. 

xo 

Where hearts have crossed

A star has fallen

To give rise to a new season

Where lips have touched

A spark is arisen

With every doubt cascading

Where love is lost

A flame flickers out

In hope of another tomorrow

Where bliss is attained

A new life awaits

Where two make a vow

Where for worse, poorer, or in sickness

"till death..." keeps the promise................

                                   - sent by Xavier Baker (2007)

2015 Resolutions

I'm not one for resolutions. At least not public declarations. But I felt this year, I should do something different for a change. Plus making them public means I have to follow through (more so than when I don't). So here are my resolutions. 

1. Get healthy. I usually say 'loose weight' or 'work out'. But I have learned, and come to the acceptance that I just need to be healthy. I need to stop dieting and just fix how I eat (including eating period). I also need to get into a work out regime. 

2. Publish. I've started so many books, finished one and I'm still too terrified to let someone outside friends and family read it. But this year, I want to publish two of them. The finished one and a second non-related one. 

3. Get with God. I'm still not sure what this means, which I think is why I've had this on my resolutions for a while still not sure what to do with it. But this year, I'd let God lead. 

4. Learn Korean better. I understand more than I speak. It's harder, I admit, since I don't have Korean friends which helped with Japanese. But I think I need to be more serious with it like I was with Japanese. 

5. Find a dream. Yes I am studying psychology. Yes I want to become a doctor. But I don't know if my wanting to work with an international organization and my current life path are in line. Plus I need to become more proactive. Like volunteer, or gain an interest in something. 

6. Communicate. A friend, who is becoming a close friend, said I am passive aggressive. I have to admit, I am. I didn't have a term for it or know this till he pointed it out, but I am. And I don't like this. So, I'm going to learn/force myself to break out of that. 

7. My hair. I'm quite tired of it not growing. So ya, I'm going to treat it and take care of it so it grows. 

8. Read more. This it tied to 5. As much as I claim to love psychology, I don't have much of an interest in reading articles or writings on psychology. Which makes mi wonder if I should have stuck with my masters rather than this path I'm on. So I need to make myself read more. Or get some interest in reading. 

9. Talk to God. More. 

10. Love mi. This is the hardest of them all, but I think I've been working on this for a while and though I've moved from where I once was, I'm still not where I need to be. 

So those are my 10 resolutions for this year. See you on the 31st by God's grace. 

xoxo

Mi