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Category: personal/reflective/inspirational

Dreams

Dreams can be very powerful. They can point out certain things that we don't normally think about whenever we are awake. We don't normally pay attention to our dreams, since a lot of times we end up forgetting them throughout the day. However, it is extremely interesting whenever it becomes an extremely vivid memory that we will never be able to forget. There are some specific dreams that I have never forgotten. Most of them were whenever I was still 5 years old, making it even more amzing because it is very normal for us to forget how life was back when we were still very naiive and small.
There is one specific dream that I will never forget. It is probably one of the most beautiful memories that I have. I remember that I was in the middle of this huge field filled with flowers and I was holding my mother's hand. It was one of the most serene moments that I ever had (even though it was only a dream). It was a very simple, yet beautiful dream. We were simply holding hands and walking towards the rest of my family.
I have no idea why I have never been able to forget this dream. However, I am very thankful that I can keep this as a memory, for it can make me feel better in moments of stress. It also shows how much I care about my family.

What are some dreams that you remember?

Thank God for technology

I love technology. It makes my life a lot easier and entertaining due to its accessibility to almost anything that we might desire. Yesterday it came to my attention that people tend to overlook how much we depend on technology now adays. I woke up and I realized that we were out of electricity. I decided to go back to sleep hoping that it would come back by the time i woke up. Normally whenever it is saturday, I have my own little routine: wake up, get some food, and watch TV under my blankets. However, by the time that I woke up, I realized that the electricity was not back.
We were out of electricity for 6 hours. These 6 hours (even thouhg if you stop to think about it theyre not that much) made me realize how much we are dependent on technology now adays. The computers, phones, TVs, fridge, and basically everything else was not working. I was pretty bored during those hours until i finally decided taht I would have to do something else. I ended up going to the park and saw that others had decided to do the same.
Our world would be seirously doomed without technology :)

The friend that listens to you

It has been a while since I've last pointed out something small in my life that I really cherish. However, today it came to my attention that I really am fortunate for having a friend that is willing to listen to me at any moment of the day. A lot of times we are not seeking for a person that will give us great advice, but someone that is simply willing to listen to you ramble about the most insignificant things about life.
One of the things that I love the most is talking/debating aabout the most random things. A lot of people think that I get mad when we are talking, however, they can't understand taht I am simply getting too excited. This makes me feel a bit uncomfortable and hold back a little whenever I am talking to other people. However, there are certain people that I know simply do not mind. These people are the ones that I cherish and thank every single day. No matter how much you talk about the silliest and most insignificant things, they are willing to listen to you and show that they care and are interested.

Cultural Differences

Studying in Chapel has allowed me to meet people from all over the world. I have met people from Japan, Spain, India, Canada, Germany, Sweden, Korea, etc. All of these people have introduced me to completely different cultures throughout my whole life. One of the things that interests me the most is to learn about different ways of looking at the world. My biggest curiosity would be how the world looks like in another person's eye. It is incredible to think that we all have different perspectives and that life would be completely different if we thought in the same way as another person.
This might sound a bit cliché, but my biggest dream is to travel around the world. I have left Brazil once in my whole life, which makes me feel a bit sad and imprisoned. Studying at Chapel has opened up my eyes to different lifestyles, making me extremely curious and wanting to learn more about them. What amused me the most was that I had the chance to live with people that had completely different ways of thinking and beliefs. An example would be whenever my group of friends consisted of asians and latin americans. This might sound a bit stereotypical but the differences between them was very amusing and interesting. It was a bit weird for me because I have always lived in Brazil but raised in a Taiwanese family. This made me understand both sides of the story, while still not compeltely understanding how they could be so different. The best part of the story was that independent of their differences, we could all still hang out together.

School

My senior year is almost ending. I am very excited but at the same time I feel very nervous. There are certain things that I will miss about my school, since I've been studying here since I was 2. Chapel is a second home for me. For 15 years of my whole life I have had the same routine: wake up at 6 and come home at 3. Even though I am extremely tired of this routine and I'm looking forward to a fresh new start, I cannot help but feel a bit nostalgic.
One of the things that I will miss about Chapel is the food. I know that a lot of people don't like the food that is served here. However, I like to think that in other schools the food is way worse. I don't think that it is bad at all. We always eat something different everyday, which makes it even better, since we don't get tired of the food that is served.
Another thing that I will miss is the fact that I can speak in English at any time of the day and everyone will understand me. Since I am going to study in a brazilian university, all of my classes will probably be in portuguese. This is one of the hardest things that I will have to get used to. I will miss my classes in english SO much. It's a bit weird because even though portuguese is my first language, I still feel more comfortable wtih english.
The main things that I will miss abuot Chapel are my friends and teachers. I will miss the system that we have in our school. Most of the teachers are very competent and they know what they are doing. Being able to meet people from all over the world is probbaly the thing that I will miss the most. In a brazilian university, the odds of meeting someone from another country is very low.

Religion

Religion is probably one of the biggest issues in my life that makes me feel confused. It is important to take in consideration that I have been influenced by my Catholic school throughout my whole life. It is probably the only source of information that I had, since my parents never bothered to be religious. However, things have changed throughout these past few years. The moment in which my grandmother passed away, my parents changed completely and became devoted Buddhists. Even though it is not exactly explicit that they are trying to force their religion on me, I can still see that they want me to believe in Buddhism.
Studying in an international school made it possible for me to meet people with different cultures and religions. Becoming close friends with a muslim these past two years has made me ponder about religion daily. It makes me wonder if my belief in Catholicism has only been due to the fact that I have been exposed to it throughout my whole life. Ever since I started questioning myself about religion, I have been trying to keep my mind more open. Keeping my mind open has allowed me to question myself. I am glad that these thoughts have been in my mind these days, however, I cannot say that it hasn't made me completely confused.

Colleges and accomplishments

Our graduation is getting closer. It is a bit overwhelming and scary, however, I am super excited because of the fresh new start and the new opportunities that are coming.
I am a bit sad because I am going to have to stay in Brazil for university. It was not exactly my choice, since my parents made it more than clear that they were not willing to let me go abroad. Because of these decisions I have been resenting the whole idea of going to college. But as the days pass, I can't help myself but get extremely excited and relieved.
I will have to study so much in order to get into the university that I want. However, the fact that I will be able to be free and go to other countries as an exchange student makes me feel a little bit comforted. I can't wait to get out of Brazil and see other cultures. I can't wait to see all of my friends that have left more than 8 years ago. I just can't wait :)

My parents have recently been takling about marriage and compatibility. They are the typical chinese parents that are very concerned about who their children are going to marry, since it is one of the biggest accomplishments for a person in the chinese culture. However, they have grown up in an environment where chinese people only married chinese people, making them completely sure that it is the only right way. Talking about this topic made me think about how globalized the world is today. It made me realize how we cna meet people from all over the world through the internet and break these cultural boundaries. It aslo made me start to question whether a person can really be summed up to her culture.
I have always tried to keep an open mind, getting to know different cultures without any resentment or fear. It is tough to think about this certian topic, since we all want some kind of specific structure in our family that might involve culture, language, religion, etc. WE are very vulnerable to judge other people by their backgrounds, because they are completely unknown to us. However, keeping an opne mind and trying to accept different people has made me realize that independent of how different they are, they continue being equally beautiful.

Family

I have always put my family as my priority, however, it has recently struck me how important they are to me. Thinking about my family makes me think about time. It makes me realize that time really does pass by fast. Thinking about time makes me feel a bit scared, since so much can happen and change in just a split second. Just twenty years ago my parents came to Florida to take my sisters to Disneyland. It makes me feel a bit overwhelmed to think that we are once again in Florida, however, not only with my parents and my two sisters, but also with my brother and I. My dad said something today that made me really think about life. If it took us twenty years to come to the same place.. what are the chances thta twe will be able to come again as a whole family? This idea makes me feel a bit sad because it just shows how we are all getting older. Teenagers are constantly talking about how they want to be independent, however, the more I look into it.. the scarier it seems to be. Dont get me wrong.. I do want to be able to live my own life, be alone in the world.. But constantly thinking about the future and wishing isn't enough.. we have to treasure our present too.
Soon I will graduate and start a new stage in my life. It is scary to think about it.. But im looking forward to it :)

Home Country

I was never a very big fan of living in São Paulo. I always had set in my mind that I would want to live in another country in the future because I always hated the way my hometown worked. However, now that I am currently in another country, I realize that I do miss a lot of things that I can't find here due to the difference in culture. One of the things that I miss the most would be the padarias. It is so difficult to find real food (that is not fast food), while in Brazil, you can find food right around each corner. ;Even though I have never really believed it when people said that Brazilians were extremely warm and welcoming, I can now slightly understand why they would say that. Going through two different countries these past few days, I have noticed that people react in different ways becuase they have a different culture. Studying in an international school, new cultures have never been something new. HOwever, this exposure is completely different and in a disticnt dimension. I realized now that there is an extreme difference in food, roads, way of speaking, way of looking and interacting with each other.
I love getting to know different cultures. I have always been someone that is not intimidated by different customs because I find it to be interesting. The knowledge that you gain from remaining open minded is crucial. I still have set in my mind that I want to live in another country in the future. HOwever, I have realized that I will still miss a lot of things from Brazil.