I'm having my Christmas / New Year holidays from Dec 21-Jan 3.
I've always loved holidays when I was a student, because I was either at home, or traveling back home, where my parents were there with me. I could always relax and have delicious foods with them. But things aren't the same now...
It's actually a difficult challenge when you have a 2-week holiday, with no family members or anyone close to you to spend it with. It can even be scary and lonely if you don't have any hobbies to enjoy during this time.
Since the piano practice room is closed during winter break, I couldn't play piano on campus these days, which is a pity. To keep myself busy, I bought from Amazon a few coloring books, together with a set of 72-color pencils. I also picked up some French on Duolingo (a relaxing language learning App), read a book on math education, and another on the history of logic.
I also got several books on GRE and am thinking of taking the test some time in the near future. The last time I took my GRE it was a disaster, where I ended up hugging my friend Crystal and crying on the street.
Today, I might be academically stronger in some sense, but at the same time I think I've forgotten quite a few English words... which is why I have to learn them again.
I'm not sure if I'll really do a PhD in 2 or 3 years, but perhaps I'll have to. Life is never easy.
I also signed up for a Rock Climbing course in January, although there's a chance the course will be cancelled because there aren't enough people. I really want to learn it formally because my friend said I'm gifted in climbing -- she noticed this when we went rock climbing together in 2013 -- and that I myself really enjoyed climbing those colorful rocks. Also, Thomas is a big fan of rock climbing, and I really want to go rock climbing with him some day.
Somehow I could never forgot the words he said to me in November, that "we don't even share the same hobbies". He thought there wasn't much for us to do together because he loves outdoor sports while I spend most of my time inside. Also, despite that we both love music, he's more drawn to jazz and ragtime whereas I'm most interested in classical music.
His words really hurt me because I felt like he was pushing me away. A relationship won't work well if one person notices all the similarities they share in common but the other person only notices all the differences. Moreover, does it really matter that we currently don't share too many hobbies? Most of his hobbies are for men exclusively, and he already has plenty of male colleagues who would do those sports with him. Also, things could change -- for less intense activities such as rock climbing, I don't know about it but I'm eager to learn it.
Isn't differences between two people a good opportunity for both sides to explore the unknown areas, and to learn new stuff? I hope he understands that no girl is born to fit him, and being together with any girl requires learning about each other's hobbies and living habits. But it seems to me that he's not willing to change himself, or learn anything, just to make this relationship goes smoother.
I'm staying at a friend's place this week, because her boyfriend is back home, Thomas is spending time with his family, and neither of us wants to spend time alone. The whole time I keep thinking about the fact that Thomas never shares pictures from his trips (even if I encouraged him to do so for multiple times) or say Merry Christmas to me. And I still have to tolerate him because this is just who he is.
Perhaps one day I won't be afraid of leaving him.
I've always loved holidays when I was a student, because I was either at home, or traveling back home, where my parents were there with me. I could always relax and have delicious foods with them. But things aren't the same now...
It's actually a difficult challenge when you have a 2-week holiday, with no family members or anyone close to you to spend it with. It can even be scary and lonely if you don't have any hobbies to enjoy during this time.
Since the piano practice room is closed during winter break, I couldn't play piano on campus these days, which is a pity. To keep myself busy, I bought from Amazon a few coloring books, together with a set of 72-color pencils. I also picked up some French on Duolingo (a relaxing language learning App), read a book on math education, and another on the history of logic.
I also got several books on GRE and am thinking of taking the test some time in the near future. The last time I took my GRE it was a disaster, where I ended up hugging my friend Crystal and crying on the street.
Today, I might be academically stronger in some sense, but at the same time I think I've forgotten quite a few English words... which is why I have to learn them again.
I'm not sure if I'll really do a PhD in 2 or 3 years, but perhaps I'll have to. Life is never easy.
I also signed up for a Rock Climbing course in January, although there's a chance the course will be cancelled because there aren't enough people. I really want to learn it formally because my friend said I'm gifted in climbing -- she noticed this when we went rock climbing together in 2013 -- and that I myself really enjoyed climbing those colorful rocks. Also, Thomas is a big fan of rock climbing, and I really want to go rock climbing with him some day.
Somehow I could never forgot the words he said to me in November, that "we don't even share the same hobbies". He thought there wasn't much for us to do together because he loves outdoor sports while I spend most of my time inside. Also, despite that we both love music, he's more drawn to jazz and ragtime whereas I'm most interested in classical music.
His words really hurt me because I felt like he was pushing me away. A relationship won't work well if one person notices all the similarities they share in common but the other person only notices all the differences. Moreover, does it really matter that we currently don't share too many hobbies? Most of his hobbies are for men exclusively, and he already has plenty of male colleagues who would do those sports with him. Also, things could change -- for less intense activities such as rock climbing, I don't know about it but I'm eager to learn it.
Isn't differences between two people a good opportunity for both sides to explore the unknown areas, and to learn new stuff? I hope he understands that no girl is born to fit him, and being together with any girl requires learning about each other's hobbies and living habits. But it seems to me that he's not willing to change himself, or learn anything, just to make this relationship goes smoother.
I'm staying at a friend's place this week, because her boyfriend is back home, Thomas is spending time with his family, and neither of us wants to spend time alone. The whole time I keep thinking about the fact that Thomas never shares pictures from his trips (even if I encouraged him to do so for multiple times) or say Merry Christmas to me. And I still have to tolerate him because this is just who he is.
Perhaps one day I won't be afraid of leaving him.