I just knew the goodness of 2014 wouldn't last.
Last year, I had a lot of hopes and goals for 2015. To read more, to write more, to be motivated to be a better person in general and to be more inspired...you get the idea. And so, when the first week of school rolled around, I was not prepared for the many obstacles that would be standing squarely in the way of achieving all these goals. Namely, SCHOOL. What was I thinking when I set my Goodreads Reading Challenge for 100 books this year?!?!
That's what you get for being so naive, Kat.
To make this clear, I go to a selective school. And what comes with it? Homework. Tons and tons of it. And good grades. I'll have to begin my revision even though it's just the start of the semester. It wasn't that bad last year and the year before that (I was pretty busy but still, I could finish at least one book per week), but I should've been smart enough to realize that this is the year that I'll have to be more focused on my studies and everything is going to be really pressuring. I was in denial when I wrote that 2015 Resolutions post but I SHOULDN'T HAVE. Now I barely have enough time to finish my homework. When'll I have time for that TBR book that I've been meaning to read? How do I even update my blog, which I usually spend, at the very least, 2 hours doing??
And I haven't even mentioned orchestra practice. I'M A BLOODY SENIOR THIS YEAR WHAT AM I EVEN DOING??
I'm just really, really exhausted.
I was going to write a personal update on my blog to vent my frustration, but I didn't have enough time to finish the post and I figured I'd write it another day, because homework. And the post just got pushed back further and further until BAM, it was the end of the month. So I just decided to cram everything into my monthly wrap-up, which I hope really gets posted and doesn't suffer the same fate.
It never rains but it pours. Just when I've been feeling that I've kind of lost control over my life, my phone was stolen. On the first week of school.
All my photos. My downloaded eBooks. My contacts - all gone. I'm not going to give you a clear explanation of how I lost it but to sum it up, I left it in my bag and someone took it. The pain of realizing it was stolen is razor-sharp, my friend. Knowing that you're the victim is not easy. It's really my own damn fault but I'm not a robot. I make mistakes, and I can't be perpetually alert about everything I do. I've just been pretty unfortunate this month, but at the very least, I've learned something from it.
Not to mention that I absolutely have no idea how my reading challenges are doing, that I blew past the Bout of Books Readathon which I so very wanted to participate in, and I also haven't been doing any weekly features.
But it's not like I had absolutely no luck this month. I'm satisfied with the arrangement of teachers for the classes I'm taking. Mary from Read Magical Books declared that I was awesome. My fabulous Harry Potter boxset arrived, which I'm going to be including in a book haul some time later this month. I spotted a Keep Calm and Carry On tote bag, and had a little fangirl moment there and then. A new, original feature is going to be introduced on my blog (look forward to that!), Chinese New Year is in about two weeks, and I have a musical performance to look forward to. Plus, I've been listening to a lot of Joe Hisaishi's works and that has really helped me to cope with schoolwork and everything.
(I attempt to integrate a little order in this chaos of a wrap-up)
Because I'm the worst at organization and remembering things, I usually rely on Goodreads to track my reading progress and the number of books I've read. Among all of these books I've read in January, the book I definitely enjoyed the most is A Thousand Pieces of You
. The plot gets better with every page and the romance in it is one of the fluffiest I've read. The best character award goes to Don from The Rosie Project (review coming soon); with his quirkiness and amazing character growth, he's a really fun character and makes the entire story stand out more, even though I found him to be a little stiff in the beginning. Harry Potter and the Sorceror's Stone is, of course, a re-read. The joy of re-reading something that you love!
. The plot gets better with every page and the romance in it is one of the fluffiest I've read. The best character award goes to Don from The Rosie Project (review coming soon); with his quirkiness and amazing character growth, he's a really fun character and makes the entire story stand out more, even though I found him to be a little stiff in the beginning. Harry Potter and the Sorceror's Stone is, of course, a re-read. The joy of re-reading something that you love!
I want that lovely, undescribable feeling of being inspired again, by books, Tumblr, Instagram, and everything else that I had last year. And, to just do whatever I want. What makes me, me, which is reading and books and music and Joe Hisaishi and art and Studio Ghibli and Disney and DreamWorks and Tumblr and fangirling and everything else. To be honest, there's not enough time to do all that (time: something I don't have a lot of this year), but everyone needs a little inspiration and motivation now and then. If these are the things that I truly enjoy and love doing, I'm going to persevere ... even if I read only one book a month.