also i've long been so particular about the amount of times i would post and how it would clutter up my archive bc i do like using the archive as a tool to look back on things. i have not had a day where my queue has been empty for the last 8 years! idk i'm being so particular about this long built in system i have that i'm wondering why i'm making this feel like such a chore 🤧

ooh nice that you have a chill first day 😌✨ and aHHH yes look at you making friends left and right and pLS i bet you are pretty 🥹 and ahh it must be fun speaking chinese w someone else around a lot of ppl who likely don’t understand sjsjsjs i don’t have v much opportunity to do that (probably why my mandarin sucks <//3 skdjd) but it always feels cool when i can.

no i’m sure you made the right choice for yourself. and you’ll probably experience so many great things. sometimes i wish i decided to go to university for the experiences. and you get to meet so many great ppl too. cuz my life is so online rn and when i get a job there’s a chance i’ll be working remotely, so online as well, so like- when am i gonna make friends or even find a boyfriend 😭 djsjsjdj waiting on you mr. jake sim 😃 /j 🥹 but thank you sm :(( <3 ah, so hahaha you’re not ,, exactly wrong ig ?? hahaha there are LOTS of different types of ux designers but i think you’re thinking of more ux engineering haha which is not what i’d be going into tho. what i would wanna go into is more focused on working with users and getting to understand their needs through interviews or surveys or looking through that data and working with a team to come up with the best solution and like drawing out potential products and whatnot :) and this could be physical or digital. any digital aspect tho won’t be coding ahaha no thanks 😃 hahaha but yeah :> hopefully that makes sense 😭

ooooh that would be nice for you if you could finish early and take a year off !! ik you can do it, 加油 !! i believe in you ✊🏻 and i’m wishing you the best in finding the path you’re most passionate about and that will work for you the best 🥹

i hope i make more >< she's super sweet and she told me i was her first friend in america and i was like 🥺🥺🥺 i feel so honored yk 😞🫂 omg but i was glad i was able to help her out tho, i think we're gonna have dinner friday night together too !! and ahhhwjfbsk don't even worry cuz my chinese sucks too <//3 i haven't spoken in like years until recently so i'm super duper rusty it's 💔💔 at least i haven't forgotten everything (_ _;)

ah yeah i see what ur saying, but ig there are pros and cons to both uni and ur program ? but maybe you'll be able to still network and stuff once u go into the workforce soon!! omg i'll have to track u down (/j) and take u out to socialize, just two introverts against the world 🤧🤧🤧 ohhh !! so it's more customer service based then, like more ,,, , idk how to describe it but i do get what ur saying TT that's still pretty cool tho!! coding is a lot of effort and schooling anyway (;_; better to not have to deal w some of the people in cs (if anyone is a cs major and is reading this, it's nothing personal, it's just the *people*)

thank uuu 🙏🏼🫂 the gap year would probably be me studying for the mcat and doing things to bolster my résumé/application cries but a gap year sounds really good rn tbh 🤧💀 SKDBKEJD AND 加油 TO U AS WELL 💖💖 we got this (ง'̀-'́)ง

November 8

Monday morning and I’ve got the Monday blues. And not only that, but I had a cold as well 🤧 and had to miss today's Studio Production class, but I didn't feel too bad about it because luckily with COVID, you actually can’t enter campus with the sniffles. The reason why I had bones that ached and a runny nose was because over the weekend, I went to see Bancroft - 243 km away from Toronto - its a place that reminds me of rural America but minus the Star-Spangled Banner hoisted up near people’s homes. Since this is my first semester in Canada, I wanted to take the time and learn about the country, which has now become my new home. Up in Bancroft, I got to see Eagle’s Nest, which has a beautiful wooden lookout that extends over the rock and the view was absolutely stunning. Eagle’s Nest (known as Migizi Wazoson to the Algonquin tribe) is a special and sacred place to the First Nations.

According to interpretive signs, eagles have been present on the hilltops overlooking the York River in both a spiritual or physical sense. Eagles were very sacred to the Algonquin and it was believed that they carried prayers to the Creator and the spirit realm. When I was driven from Toronto to Bancroft, I did some online research and discovered some interesting facts about the place from Trip Advisor, such as: Thousands of years ago, the entire valley seen from the top of the Eagle’s Nest was filled with water and the hilltops were just islands in the very deep water, known as the Shawashkong Basin due to the melting of the Laurentide ice sheet. The York River, which can be seen below the look out point, is all that is left of the massive post-glacial drainages of ancient times.

Given that I come from the city of Dubai in the Middle East, I just loved the idea of standing on top of a mountain with hills and trees as far as the eye could see. And as the cold still hasn’t quite kicked in – I’m still wearing my autumn jacket – I thought, why not go? It seemed like the perfect time as any. I arrived on Saturday morning, did a bit of the Chevy Chase vacation thing (if you haven’t watched National Lampoon’s Vacation, you’re missing out on a lot, it was voted in 2000 as the 46th greatest comedy film of all time) where I walked for about five minutes, took a selfie at the look out point, and then went back to the car. I’m such a city girl, so walking this bit is enough outdoors for me, actually. And I don’t feel bad to admit it.

Chevy Chase in the iconic Vacation movie:

The panoramic view of Eagle's Nest in Bancroft: