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Good for Great

Bruises and scrapes
All life’s mistakes
Are nothing but bad weather

So many books that I didn’t read
But there’s so much air I chose to breathe
How about the colors I’ve seen?
So I’ll leave these pages in the trees

The Mystery of Shakespeare.

Hi there, how’s it going?

Something I learned in London and found pretty interesting: there has been some speculation recently that William Shakespeare didn’t actually write his plays. Historical evidence indicates that William Shakespeare was either an alias or a simple actor given the rights to the plays by 6th Earl of Derby, William Stanley.

To sum up the second theory— playwriting and acting were discouraged and sometimes condemned during the 16th/17th centuries, especially by government officials. Thus, it could be possible that high-standing Earls or Dukes at the time would use alternative aliases when publishing their works to save their reputations. Some literary professionals are questioning Shakespeare’s authenticity because the scope of language and themes throughout his plays exhibit high literacy skills that Shakespeare may not have actually acquired due to his simple upbringing. Common themes across the works concern government procedure, tragedy as a consequence for ultimate power, questions against the royal family, and many more matters that a simpleton may not be as involved with as an earl, such as the Earl of Derby, would be.

Interesting stuff. And I’m sure there’s a lot more to this theory than what I just wrote. Then again, its all conjecture. You all probably heard it already, but since I have only the basic understanding of Shakespeare, I was kind of mind-blown for awhile when I first heard it. Haha, I was totally dazed and I kept wondering, What if the greatest writer of our time.. isn’t actually the greatest writer of our time? Woah! Chills!

The Phoenix

Wearing all vintage misery
No, I think it looked a little better on me
Oh I’ll change you like a remix
Then I’ll raise you like a phoenix

Bye London :(

I was so sad when I left… but then I came home to NJ and ordered Bon Chon chicken! You can’t… go wrong with fried chicken, even if it decides to go wrong on you. Fear isn’t the path to the dark side, fried chicken is. I can’t think of any other way to describe how good it was to me these past two hours.

That Awkward Moment When… #??

Awkward moment when some stranger sees me jumping excitedly but doesn’t realize it’s because I’m done with my finals and junior year. Is that a bee, near my forehead? Oh yeah, that’s why I’m waving my arms.. Hm.. Normalcy is for squares. I’m running out of excuses for my absurdities. 

How I Ran Into A Door… Gangnam Style.

Ha, sorry for a bit of a depressing note— here are a few comical things that happened to me last week.

During my stay in London, I became really good friends with this girl who invited me to join her and another friend on a trip to Berlin. We went last week and it was so nice! Weather was amazing and the city is just beautiful, hands down. There was a bit of a depressing note when we visited a concentration camp— but another day for another entry.

Anyway, we were walking around the Brandenburg Tor— pulling out our iPhones, taking pictures, etc. when we noticed these two guys in uniform approaching people with German and American flags. One of them saw that we were three Asian girls and approached us super excitedly. The three of us were walking away, but we looked because we were curious to see what he’d do next… lo and behold, he yells, “OPPA GANGNAM STYLE!” gets into straddle position and continues to do the dance. Smooth.

The next day„ the three of us ran into some friends who were also traveling at the hostel we were staying at. The three of us were about to check out, so we sit and chat with our friends for awhile. When we were about to leave, I wave goodbye to them— not realizing that there was a glass door in front of me. You know those commercials with the bird that face plants the door because the housewife had smeared Windex all over it? That was me. Hahaha, all I could do was press my hands against it, say “God! This door is so clear!” and walk away. 

Lost in London.

I can’t believe I’m already going home.

Study abroad was definitely a fun, much-needed experience. As the day when my flight ascends looms closer, I spend a lot of time now reflecting my past few months here.

I have a collection now of all the souvenirs, photos, and transportation tickets I purchased or used. As I stash it all away, I think of all the days I’ve come home drenched from hard rain and walked out of my dorm at 5 AM to catch an appointment. I also think about the brightest day with new friends and the many sights that I will probably never see again.

This experience has been a little more than that though. Ever since I left high school, I have constantly wished for a better tomorrow. That I would be better than who I was yesterday, last week, or last year. But many of the conversations I have had were reality shocks: the person I am now is not the person I would like to be. When will tomorrow come if all I am today is who I was yesterday, last week, and last year? Even if I changed my name or where I lived, it wouldn’t make me better. Even if I did all that, I’d still be me, just lost in London.

So, I am ready… or at least, I think I am. I am so ready to come home, figure out what I want to do and pursue it- full speed ahead, without any regard to what anyone says or how many times I fail at it. But what is it and where do I even start?

The Anesthesia Story

Hello! How’s it going?

During one of the summers in high school, I spent a summer at Columbia University doing a pre-college seminar. I had met a bunch of kids from different parts of the world, two of which were from Taiwan staying in New York with relatives. They were really chill and I liked hanging out with them, so I agreed to meet up with them a few weeks later in August.

Until then, however, my mom had scheduled a wisdom teeth surgery appointment. Dental surgery sucks, but add anesthesia on top and you have a completely different experience.

My anesthesiologist was a small, talkative woman from Puerto Rico who loved talking about her two children. I was sitting in the chair, looking up at the glaring fluorescent light above me. I always do that. It’s bad for my eyes, I know, can’t help it. I was pretty confident that I would not be affected by this anesthesia, but boy, was I wrong!

I saw her insert the needle as she was boasting about her daughter’s recent gymnastics success: “She was a gold medalist! A go-o-o-ld meda-a-a-a-ali-i-i-ist….”

And then I blacked out.

I woke up two days later in my bed. I have the sweetest mom, she had a tray ready for me with congee and hot tea. What… happened? 

She told me everything. This is what went down.

Apparently, when I woke up from the surgery, and after the surgeon told me that my mouth would be numb, I started saying some pretty sketchy stuff.

Man, my mouth feels weird.
Is this a tooth? In my gum?
Heh… my lips feel really big… like Angelina Jolie’s…
Fluorescent lights? Whee, I LOVE light!

When it was time to check out and head to the car, I was told that I started crying and wailing upon seeing that my mouth was bleeding. “Here, here, Erin! Use this tissue!” One of the assistants insisted and handed me a tissue. I then stopped and focused all my fascination on the tissue she handed me.

It’s so… white… like a cloud…

Fixated on the tissue, I didn’t notice the wall behind and me and I walked straight into it. Face first.

Thus, the right side of my face was swollen longer than the left side. One half of my face looked like a bloated monkey while the other half was perfectly normal.

That’s how I looked when I met up with my two friends a week later.

I think they will always remember me as the half swollen face girl…

Joy Today

I couldn’t care less about what he said
About that girl with the frilly head
There’s a lawn to be green
Yet no more room to keep this lean
So I choose joy today
And no tomorrow

If there is trouble on the shore
Where my penalties are just a bore
He keeps sticking to those books
But his actions are getting dirty looks
Will it be joy today
And no tomorrow?

If there is war up ahead
And losses to be had
Then I choose joy today
And no tomorrow!