reflection – Kristi My Dao

The Weekend of Being a Supportive Girlfriend

Maybe you can tell from what I write/how bad I am at regularly making sure I am posting, but I can very easily get caught up in my work and doing what I have to do. However, on this particular weekend I decided to stay in town instead of going home since Asanti just came home.

Hindsight says that I made a good decision, but maybe you’ll read on and then tell me you think I’m wrong. Anyway, here is my weekend recap of being a supportive girlfriend.

I Finally Finished Reading The Summer I Turned Pretty

This book has been a slight thorn in my side these past couple of weeks. Before the television show came out, I saw a trailer and said, “Oh, I’m going to read that before the show comes out.” But then it seemed like it came out the next day, so I barely had time to try to read it. It seemed like all of the podcasts that I normally listen to were talking about it the weekend after it was released. So in my dedication to not spoil this book before I read it, I pretty much have a lineup of podcast episodes to listen to once I watch the show. Now that I’ve finally finished reading it, I have to wait for my sister in order to start watching the series. We’re planning on having her come over so we can binge watch it together. To bide my time, I thought I would go through a discussion of the book. In my research, I found a fun reddit thread for a Taylor Swift inspired book club, and they chose this book back in June. Since I love Taylor Swift, I thought it would be fun to go through the questions for today’s blog post, especially since I’m also still waiting for the re-release for the rest of Taylor’s albums, or just more new music. I’ll take what I can get.

Another Weekend of Wisdom

So my boyfriend had another wisdom tooth removed before the weekend started, and I believe that this is the last one. The loving, doting girlfriend that I am, I took the weekend off of work to make sure that he was going to be okay. If you’re reading this, it is probably obvious that we both survived the weekend, and if you’re interested in seeing how, you can keep reading.

My 2022 Summer Goals for Living Better

Yesterday I woke up to an email saying that I have grad orientation in two weeks. I don’t know what your first inclination was, but mine was that summer is coming to an end. While that might make some people sad, I actually really enjoy being a student. With learning being one of my core values, I don’t think you’re growing if you’re not learning at least one new thing everyday.

While summer is the season with the longest days of the year, it is quickly wrapping up. And I’m sure that people are trying to squeeze in one last summer vacation or are preparing to shop for the school year, but I have some goals I want to complete before the season is over. That’s what I wanted to talk about today before I fully get into the back-to-school mindset. Keep reading to find out more.

The Quiet Weekend of Nursing and Working

No weekend blog last week, because all I did was work. This weekend wasn’t too different, but it was more interesting than the last. Before it even started, my boyfriend got one of his wisdom teeth removed, so I was pretty much playing nurse to him. Luckily, all my friends are nurses, so I had some backup if anything went wrong.

Predictions and Discussions for Where the Crawdads Sing

So tonight, the Where the Crawdads Sing movie officially drops to the public, and I have to say that this all happened very fast in my mind. I remember reading the book in 2021 and really appreciating the complexity of people and emotions, and I did not expect the book to become a movie. When I heard the news this past March, I remember wondering how well the book would translate to screen.

A Letter To My High School Self

Graduation season is in full swing, and I’m so excited to say that I am going back to college! I’m going back to the University of Central Florida to earn a Master of Fine Arts in Creative Writing this coming fall. It is everything that I have secretly/not so secretly wanted, and I am so happy to have this feeling of obtaining so much at twenty-five. To honor my accomplishments and celebrate how far I’ve come, I thought I would take the time to write a letter to my high school self. Nothing played out according to the life plan I designed, and I have to say that it worked out for the best because I’m so happy with where I’m at today. Keep reading to learn what I would tell myself back then.

My Thoughts on Beach Read by Emily Henry

Before this book, I had fallen into a rabbit hole of nonfiction books and autobiographies. It’s not that I wasn’t happy there, because it was a path I had chosen to go down because that is what I write. I think that there is a different feeling I get when I read something meant to be inspirational, or something coming from someone who is successful and has overcome adversity. I was missing the feeling of reading happy endings. Maybe it comes from the little kid in me who loved fairy tales, but I love a happily ever after story. I didn’t realize that what I was longing for is the feeling of reading a romantic comedy, until I picked up this book. The driving force behind me reading Beach Read by Emily Henry came from the fact that my former Her Campus Editor Nicole posted it on her Bookstagram. She said it was one of her favorite books of all time, ever. Which sounded like a glowing review, so I picked it up, and I absolutely love it. So for today’s blog post, I thought I would go through the discussion questions in the back of the book. Keep reading to learn my thoughts and go through my experience of reading Beach Read by Emily Henry.

Are You Happy?

If you’ve gone to see the latest movie in the Marvel Cinematic Universe, you’ll know that happiness is the theme throughout Dr. Strange in the Multiverse of Madness. Small spoiler ahead: aside from several characters asking, “Are you happy, Stephen?” happiness is also the primary motivator for Wanda Maximoff, or Scarlett Witch, as the villain of the movie. Happiness is the theme that I wanted to discuss in today’s blog post, so let’s get right into it.

Spring Has Sprung Favorites

Before moving to Florida where summer feels like a year-round season, spring was my favorite season as a child. I distinctly remember being in second grade, and the teacher was trying to teach us about the basics when it came to polls and how those numbers worked for math class. She went around and asked us what our favorite seasons were, and got very annoyed when I raised my hand to tell her that she missed me because I was the only one that stood up to vote for spring. While it no longer holds the same place in my heart, I thought that talking about some of my favorite things that spring has to offer will give me something to look forward to this season.