school – Kristi My Dao

The Lunar New Year Weekend of 2023

It is Lunar New Year, the new year celebration of many Asian households (at least, my family/local community has just wrapped up celebrating yesterday). I don’t know if I’m at an age where I’m just more aware of how much I don’t know or if I just never really know anything culturally, but I feel like I’ve learned a lot this week.

For example, one of my friends that I’ve made in the grad program is Filipino, and she was telling me about how there are also elements attached to the zodiac animal of the year. This year is apparently the year of the water rabbit. Then, the computer in my apartment complex is the thing that informed me that for the Vietnamese, this is actually the year of the cat. I originally thought it was just clickbait, but when I asked my parents, they said it was true.

So this just might be the year of learning for me. Today, we’re going to dive into my weekend, which has reminded me to be grateful for how lucky I am to live the life that I have.

The Weekend of Feeling Like a Woman

At the beginning of the semester, I kind of considered delaying starting graduate school. Why? The Ladygang announced their tour, and I immediately wanted to go and be a groupie, because I absolutely love them. Their podcast is the good part about my weeks, and no show is ever the same because the crowd is never the same. So I considered it for a minute, but I already enrolled in my classes and I couldn’t forget how hard I worked to be in graduate school.

But this past weekend, I got to live out my groupie dreams. I picked up tickets to their last few shows in Phoenix and Denver (because Los Angeles was sold out). So that’s what I did this weekend, and while I missed Asanti, he’s the best for reminding me how important it is to treat myself in the midst of all my hard work.

My Well-Balanced Weekend

It’s not often that I get a weekend where it’s nicely balanced, one that is equal parts work, socializing, and resting. Either I work or do homework for most of the weekend, or I worked all week so that I could have a completely fun weekend, just like the one I had last weekend. So what does a well-balanced weekend look like for me? Keep reading to find out.

A Worthwhile Wedding Weekend

I love having my own space, because there was a time when I didn’t get a lot of time for myself. However, since moving in with my boyfriend, I really miss him when he travels for long periods of time for work. Luckily, the second he came back, I had him all to myself for a whole weekend. A fun one too, since we had plans to attend a wedding with his family.

Keep reading if you want to travel with us down to Dania Beach (because I know reliving it in my mind will be what gets me through this week of working a lot).

My Very Nice Weekend

It seemed like a much-deserved holiday weekend for me, because I have been laboring my days away since the week before school started. But now I’m back, and while I also spent the weekend doing homework, I also had some fun. Of course, hard work is important, because I don’t live to work, I’m working to live. So enjoy reading about what I worked for this past weekend.

Unpacking My Backpack Essentials

This is the last week I have before school starts, and I know because I have been getting emails from professors about assignments they want done by the time we arrive to our first class. It makes me laugh a little, because a week ago my sister and my boyfriend were picking on me when I brought up having summer homework in high school. Now here I am, doing more summer work. Anyway, while every teacher personalizes their own supply list for class, there are some essentials that every student needs to have handy. I thought I would open up my backpack and share mine for today’s blog post before they get packed away.

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.

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.

Appreciation Post for My Matchmaker

While I fell in love for the first time on a dating app, it was not the preferred way I would have wanted to meet my partner. If you’ve been following my story at all, you would know that isn’t how my current relationship came to be. Since it’s National Matchmaker Day, I wanted to show a little appreciation for my friend and matchmaker, Alex.

Let’s Do a Life Update

Hey everyone, I hope that things are doing well and getting better wherever you’re reading this from. It is May again, and I thought I would try and keep up with annually blogging the days up until my birthday. I’m getting a late start to this blog because life has been crazy busy with work and life changes, so I will be sure to do 8 other posts in some kind of form. That sounds like a lot, but I’ll be sure to hold that end of the bargain at the end of this.