New Year, New Motive

So I got this idea from my dear cousin Jen's blog. Pick a theme for the New Year and your new goals. After thinking a while, I have finally found mine...

*Drumroll*

Persist.

Alright, so maybe it seems like a weird word, but keep in mind it seems my English vocabulary is continually getting worse and I had to actually look up a synonym for "follow through" to find something more fancy. Why? Well because, quite frankly, I have some major stuff to actually "do" this year.



The biggest item on the list is applying to the East Asian Studies program at U of A this fall (Japanese emphasis). Admittedly I have already applied once, but that plan changed to actually completing my associates at Pima first- which I am grateful for. Less money lost for me. I have about 2 or 2 1/2 years left, give or take, and I am very excited. That means I will be 24 when I graduate...now there is a scary thought.

The rest of my degree pretty much consists of language as the main focus (imagine that), but all the other supporting courses have to deal with Asian history, culture, women's studies, and religion. If you know me- this degree pretty much sounds like a dream come true. I have to admit double majoring in Anthropology or Linguistics has crossed my mind, but I think it would be best to get my first degree out of the way so I can make money translating, and hopefully not have to take out loans if I pursue higher education someday.



The next step after (hopefully) getting admitted, would be to apply to study abroad. I think studying abroad is not only beneficial, but really semi-necessary for my degree. Being in the environment and hearing the language continually would help a ton- because let's face it, no matter how much I enjoy and appreciate my Japanese speaking friends and Sensei, Tucson is not exactly full to the brim of Japanese culture or language. Having to actually "use" language on a daily basis would be a totally different experience.



The third and most obvious thing I need to do this year is: study, study, study! Yes- I have done fine in my Japanese courses, good grades, so on and so forth. However I am still not at the level I would like to be at. I am definitely not the best in my class and I cannot ramble on in Japanese naturally like a few of my fellow classmates. I understand it takes time, but it also takes a lot of dedication, and hours of review and practice daily.

This also includes a lot more writing. For those of you who don't know Japanese has essentially 3 forms of written communication. 2 of the alphabets are Japanese origin themselves, but the 3rd is a set of characters taken from Chinese and incorporated into Japanese. This 3rd set is called Kanji, and is very much a pain to learn and write. I need to do it more- a LOT more. I pretty much curse Kanji half the time, but as I learn more I have also gained an appreciation for it. Why? Well because every "character" is actually based off an ancient picture, and once you learn the origin it becomes very easy to see how words are formed with these sort of "pictures". For example- the character for "person" and "shape" put together forms the word for "doll". I guess part of the reason I love Japanese is because it is so different from English, even if it makes it harder to retrain your brain and grammar.



In addition to this I also plan on working out and hiking a lot more. I already love hiking and need to get to know Tucson more, no problem there. The challenging part will be working out. I have lower body strength- but essentially no upper body muscle. I have a nightly work out I plan to stick to, and once I have a job I want to join the local bouldering gym as well as keep taking a few yoga classes. My goal is to be able to actually do push-ups. Haha.



Last but not least I plan on reading a lot more this year. I have already finished a couple books, but my new goal is to spend at least as much time reading as I do watching that crap-filled device called a television. I mean- if I have time to fill my head with stupid rich people whining about their lives when I am bored, there is really NO excuse to not have time to study more about subjects that interest me- yup.



Well there you have it, I am sorry if that was an extremely long-winded rant of Dani's inner monologue for 2012- but you chose to read it. ;)

Hope everybody is doing well and having a wonderful new year so far!
Sending out love, light, & happiness your way,
Dani <3

Present.

Ever notice how certain people in your life are negative and tend to bring you down?
Other people are positive and always bring you up?
Well every once and a while the big guys upstairs decide to send you a really big "pick me up" person in life, and this year - it's my yoga instructor.

I honestly don't know how I have been managing college without yoga all these years - it has been the most comforting stress relief to learn. I try to give myself time to do some basic poses every night and morning, which proves sometimes challenging - especially when I have to study on average at least 3 or more hours of Japanese every day.

My professor is very zen and reads us daily quotes and Sanskrit sayings. He also incorporates a lot of chakra work into our yoga. The moment we walk into that room he instructs us to forget about homework, rent, gas and grocery money. It is completely void of talking and is our only "quiet hour of the day". Today he discussed humans and our "monkey mind- always thinking about the past or future when all we have is the present". It really got me thinking...most people (myself included), spend time worrying about either past actions, or what the future will / should be like...all the while the only thing we do have control over - the present - is passing right before our eyes. Therefore my new goal this semester is to appreciate the present for all it is - none of us will ever be at this same stage or moment in life again - good or bad - we just need to accept and experience the present for all it is.



"Mindfulness is the aware, balanced acceptance of the present experience.
It isn't more complicated that that.
It is opening to or recieving the present moment, pleasant or unpleasant, just as it is,
without either clinging to it or rejecting it."
-Sylvia Boorstein

This concept is nothing new if you have ever studied Asian religion - but it is nice to have a weekly instructor who replants the ideas in your mind. I find that it is also helpful (as new age as this may sound) to focus on positive thoughts while doing yoga / meditation. Being a positive person in a world full of ever spreading negativity can be hard- so I leave you with one of my favorites...

"Let your love flow outward through the universe,
To its height, its depth, its broad extent,
A limitless love, without hatred or enmity.
Then as you stand or walk,
Sit or lie down,
As long as you are awake,
Strive for this with a one-pointed mind;
Your life will bring heaven to earth."
-Sutta Nipata

Work Wackiness

For those of you who don't know I got a new job this summer with the Natural History Association (and I absolutely love it, better pay and talking to people about the area = win.)

I have met a lot of really cool people, but I don't know if anything will be able to top what happened to me this week. A guy came in wanting a book on water politics in the desert, I noticed he was wearing a U of A shirt and asked if he went to school there. He naturally asked if I did, then asked my major - and it was the same thing he went to school for! He gave me a lot of encouragement and talked about living in Japan for about 3 years and absolutely loving it. He was a Euro news broadcaster / translator, and recommended places for me to go. We went on to talk for about 20 mins, and he was astounded that a small town girl in Page was speaking Japanese, while I was amazed I had found an older successful person with my degree. He told me not to give up, even though people often times view foreign language majors as not totally grounded - all in all a very cool chat.

There are a lot of people that have questioned my degree just based on the events there this past year. With all the conspiracy theories floating around and criticisms of the Japanese government, I think sometimes people lose sight of the biggest importance of the issue. PEOPLE. There are thousands of people out there without family, homes, jobs, or even their own villages. During a Japanese speech contest down in Tucson there was a guest speaker who had actually flown into Japan the day of the tsunami (she was Japanese American) and had watched in horror as the waves rolled into the countryside. She spent 2 days at the airport they landed in just helping translate for foreigners and get them sent on their way safely. There are good people out there helping all the time, that we never hear about on the news.

I am not trying to undermine the seriousness of the nuclear issue, but I do believe it is wrong to criticize something our own country did not even go through - how would the US have responded? More efficiently or more poorly? Thousands of people were killed and entire villages wiped out, it is a lot to be hit with at once. I think you have to go on believing things will get better, all of Japan is not doomed due to this fallout, although part of country may be uninhabitable for a long time. If you believe in all this negativity and all these huge theories that is what your life will be full of. Fear and negativity. I believe in living for the positive - and I will go to Japan to live out my dream - regardless of criticism. As long as people are alive criticism will exist - so who cares?


I am honestly happy with life, my job, and absolutely love my major. No complaints here. =)

"Love the life you live. Live the life you love." - Bob Marley

2011

Greetings blogger world.

As you know I used to have one of these, but I didn't feel like it was going in the direction I wanted it to or really expressed me well. I've thought about coming back for a while, but I figured I would just start a totally new blog - 'cause this is my domain right? Anyway one of my new goals is to be more self expressive. I am taking 15 credits this semester (among getting prepared for transfer and study abroad) so bear with me if I am not a frequent poster! This post is just going to be a bunch of random pics from my life the past year or two!

-Much love
Dani