Things I have come to realise...
- Hot chocolate tastes SO much better made with milk than water.
- Rice cakes and ryvita are basically cardboard in disguise.
- Eating 3 cucumbers a day does not make you healthy.
- Ice cream is just better than frozen yoghurt ok?!?
- However much you may claim that you ‘just don’t like chocolate’ it is not true- everyone likes chocolate- FACT.
- Low fat ‘chocolate’ doesn’t deserve to be called chocolate- it is tasteless, non melty rubbishness!
- If you choose to sit in the house all day because its raining or you just don’t feel like going out, you will not suddenly become obese.
- EVERYTHING is ok in moderation.
It's all about you
I came to a realisation today after going grocery shopping for milk and bread. I realised that once you’re on your own on exchange, it is you who is in control of your health and diet, you are the one who has to take the initiative to get to know as many people as possible, going out and having as much as possible is up to you, and balancing your studies with other things is entirely up to you. This is partially as a response to not looking after myself properly.
It might sound egocentric, but exchange is really all about opening up the world for you to explore and your personal development. I would like to relate this to the differential model of association employed by Fei Xiaotong to describe how Chinese people places themselves in the middle of concentric circles which represent their spheres of influence. By this model, you may think that Chinese people are selfish, but you can’t just put that label to all Chinese people or anyone as a matter of fact. That would be a huge generalisation. You have to look at the situation and context.
My roommate just asked me if she could eat some of my butter milk bread because she can’t be bothered to go and buy something. Would that be an act of selfishness? I think not. Sure, she’s satisfying her hunger and thinking about only herself at that moment. However, you can’t blame her in that respect. We’re roomies after all. It’s a give-take relationship that we have to establish. I maybe a nuisance to her with my late nights when I have my light on, but she still doesn’t complain about that. And unless, I’m going to eat all of the 8 slices by myself then I don’t see why I can’t share. I’m sure she would do the same if I asked her. We have to get used to each other and live with one another harmoniously.
My final remarks is for everyone, even if you’re not on exchange, to make the most of your day by doing things you love or spending time with others. It may sound like it’s been repeated so many times, but I think it’s worth stressing.
I’ll end with a quote by a wise blue man in The Five People You Meet in Heaven: ”The only time we waste is the time we spend thinking we are alone”. It’s okay to feel shit sometimes but the more you dwell upon it, the more you will see that it’s a waste of time. Time that is slipping away and it is something that we can’t reverse.
Don’t be a poop. Be the amazing you who deserves the sun that rises up everyday for you :) Make the most of it!
When there’s someone that holds great value to you and you lose them, they leave you or you’re separated from them for a period of time..
Their value increases because you realise how much you may need them, how much of an impact the distance from them has on you.. And how much you appreciate them.
It’s the same with objects, when they hold some significance to you and you lose/misplace it somewhere, you finally realise how much you needed it.
We take many things for granted until they aren’t within our grasps anymore, that’s when realisation strikes.
University
I think I’m finally understanding university work ethic, and it’s both exciting and daunting. In reality it all comes down to intention, if you truly do something for the sake of Allah, no matter what comes your way, you’ll brush those obstacles off like its a bit of dust on your shoulders, and this is in any context. I guess it comes down to this for me: work hard the rest of your life for this Ummah Always check your intention and whether your action is pleasing Allah Don’t miss any more lectures!! otherwise the Grammar lost will eventually make you cry And read read read read And oh yeh READ. After all, Allah told us to. Studying means so much more when the aim behind it means so much more to you, so if you can’t link it with the goal of Jannah, re consider your intentions. May Allah make us all steadfast in the way of Allah and make our studying for the sake of Allah and beneficial to this Ummah. Ameen.
