Back from my unofficial hiatus!

I'm late to the party, but happy new year to all! I haven't posted in a really long time, and I doubt anybody missed my blog posts (who am I kidding?) but I did feel bad for neglecting the blog. So why didn't I just grit my teeth and post stuff? I guess we'll try to answer that question here.
This past semester back at UW-Madison was an interesting one, and a lot happened but also not much happened. Does that make sense? Let's pretend it does.

It was a transitional period for me. Studying abroad in Australia was really life-altering and I developed many aspects of my personality and thought patterns there. I formed new habits and learned a lot about myself. So, coming back to UW-Madison meant I had to reintegrate myself into life here. It was hard and I found myself resisting this change a lot, simply because I liked what I had back in Aus.
That being said, it was especially hard for me to write anything that wouldn't be overly depressing and angsty to post on my blog. Fall semesters always seem to be pretty rough for me. This semester I didn't struggle too much with my social anxiety, but rather had more symptoms attributed with depression. I was sad a lot, and I missed my friends that I'd made in Aus. But also I was just really tired and found it hard to get excited about things. It was hard to convince myself to get up many mornings, wondering what the point of me doing all this stuff was. Luckily, I have really wonderful friends who helped reason with me and remind me of the good things in life, and/or stuck it out with me through the hard days and nights. I know there will be more of those moments but it isn't as scary knowing I have people who care and support me.

On a more uplifting note, I've made new friends by joining a couple of student orgs that were some of the best decisions I could have made! I joined the Choi Tae Kwon Do club of UW-Madison and went from not knowing anything about martial arts (except for the many Jackie Chan movies I watched as a kid) to now being a yellow belt. The people of the club are so wonderfully supportive and fun to be around, and I have gained great insights from training with them. I encourage anybody interested in trying something new to just step out of their comfort zone and do it. You never know what you might find; I went into TKD hoping to better myself physically, and have learned that it isn't just about the physical, but also the mental. And it isn't about "bettering" yourself, it's about discovery, expansion, and awareness; finding the focus and power within yourself rather than creating it or forcing it.
The other org I joined was WUD Music. I have always loved finding new music to listen to and I spend more time on Spotify listening to music, curating playlists, and following artists than I care to admit. So, when I found out there was a super cool bunch of people who do the same AND who get to book artists they like to come perform at UW-Madison for free? You bet I leaped at the opportunity.

I also applied and was accepted for an extremely fantastic internship for this summer, which I'm very excited about. I'm not being super shouty about it simply because there are still some aspects that need to be confirmed, logistically, so I won't find out if I'm actually going to be partaking in it yet. But trust me when I say it is a really neat opportunity that will surely set me on a clearer career path in terms of knowing what I want for myself as a future scientist.

I'm looking forward to this next semester to finish out my junior year of college. It is really hard to take in the fact that I am over halfway done with my bachelor's degree. The future is scary. The present is scary too, sometimes. Here's a comforting thought, though, if you're like me and are slightly mortified by what the future may hold for you after college: life isn't linear. 

Something else I have been thinking about a lot is that the best thing we can do right here, right now, is to just live. I do so much worrying about stuff in the past and stuff I may find in the future, and I forget to enjoy the moment for what it is and appreciate what I'm doing right this very moment. So, as a new semester goal, I want to be more appreciative, and I pass this challenge on to you as well. Don't take the little things for granted, and take a moment every so often to reflect on the people in your life, the things you do, and the things you like about the world and yourself. Don't be afraid to let people know you appreciate them, whether it is a friend who has helped you through a bad day or if it is a nice barista or if it is a stranger on the street whose outfit absolutely rocks. Let them know. We could all use a morale booster like that sometimes, I think.

I'll end this and post it now, since I started writing it and then forgot about it a couple days ago...I figure this blog has waited long enough for me to make a new post.
Here is to a new semester with good things waiting to happen, and here's also to me hopefully blogging more. :)

Until next time!
~ JP