Fourth year's Blastoff

It has been a month since school started and I am still as motivated as I was in the first day of school. I am so surprised with my own determination and motivation. Things were not the same last year. I still remember that I started ranting and complaining after 2 weeks of school. I was drained. But this year, things are different, really different and I hope this sustains until the end of the year.

What is so different here? Less busy schedule? It doesn’t look like that. Indeed, I am working part-time as well. So there is no such thing that I am freer this term. Less demanding courses? Definitely not. Things are accelerating really fast in terms of course contents. Then what? That’s what I always ask myself.

I have been brought up in a family, where I was always taught that even when the world is ending, there is definitely something good to it. In other words, look at the bright side and things will definitely get better. My brother and sis-in-law in Malaysia have always been my role models and their optimism shaped me the way I am now. How would this make my fourth year better than last year? It definitely plays a role, but it is not the main reason.

It all started with a random biking adventure with a friend, who is beautiful in and out. I was very adamant to bike on a route where there is no street lights at night when our bikes don’t have lights either. When the last bit of light from the sun was slowly fading away, I realized that it was such a dumb decision that I made. I felt so bad for forcing my friend to follow me as well and making him to bike in the dark, hoping that we will not hit anyone on our way. Well, I decided based on the fact that it was a full moon that night and supposed to be bright enough for us to bike. Clearly, I have not biked in a full moon night before to know that the light from moon isn't sufficient to light the entire route when there are trees blocking the pathway of the light.

And this became one of those random decisions that I will not regret in a way. So, we passed by one of my favourite spots near UBC and decided to take a break. What a beautiful sight! We sat on the rocks looking at the skyline of downtown, while the sound of waves are slowly breaking the silence of the night. Oh man, it is definitely one of the nights in my undergraduate years that is worth remembering.  We chatted for little over an hour. My friend shared his experience in graduate school, his motivation to keep going and what makes a graduate school different experience that undergraduate years. Some of the things that I still remember are how you have to love the process of progressing and getting end results, but not the end results alone. There would be a period of time, where you will be questioning your decision and how you are making a change in the society, or at least how significant is your contribute to the society and how you tackle those questions. He also mentioned about his ambitions.

For some reasons, listening to people sharing their experience and thoughts on life inspires me. His ambitions reminded me of mine and this reminder was the spark of the determination and motivation I have now. How did all this happen? I am not sure, but definitely the chat was inspiring. Reminded me of my chats with my brothers. Probably it is meant to happen! J So that is the story of me getting my motivation to rock fourth year! It has been a great experience so far! J

P/s: I was a runner and I was trained to end a race with barely any energy left because you have some energy left that means you could have tried harder, but you didn’t. I don’t want to end my fourth year saying that it would have been better if I tried harder.  

Learn to Appreciate

Hey you! You! The one who is reading this now! Just want to tell you that you are beautiful! Never ever think that you are not pretty or any negative thoughts about yourself. You may not the best of you, but trust me if you don't make an effort to know the best of you, no one will make that effort. I always tell myself and also others that no one knows about me better than I do. May be my parents do, but I bet they don't know everything about myself either. So embrace the truth that no one can love you more than yourself.

I was missing in action for a while because I was busy learning to manage my time properly. Getting involved in many things is a good thing, but it becomes a pain in the ass when the academic suffers due to poor time management. Well, second year as an undergraduate was a learning year for me about myself and the world. It has been a great year. As the school term is coming to an end and finals are around the corner, I planned to take some time off from studying to look back and reflect on the events that happened this year.

Overall, it has been a great year.Also, I had the best company around me who keep me alive and inspired all the time. Without them, I wouldn't have done my second year as good as I did. I might not have done the best in terms of grades, but I did try my best and I learned more than just academics. I learned about myself and how fragile I could be at times. Everything happens for a reason. :D So its not a big deal. :D There are a lot lessons that I learned in my second year journey, but the most prominent one is appreciate the people, their relationship in life, so that I don't lose them. There are always chances for you to mess up with the relationship, but be careful because it takes lots of  time and effort to build a good one and just seconds to destroy the trust that has been build up.

Finals!!! =)

Finals for academic year of 2012/2013 Winter session in University of British Columbia has begun. Good luck to everyone, hope all the efforts you put throughout the term pays off with these final papers. :)

My opinion about finals have changed from first term to now. In my first term I was scared and stressed out most of the time for the exams. Now, testing one's knowledge through time-pressure is something common. How valuable is that testing?

This is what one of my professor said when I complained that there isn't enough time to finish the midterm: "In whole what university (as an undergraduate) teaches you is not only the knowledge in your expertise, it also teaches how to use that knowledge in a time-pressured environment such as an exam. This is because, in real life you don't have all the time in the world. You will work in an environment, where time plays an important factor no matter what you choose. Therefore, it is important to learn the skill as soon as possible."

I like how he justified the time-constraint during midterm. Doesn't that mean that the instructors are technically testing our time management skills rather than the knowledge learnt? I don't think so. They are testing how students apply their knowledge effectively when there is time constraint. The determined and passionate students in that field seem to perform better than the students, who are taking that subject merely for requirement.

For some reasons, I always feel that getting good grades doesn't guarantee that you are smart. In my opinion, getting high marks just saying that you know the material learnt in class well, but doesn't say about your general knowledge or knowledge beyond classroom. So where does the "real" smartness lies then? Knowing everything in this world or mastering a subset of knowledge learned within four walls? Something to ponder about.

Good Luck peeps! :) 


 

Photo of the day: Irwing Clock Tower

Hi!

Today's picture is Irwing Clock Tower. This is one of my favourite places in UBC to chill out. I think it is because of the water fountain and the clock itself.

  This picture is taken during sunset! Isn't it mind blowing?

 This is the photo of the day! I love this clock tower because it resembles strong will and independency! The way it stands still in the rain and sun inspires me although I know that it is just a building. For some reasons that I don't know, this tower is just mind blowing. :)

Photo of the day: Achievement!

Hi there!

Guess what happen today? It slept at 5 am, so what does that hint to you? This is my first time in my life to see a sunrise in the summer in Vancouver!Other days, I either sleep early or wake up late to see a sunrise!

I would call this as an achievement of life although it is not recommended to be done often. At least do it once before you die. It is like once a lifetime experience! :) 

I was so happy to see the changes in the sky at 5 o'clock in the morning, despite the fact that I was a zombie. If you ask me why, I cannot explain. But it just feels so good to see the changes happen so fast. Few minutes ago, the sky is dark, another minute a ray of light is coming out of the clouds. The sun ray feels like a hope during the dark times in the life. Indeed, I was writing a paper due the next day with the hope I will get the "aha" moment soon. 

Well, again its me. My formula of life is simple. It is short, so fill it with memorable moments!

Now, here is the picture taken from my room in Thunderbird!

Photo of the day: Sun at 10pm

Hi there,

Today's picture is showing the shooting scene in UBC at 10pm with huge spotlight just over the tree in front of the Irwing Learning Centre a.k.a library. :)

At a glance, it is as though, there is sun rise behind the trees.Sunset at one end and sunrise at another end at the same time. :)

Initially I was very upset to see the shooting because I cannot take short cut to my place after the class. But later, I find it very beautiful to see the shooting because there were a lot of people and the place was very lively. After a month in campus, that is the first time,there were a lot of people in front of the library.

There is always pros and cons in a situation. It is up to us to see at the bright side. :)

Have a great day or night ahead! :)

Day 1

Hi!

It has been ages since I updated the blog. I was not to say busy, but I was lazy to write. Believe me or not, so many thoughts are running in my head now, but when I sit down to write I just can't go anywhere beyond two lines. That was disappointing for a while, now I wanna see how far I can go. I am up to the challenge.

Inspired by the Book of Awesomeness by Neil Pasricha, I have decided to post something everyday with a photo. The photo of the day will tell something about my day, my experience, or my feelings. :D

So let's get it started!

Photo of the day: Hardwork

The picture is taken when I was revising for my psychology midterm. I did flashcards for the subject while going through the lecture notes. I used different colours for each chapter. In total I made flashcards for 5 chapters. After finishing them, a very strong sense of satisfaction is felt. For the first time, I was proud myself for having such a discipline and dedication in studying after 2 months of break. At this moment of life, I told myself, no matter what is my grade in this subject, I am going to embrace the fact whether I am good at it or vice versa because I was enjoying the class very much. This is my second time putting so much effort in a subject and saying that I don't care my grades anymore. First was in Biology 121, in which I learnt about genetics, ecology and evolution. Freeing myself from the grades, made me to feel so much better after the exam. There are questions, where I did mistakes. I will take this opportunity to learn my mistake and hope to not repeat again. :) So yeah, enjoy in the work you do, the efforts will be paid off. See you tomorrow. :)