Me & Favorites: February 2019

Picture credit: rawpixel.com

I'm glad February is over. It was the first month of my fourth semester in college and honestly, I've been really busy. There were many new things that I encountered in the month of February. Many were goods, some were... challenging. But I'm glad I was able to get through February smoothly.

In this semester there are some changings in my department's curriculum. For example, before, in Japanese Language class we would have pre-test and homeworks that were discussed in class every day, but now we have more online assignments. The materials also became more difficult, which was a given, and I faced some struggles in the early weeks of the semester. But now I can say that I have already quite mastered the new system and finally can balance my study plan with working on my blog, my event organizers activity, and my recharging time. I dropped a class in the first week of February in order to make sure that I wouldn't be too stressed this semester. This decision had been tough. I had been hesitant at that time, but now I can gladly say that I made the right decision. I got burnt out often last year and I don't want that happens to me again this semester.

Picture credit: Pixabay

I had been saving money to buy a domain since December 2018, and about a week ago, I finally saved enough and managed to purchase it. I was so happy (I still am). It feels like a major progress toward the dream I've been visualizing these past few months and I feel really proud. I also set up social media accounts specifically for my blog. If you don't know, I create Twitter, Facebook, and Instagram account for this blog. I'm still figuring out how to upload contents consistently and what kind of contents I want to fill my social media with. I have been working on my branding step by step, and social media content is one of the most important thing is my branding plan.

I got a new little sister two weeks ago and it was crazy since I didn't expect it. We have twenty years difference in age (I feel old!). I'm happy, of course, and excited. I also feel bad because I can't come home before the semester ends, which means I need to wait until June before I can finally see my new little sister.

So those were major events that happened in February, and now, let's get to the usual list of entertainments I've enjoyed last month.

//BOOK

For February I didn't read as many books as I did in January. As I've mentioned, I've been busy adapting to the new semester and figuring out once again how to balance my life. Other reason that made me read less book in February is that the books I chose this month are quite long and so far I only managed to finish one book out of four. Two books out of that list are also not books I picked up willingly for reading, but because of they're part of compulsory reading assignments.

The first one is The Burning Maze by Rick Riordan. I began reading this book in late January and managed to finish it before the second week of February rolled. I thought this was the last book to the The Trials of Apollo series, but it turned out that there is still one book left and it won't come out before the fall of 2019. Since I've followed the series this far, I know that I would end up reading the next book as soon as it is on sale.

The Burning Maze - Rick Riordan

The second one is Dunia Sophie (Sophie's World) by Jostein Gaarder. The first time I read this book was in high school. I picked up the book again because it was relevant to my Introduction to Philosophy and Modern Thinking class, but the lecturer only discussed the first few chapters of the book. After that, I didn't continue reading the book again. I still put the book near my pillow, even though I haven't touched it again for these past few weeks.

The third one is Al Kalimat by Baudizzaman Said Nursi. The first nine chapters of the book had been pretty easy to understand, but I lost interest soon after I'd been stuck in chapter ten for more than two weeks. I read this book during the work day, about two or three pages every morning right after I wake up, but somehow I still haven't managed to move forward from chapter ten. Which is why I'm going to drop this book in March and moving on to another book.

The fourth and last book I read in February is My Dear Hamilton by Stephanie Dray and Laura Kamoie. I read it as a challenge from Twitter. One publishing company account that I follow made a list of 2019 reading challenge, and one of them is to read a book written by two female writers. This turns out to be more difficult than I thought since I need to check my to-read list to see whether I have book with that requirement. Surprisingly, in my more than ten pages of to-read list, there are less than five books written by two female writers. And I chose this one. 

My Dear Hamilton is a historical fiction book about Alexander Hamilton's wife, Elizabeth Schuyler. I'm not familiar with American history or American presidents in general, so I was a bit confused at first when introduced to many real life characters (I only know George Washington, my bad). But now I am really engrossed in the story. The book tells us about Elizabeth's (often called as Betsy in the book) teenage years as a general's daughter, her meeting and marriage with Hamilton, and her struggles and problems as a revolutioner's wife. It is a really interesting book and not as heavy as I thought it would be. I also get to know more about American history which is an advantage.

My Dear Hamilton - Stephanie Dray & Laura Kamoie

//MUSIC

During the second and third week of February, I faced some struggles in adapting to the new system of college classes and the sudden piling assignments. That's why I listened to many comforting and relaxing songs. I put BTS's Paradise and Stray Kids's Mixtape #2 on the top of my playlist during this phase since both songs give me strength to face the day. Lee Sora's latest release, Song Request, one of my favourite songs from Alec Benjamin, If We Have Each Other, and ONE OK ROCK's Stand Out Fit In also give me comforting feeling that I badly needed.

In February, I also discover many new songs that I listen repeatedly in the morning while I was preparing to go to class. I have mentioned in my January highlight about two of ONF's songs that I listened the most that month, and coincidentally, in February, the group released a new album. Their title track, We Must Love, took my breath away when I first watched its music video, and I listened to it almost religiously every day. The song, the choreography, and the music video work really well with each other. It's really enchanting. They showed a more mature and emotional side compared to their previous comeback release, Complete.

ONF - We Must Love (Concept Photo)

JYP's newest girlgroup, ITZY, also debuted with DALLA DALLA in February. Their music video has a different style than other JYP artists' music video, which is refreshing. Their song is also really catchy and motivating, telling about how they are different from other people and how they are not afraid to show it. Not only ITZY, in February J. Y. Park (the founder of JYP entertainment agency) released a gift song to celebrate his first daughter's birth. The song is called This Small Hand and it is very touching and relatable, since I also found out about my second little sister's birth just a few days before the release of the song.

Both ONF and ITZY have members that previously participated in Mix Nine, which is still my favourite survival show apart from Stray Kids until now. I think Mix Nine's effect still has its hold on me, because I still find some of songs from the show in my playlist. Two Mix Nine songs that I listened often in February are Born Hater and I Like It Too.

February is also when YG completed its announcement of their line up for the new boygroup. Still can't move on from their survival show, YG Treasure Box, which is also mentioned in my January highlight, I listened to Kim Junkyu's cover of Better repeatedly. His voice made the song more unique and very catchy. After the show is over, I find myself thirsty over the lack of Silver Boys/Team A contents, which was why I also repeatedly listening to ex-YG trainee and part of Silver Boys members, Noa Kazama's cover of Not Thinking 'Bout You. I really love his voice—it's smooth but also very distinct. I followed his Instagram account and found out that he is also a very talented photographer.

Aside from listening to new songs, I also listened to some new albums in February. My ultimate favourite is Alec Benjamin's Narrated For You. In the course of three weeks, I have already listened to their entire album more than five times. The album tracklist is really amazing. Alec Benjamin shows his amazing song-writing skill in this album, continously exceeding my expectations and giving out plot twist, which I never thought would be a characteristic of a song. A story with plot twist? Cool. But a song with plot twist? That is really amazing.

Alec Benjamin - Narrated For You (Album Cover)

I also listened to Avril Lavigne's Head Above Water and GOT7's Japanese album I Won't Let You Go. It's been so long since the last time I listened to any of Avril Lavigne's song, so I was kind of surprised when the album showed up on my Spotify recommendation. Other albums I listened to are ONE OK ROCK's Eye of the Storm, LOONA's [X X], TREI's and ITZY's debut album, BORN and IT'z Different. From each album that I have mentioned above, I recommend Annabelle's Homework, If I Killed Someone for You, Warrior, Butterfly (this one is a must watch), and Gravity.

//CINEMA

Just like I didn't read many books in February, I also didn't watch many movies or dramas. So far, I only watched three movies and two series. I watched Sayonara no Asa ni Yakusoku no Hana wo Kazarou and remember having chosen the movie because its synopsis. It is a story about an immortal girl who finds a baby in the arms of his dead mother. The girl then decided to raise the boy, even though they face some problems later on because of the girl's immortality. It is a very touching movie, albeit a cliche and easily predictable one.

Sayonara no Asa ni Yakusoku no Hana wo Kazarou (Movie Poster)

Other movies I watched are Crazy Rich Asians and a Japanese movie, Our Little Sister. I just realized that most of the movies I watched in February have the theme of family. The reason I watched Crazy Rich Asians was because I already read the book and the movie kinda went crazy last year. It's a bit late to watch it now, but I'm never someone who follows the trend so it's fine. I ended up loving the book more (as usual), but I must admit that the movie was really beautiful. It made me missing Singapore a bit. I visited the country around three years ago and when they showed Gardens by the Bay in the wedding scene, I was really elated since it was my favourite place in Singapore. 

For Our Little Sister, I was actually put the movie on my to-watch list not because of the plot, but because of Sakaguchi Kentarou made a short appearance in the movie. When I decided to finally watch the movie though, I forgot that Sakaguchi Kentarou played a small part in the movie and got surprised when he appeared on the screen (how stupid of me). I ended up loving the movie because its simple way of storytelling. It's not a complex movie and doesn't even have a major conflict. The movie tells a story about three sisters who found out that they have another little sister after their father's funeral. They then lived together, just the four of them. It was really simple and very relaxing.

Our Little Sister (Movie Poster)

For series, I am still watching Wok of Love and rewatching Mix Nine. I guess it will took a bit longer for me to finish both series since I am pretty busy nowadays and always crash my bed every time I come back from college.

***

Well, that's how my February goes. I focused more on adapting to and balancing with my beginning of the third semester in college. I am actually glad that even though I've been pretty busy, I don't burn out as much as I did in last semester. I make sure that I get enough sleep and recharging time so that I don't get too stressed. So far, I am able to fulfill my goal of February, which is to take it slow.

Picture credit: Flo Westbrook

For March, though, my theme is be purposeful. March probably is going to be more busy than February. There will be many tasks that I need to get done with. My goal is to be mindful with my to-do list and focus more on important and urgent things. I'm going to face more challenges in March, so I hope I am not going to back down, become scared, or step away from responsibilities. In March, I also want to pay more attention to my health by consuming vitamin, fruit, and eating more consistently. The weather hasn't been great lately. I often found myself stuck in campus because of heavy rain, and sometimes when I became too anxious, I also forgot to eat. I haven't been meeting my therapist for almost two months now, and even though I feel fine, I guess it will be better if I arrange a meeting in March just to catch up on progress and make sure there isn't anything I miss.

So this is the end of my monthly highlight of February. How about your February? Do you have anything interesting or significant in February? What's your plan for March? Leave me a comment or message and see you again next week!