This month I was still “easing” into the year. The reality was that there was no time to slowly get used to things, but I was acting as if I could.  Happening to have gotten some of the most difficult teachers in junior year while also being overly ambitious in outside school activities.

A lesson learned for this month is that balance is the ultimate key.

With newfound confidence after being abroad, I thought I could handle school work, social life, extra-curricular etc. But one person alone can only do so much.

Although it may have led to disaster and affected my productivity and ability to handle stress properly, I still made some enjoyable memories.

I attended a Japanese culture food fair found from an app called Meet-up…this app is especially convenient for those looking for groups such as music, language, culture, recreation etc. http://www.meetup.com

The group I associated with at the fair is a language group called J-KURU. They hold daily morning meetings and evening meetings for all people in New York who want to practice their Japanese with fellow learners or a native speaker.

At this fair was also a collaboration of restaurants and shops to promote their businesses.

Actually, I didn’t know I would be wearing traditional kimono…I thought I would be serving food. I ended up walking in a parade too, which was funny.

Restaurant: http://www.mocu-mocu.com

Ceramics (Taiken studio) http://nytogei.com

Language group: http://www.j-kuru.com

I also very briefly interned with a local artist Autumn Ahn on a couple occasions. Later, I could no longer work for due to school priorities but her work is worth a look!

http://autumnahn.com

Regarding classes…Design studio began with the approach to address ways to increase performance of specific activities such as reading, or sleeping. Constructs were created in order to develop structural and conceptual strategies to a nearby library we designed.

I am also taking ceramics. The first day we competed to see who could build the tallest tower on a time limit.