Day 25

*Yesterday was a very busy day. Sorry.*

60 Day Picture Challenge - Day 25: A picture of your day.

My days aren't that exciting. In fact, they're quite uneventful, but I'm not complaining. I spend a lot of my day reading and studying, which are things that I actually enjoy doing. In the picture you can see a GRE book, and may be wondering what the heck I'm doing studying for the GRE if I already took it. Well, turns out that I have to take it yet again. I need to improve my math score in order to get a scholarship to study in Milan, Italy. Yea, I know I'd said I was going to go to NYU, but I also recall saying that I'd go there once I had my residency. I gave myself a year to figure things out and the year is almost up and there's still no word on when exactly I'll get my residency. So, in the meantime, I decided to start applying elsewhere and seeing what happens. How cool would it be to study in Italy, though??? Which brings me to another element in the picture: the Italian stories book. There's also a representation of my ongoing battle with Japanese: "How to sound intelligent in Japanese." Finally, there's an 8-pound dumbbell because working out is something I do everyday, and I've recently started strength-training.

30 Day Song Challenge - Day 25: A song that makes you laugh.

No explanation needed. Hehe.

Day 24

60 Day Picture Challenge - Day 24: A picture of something you wish you could change.

It's incredibly idealistic, ambitious, and perhaps a tad bit delusional of me to say that I wish I could change the world. The truth is, I'm not very happy with the world's current state. I think there is something obviously wrong (with humanity) when we produce enough food to feed everyone in the world, yet we don't do anything about redistributing it to those who are starving. There is something incredibly sad about the fact that so many of us want to better ourselves, want to continue our education, but cannot do so because going down that path would burden us with incredible amounts of debt. It pains my heart when I hear that people I sincerely care about are discriminated against and belittled because of their skin color, weight, sexual orientation, or even nationality, when the truth of the matter is that these are all extenuating factors that say nothing about their character or worth as individuals. So yes, I'd like to change the world. I'd like for all of us to be a bit more human - to be more compassionate, tolerant, and open-minded. How would I do so? Well, I'd start by spreading awareness followed by an increase in education. I think we should be allowed to develop our unique potential without having to sacrifice who we are. Anyways, though I'm aware that I'm only one voice in a chorus of 7 billion, at least I want to try to influence and inspire the people whose lives I directly come into contact with, which leads me directly to the second part of today's post...

30 Day Song Challenge - Day 24: A song that you want to play at your funeral.

This song is all about making a difference and living each day to the fullest, which is essentially what I'm all about. I lead my life in a way that will uphold the values that I deem to be most important, and I truly hope that those who are in constant contact with me realize that through my actions and through my words, I aspire to be a source of inspiration. Aspire to be the best version of yourself and cherish your unique existence, no matter how different, weird, or crazy other people may consider you to be. It is when we know ourselves that we will be able to change not only our lives, but the lives of those that we touch. When I die, I want people to say that my presence will be missed and that I lived my life to the best of my abilities.

Day 23

60 Day Picture Challenge - Day 23: A picture of your favorite book.

F. Scott Fitzgerald is definitely one of my favorite authors and his "The Great Gatsby" is undoubtedly (and for good reason) one of the best American novels of all time. I might've mentioned in a previous post that I am absolutely obsessed with the Jazz Age, and everything related to it: excess, luxury, debauchery, prohibition, flappers, etc. But I don't enjoy "The Great Gatsby" solely for its historical context, Fitzgerald's style is, in my opinion, absolutely flawless. He's able to paint intricate pictures with his words in ways that few others can.

30 Day Song Challenge - Day 23: A song that you want to play at your wedding.

This song captures, in my opinion, the very essence of love and romance. Whenever I feel like I'm about to start losing hope when it comes to love, I play this song, and voila, I'm in love with the idea of love again. And so, I'd definitely want it to be played at my wedding (if I ever get married, that is.)

Day 22

60 Day Picture Challenge - Day 22: A picture of something you wish you were better at.

I really do wish I were better at singing. I think I have some degree of natural talent, in the sense that I'm not tone-deaf like others, and because I'm good at imitating sounds. I've also been told that my voice has a natural vibrato, which is supposed to be a rare (and good) occurrence. That said, I know I would greatly benefit from taking voice lessons (which I never have.) Maybe if I had grown up in a more open-minded and culturally-oriented society, one that cherished the arts more, I would've found a decent place to take voice lessons at. Alas, that was not the case.

30 Day Song Challenge - Day 22: A song that you listen to when you're sad.

There are many songs that I turn to when I'm feeling sad. It all depends on: 1) Why I'm feeling sad and 2) Whether I want to encourage the sadness or stop it abruptly (when I want to stop it abruptly, I'll just put some Lady Gaga on and start dancing like a mad woman.) If I'm feeling sad because I'm missing someone, I'll normally play a song that reminds me of that person, and then I'll allow myself to cry for the duration of the song. Once this cathartic process is over, I'll feel as if a weight had been lifted from my shoulders and I'll be able to carry on. One such song is:

I don't wanna run away, but I can't take it, I don't understand,

If I'm not made for you, then why does my heart tell me that I am?

Is there any way that I could stay in your arms?

If I don't need you, then why am I crying on my bed?

If I don't need you, then why does your name resound in my head?

If you're not for me, then why does this distance maim my life?

If you're not for me, then why do I dream of you as my (guy)?

I don't know why you're so far away, but I know that this much is true:

We'll make it through

And I hope you are the one I share my life with.
And I wish that you could be the one I die with.

And I pray in you're the one I build my home with.

I hope I love you all my life...

Cause I miss you, body and soul so strong that it takes my breath away

And I breathe you into my heart and pray for the strength to stand today

Cause I love you, whether it's wrong or right, and though I can't be with you tonight,

You know my heart is by your side...

Day 21

60 Day Picture Challenge - Day 21: A picture of something you wish you could forget.

There is something, or rather someone, that I'd like to forget. However, I will not mention his name nor will include his picture in this post because: 1) I deleted all the pictures I had of him on my computer; 2) I fear that mentioning him or posting his picture would only help to further enlarge his ego, wish I have no wish of doing (although I'm aware that just talking about him may have such an effect), 3) Despite everything that happened between us, I feel that I stopped having the right to use his picture the moment I walked out of his life (I know I don't owe him anything, but I always treat people the way I'd like to be treated.)

In any case, the individual I'd like to forget is someone who I've tried really hard to stop thinking about, but for some odd reason, keeps on popping back into my head every so often. He and I were quite similar in many ways and so, I think that it's been hard to forget about him because our lives and ways of thinking were always overlapping. We enjoyed many of the same things, had many similar interests, etc. He was once a close friend who I cared about tremendously, and I sincerely thought the feelings were mutual. However, certain situations and circumstances allowed me to realize that although he might've cared about me to a certain degree, he never really had my best interests in mind, and as such, our friendship became "compromised." I may be lacking in many things, but one thing that I do have is pride, and I know when I have to stand up for myself, which I eventually did, leading to a fallout between us. The truth is, I expected a bit more of a reaction from him. When you claim that you "need" someone in your life, you just don't let them go that easily. But, I digress. The point is, I invested a lot in that friendship/ relationship/ fiasco. So much so, that now all I want to do is forget. At least about the bad parts. I think that people come into our lives for a reason, and although I'm not sure what purpose my meeting him had, I truly wish I could only remember the good times we shared.

Now, you might be wondering why I selected the picture I did. Well, I selected a picture of Hugh Laurie playing a "fop." UrbanDictionary.com defines the term fop as: "a 19th century-ish term for what is basically a metrosexual. A dandy, if you will. Usually high-cultured, well-dressed, very social individual who enjoys fashion and parties and prissy things like that. Perfect personal hygiene. NOT always gay, though often so. Often cannot actually afford this expensive, high-class lifestyle but somehow tries to live it anyway." One of our nicknames for the individual in question was fop, and so I thought this picture was an appropriate substitute.

30 Day Song Challenge - Day 21: A song that you listen to when you're happy.

I believe this is the second or third day during the challenge that I post a Gaga song. What can I say? She's got my back! I just love Bad Romance and I've never hidden the fact that it's one of my favorite songs of all time. I remember the day I first heard it as if it were yesterday, and I recall having it on repeat for a good 3 hours. So yea, I'm always playing this song, particularly when I'm in a good mood.

Day 20

60 Day Picture Challenge - Day 20: A picture of somewhere you'd love to travel to.

I'd be willing to travel to almost any part of the world (with the exception of a few African countries, to be completely honest), but right now, I've got my mind set on Italy. I love everything about Italy - the language, the music, the food, the architecture, the lifestyle, etc. I haven't mentioned this to many people yet, but I'm actually applying to a program in Italy (more specifically, in Milano) and if everything goes smoothly, I might be headed there sometime next year. :)

30 Day Song Challenge - Day 20: A song that you listen to when you're angry.

Disturbed is my go-to band when something/someone has pissed me off. Any of their songs would have the desired effect of allowing me to release some pent-up anger/energy. I will also admit that I particularly enjoy driving like a mad woman while listening to this type of music. So, watch out!

Day 19

60 Day Picture Challenge - Day 19: A picture of you when you were little.

I was probably about 3 years old in this picture. If I'm not mistaken, this was my first tricycle, and as you can see, I was absolutely in love with it! I had a very nice childhood. Sometimes, I really do wish I could back to those days.

30 Day Song Challenge - Day 19: A song from your favorite album.

My current favorite album (at least the one that I've been playing the most these days) is Lady Gaga's "Born this Way," (no surprise here) and this is definitely one of my favorite songs on it. I kind of wanted it to be her new single, but I like "Marry the night," too. As you can probably tell, I'm still very Gagafied, and cannot wait for her new tour.