Skip to main content

Birthday 2018: Look back and be grateful


Thank God for this day!
I feel like
I feel blessed
Especially that my birthday is fast approaching

I'm not really one to celebrate
I don’t really know the point of celebrating
I guess yeah
There are things to be thankful for

But I feel like the past few months has been so stressful
That I don't feel as lucky as I want to be
But I know I am
I am extremely lucky

I remember that this time last year
I was bored out of my mind
I was praying for something
Anything to occupy my time

I wanted to contribute to society
And I did
I got hired to do this job which is incredible

But you know
It can get old sometimes
But perspective man
Perspective

It has been eye opening to say the least
And I wish I could do more
And I will do more

This experience has motivated me in ways I could never imagine
But first I have to deal with the dirt
The things that are not as fun as teaching or learning or competing
Dirt before the clouds

---
This post was originally written on March 2018. Then edited on April 2020.

Comments

Popular posts from this blog

The Greatest Love Story Ever Told

This is the greatest love story ever told (and still being written). And I’m living in it! Since this blog has been instrumental in making it happen, it’s only fitting that I post it here. And so when people (me included) think it happened so fast, it’s actually years in the making. Having this blog fast tracked the “getting to know” stage. At least, that’s the logical part of me talking. But love is rarely logical.  How it started A day after final exams for the summer term of AY 2023-2024, I received a bunch of anonymous emails. At first, I shrugged it off as a newsletter that I signed up to. A couple emails later, it became clear that it came from one of my former students. Didn’t know it was her until August 2nd. Realized feelings were mutual the day after. Made the relationship official on August 7th. I was the one who asked because “she didn’t wanna cross the line”.  I used to say, in this blog , that I’m only interested in how couples get together, not really what’s ...

Dream high: My ideal dissertation topic

I want my study to be foundational . Something I and others can stand on. Seminal, I would say. I don't want it to just be a dissertation. Something you write and then forget. I want it to inspire me and others. The second criteria that I want is interdisciplinarity. It has to draw on two or more fields--not just mathematics. Something people outside math can appreciate. The T-shaped model comes to mind. The generalist-specialist. Source:  Why T-shaped people? by Jason Yip I know it's a pipe dream. But if I have to dream, why not dream high, right? But I have to be careful that it doesn't stop me from even starting. I should not let perfectionism hinder me from exploring.

Let's time travel to 2008

Who is my audience? Who am I writing all this for? And the quick answer is me. The future me. Photo by  Alex Powell  from  Pexels I'd like to feel the same awe as I have now reading my past writings . Like so: An unfortunate being as I am, I’m stuck here inside this boring house and I’m making my life more miserable day by day. Do I have a choice? I should not be surprised anymore. Why, I’ve been doing this for years already… if not ages. (April 2008) Quite fitting for quarantining. But it doesn’t change the fact that I am still very miserable inside. My heart still bears the pain of the past and the anxiety of the present. Whenever I am alone, I remember very well how foolish I had been and how I continue to be foolish. Deep inside exists the mystery of my soul, the explanation of why I act this or that way, why I am very inconsistent and irrational. (January 2008) Did I really write that? How poetic, albeit a bit pretentious. I feel like my sixt...