#and i have to study abroad in spring of junior year which like....maybe i can bring my esa but i also am not sure | Explore Tumblr Posts and Blogs

emsylcatac · 4 years

Note

Oh man, really appreciating the extra French cultural insight on ML, so thank you for all of your elucidating! Have you made any posts covering common school events/milestones, and/or how teens tend to celebrate holidays in Paris? I know exams are different and that proms aren't really a thing, and the show has given us some insight into field trips (not too different), but do you know of anything else fandom tends to miss?

Heya!! :D

Thanks for your feedback & you’re very welcome!!

I haven’t done any post regarding school events or holidays yet, so let’s do that now!

School events/milestones:

First just a quick explanation of the French scholar system:

Maternelle (= Kindergarten): 3 years, from 3-4yo to 5-6yo – Petite section · Moyenne section · Grande section

Primaire (= Primary school): 5 years, from 6-7yo to 10-11yo – CP · CE1 · CE2 · CM1 · CM2

Collège (= Secondary school | Junior high school): 4 years, from 11-12yo to 14-15yo – 6ème (said sixième) · 5ème (cinquième) · 4ème (quatrième) · 3ème (troisième) – school start around 8:30am and ends around 4:30pm, with 1h lunch-break and 15min break in the morning & afternoon. – except on Wednesday ends around 11:30 or 12:30.

Lycée (= High school): 3 years, from 15-16yo to 17-18yo – 2nd (said seconde) · 1ère (première) · Tale (terminale) – Same about breaks & lunch breaks & start of school, but usually ends around 5:30pm. – except on Wednesday ends around 11:30 or 12:30 (or if you’re unlucky like I was the school organises exams on Wednesday afternoon from 2 to 4h straight but most schools have free Wednesdays afternoon)

Currently, Marinette & Adrien are in their finale year of ‘collège’ so in ‘3ème’ (called ‘troisème’).

So about major end-of the year exams:

End of 3ème (around the end of June usually): ‘Brevet’ – it’s a national exam and every student in the whole France have the same examination questions. They have to revise courses they had during the whole year and can be pretty much interrogated on anything they’ve learned. One exam per subject. Writing exam subjects are: French, Mathematics (main ones), History/Geography, Sciences (with Physics/Chemistry and/or Earth&Life Sciences and/or Technology). Added to that, they have an oral exam. It’s about Art History or a project they’ve conducted throughout the year (alone or in groups, however they get an individual score) Side note: this one is pretty ‘easy’ to have and you really need to want to fail to actually fail. It also takes into account the general score you have during the year and allows you to have a few points in advance. For instance, I was a good student and my general score was high enough for me to have enough points to already have the ‘brevet’ before even taking up the exam. It’s usually the case if your general score is equal or above 16/20 I think)

End of Terminale (around mid-June): ‘Baccalauréat’ – it’s again a national exam but much more important. You can’t pursue your studies if you haven’t passed it and will need to repeat the Terminale year. Subjects vary depending the course students chose when they entered their “1ère” year (it’s kind of a lot to explain everything there especially because the system have completely changed this year and teachers & parents are complaining about it, so I’m going to quickly talk about the ‘old’ system where basically you chose between scientific course, economic & social course or arts course; there’s others but those were the main ones). Again, you need to revise everything you’ve learned throughout the year and can be interrogated on anything. There’s writing exams as well as oral exams and practical exams (for sciences).Side note: Contrary to the ‘brevet’ this one is harder to get. I’m not saying it’s super hard, but students with school difficulties can fail even if they worked for it. Only the score you get at this exam is taken into account, not the general score you got during the year so you can’t “have” your Baccalauréat before taking up the exam.

End of 1ère: some exams of the “Baccalauréat” occur in the 1ère year but not a lot as well as a group project.

Proms, holidays & others undercut to avoid long post:

Regarding school proms, we indeed don’t have them as much as people in Canada or the US. It mostly depends of your school: some will organise them at the end of 3ème or Terminale because it’s the end of a ‘cycle’ sort of, but they’re mostly just events with food brought by everyone and music. You rarely have to find a partner to go to a prom with you, except maybe if the school you’re in has decided on that. Some schools don’t organise any.

Other special event that can be organised in your school (and again it depends how strict the director is and all) is carnival. We all come with disguises for the day. My ‘lycée’ was pretty strict about it but we managed to allow it during my finale year and organise a concert during lunch-time. We had to be recognisable though so no full-mask or full-makeup. But the previous years it was forbidden. We didn’t have any carnivals during collège. It again also depends on your school’s policy.

________________

Holidays

We have 4 in-between holidays and one summer holidays:

“Vacances de la Toussaint” (vacances meaning holidays): 2 weeks around end of October & Beginning of November, including the 1st of November. Usually, people tend to stay at home or visit family members that are living far from their home. Some might travel a bit as well but it’s not often. So some teens will visit their friend, maybe celebrate Halloween but Halloween isn’t that big of a thing here and it’s disappearing more and more.

“Vacances de Noël” (= Christmas holidays): 2 weeks including Christmas day and New Year. Mostly spent in family, some might go skiing but it’s rare and there’s less chance to have enough snow for that in the mountains.

“Vacances de Février” (February holidays): 2 weeks in February, sometimes a bit in March; dates change every year because all of the French regions don’t have the same dates for these holidays so teenagers will be in holidays 1st, 2nd or 3rd depending the year & region. Lots of people who can afford it will go skiing in the mountains one week; it’s pretty expensive so not everyone do that but still a lot.

“Vacances de Pâques / vacances de printemps” (Easter holidays / Spring holidays): Again 2 weeks, with dates changing like in February. Mostly around April, sometimes end of March. People tend to stay home or go a bit in the South of France if they can afford it or have enough time where the weather is warmer, some will visit family members, etc.

“Grandes vacances” (= big holidays or as you would say, Summer holidays): Lasts 2 months in July & August. School ends either end of June or beginning of July depending the grade you’re in and the end of the year exams you have, and will start again at the beginning of September. Some teens would go on family holidays somewhere (mostly to the sea or the mountains or abroad), some in summer camps, some would stay at home, some all of those.

Anyway, in all those holidays teens can meet-up and hang-out with their friends, do sleepovers, etc.

________________

School trips

School trips always have a cultural & educational purpose and will depend on the subject they’re being made for. You can visit museums, special cultural or historical places, etc. Most of the time you leave for the day by bus.

In some cases you can do a 3 to 5 days (or more depending your school) trip to another European country like England or Spain or Germany, maybe Italy. Those are opportunities to learn more about the other country’s culture (I know that when we did those trips we stayed in hosting families) learn and speak a bit the language, and learn history of the country depending on the outings of the day.

________________

Anything else fandom tends to miss?

Ok so it could take a lot of time and everything isn’t coming to my mind but one of the main thing I tend to see in fics is “Americanisation” of the French school system if that makes sense. Which is logical because it’s kind of hard to understand how everything works in another country without living in it.

For instance lots of people in fics write things like “they share maths classes together but not French, so Adrien takes Marinette to her class before going to his” and not really: you stay the whole year with the same classmates and share all your courses with them. Only exceptions are if you took some particular options (like someone took Latin and the other took ancient Greek or nothing), or depending the 2nd language you chose to learn (German or Spanish usually but some schools offer more choices). Or if you’re in a practical course, then you class might be split in half but with Marinette & Adrien’s class, they’re already not numerous so I’d say the whole class would share them together.

There’s a lot of other things but they’re not coming to my mind right now or are too long to detail there (for instance what I said above about scientific/economic&social/arts courses), but I’ll make sure to share them if I think about it :)

Thanks for the ask, I hope I answered what you were looking for!! ♥

#ask #mirthalia #ml french culture

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jadekitty777 · 4 years

Text

The Miraculous Tales of Luckybug and Qrow Noir

Anyone ready for an onslaught of fics from me for the next week? Because that’s what’s happening my friends.

(I apologize that my blog will also be running on super speed for the next week as I reblog stuff. I also apologize in advance that I won’t have time to read many, if any, fics. My own still need to be edited and finalized. Aaah lil’ stressed honestly).

Day 1: Flirting

Rating: K+

Pairing: Qrow/Clover

Word Count: 5600

Ao3 Link: The Miraculous Tales of Luckybug and Qrow Noir

Summary: In the daytime, he was Clover Ebi. Just a normal college student, with a normal life. But there's something about him no one knows yet. Because he has a secret. A miraculous secret.

(AKA: The Miraculous Ladybug AU no one asked for)

“Voici, À Bientôt!”

“Merci beaucoup. Bonne journée!” Clover replied, taking the box from the smiling cashier.

As he stepped out of the bakery into the busy streets of Paris, he gave a sigh of relief. Though he’d been living in France for the past two months now for his Spring Abroad program, he couldn’t help but feel a little anxious every time he had to converse with the locale. His accent wasn’t the best and some words he just couldn’t remember the right inflection for.

Then again, as he got to Green Belt Park and took a seat on one of the empty benches, leaning back to enjoy the stunning view of the Eiffel Tower in the distance, he figured being in such a beautiful city was a good excuse to remain speechless.

He set his bookbag down beside him, opening the flap, and then the top of the box, revealing two small slices of cake. “Okay Ruby, you can come out. It’s safe.”

In a flash quicker than lightning, a red streak zipped from his bag and into the box. A moment later, the kwami looked up at him with starry silver eyes and asked, “You got me two?”

He tapped her on the head, right between her antennae. “The strawberry is for you. The other is…”

“For Qrow, right?” As she looked up at him, he decided that the paragon of heroism should not have such a shit-eating grin.

“It’s not-!” He knew his face was getting hot. “We have to work on the sociology project this evening so I thought he’d appreciate it.”

Not fooled for a second, Ruby said between bites of cake, “You should just tell him.”

“I don’t think I should be taking love advice from an immortal being that transcends time.” He craned his head back, watching the thin clouds above drift along the sky. “Besides, it’s not that easy. Qrow is, he’s just so-” He pictured the other man, all dark hair, captivating red eyes, and shy, personal smiles wrapped around a gruff voice that belayed layers of emotion. Clover sighed longingly, “Wonderful.”

Even without eyebrows, Ruby rose one. “Ah-huh. I can see how you’re having trouble.”

He cracked up. It was nice to have her sensible perspective around. He had to wonder how different his life would have been if he never picked up that little black box with the note ‘You’ve been chosen’ left underneath it.

Having come into his life around the same time Qrow had, she’d been privy to a behind-the-scenes look to how his relationship with the other man shifted from strangers to close friends. She was the only one who heard his secret thoughts as that bond grew into intense feelings.

“I really mean it though. It’s always best to be honest with your heart.” The kwami told him.

“I know you’re right. But is it what’s right for Qrow?” At her head tilt, he explained, “He’s got a crush of his own, remember? The one he’s so vague about?”

“Maybe he’s so vague because it’s you?”

He snorted. “Only if he knows I’m Luckybug. He’s got blue eyes, remember?” That was one of the only things he’d been able to pull out of him, besides the gender. Which, after a simple process of elimination, meant it was either Qrow’s best friend Taiyang or James, the leading RA in their dorms back home. Well, or rich and prissy Jacques, but he knew Qrow had better standards than that.

“He could be colorblind to green?” Ruby offered hopefully.

He gave her another pat on the head. “I don’t think it works that way, but thanks for trying to make me feel better.”

She made a soft noise, before floating up from her bed of crumbs to sit on his shoulder instead. “He hasn’t mentioned this person the entire trip though, right?”

Clover started in surprise. She was right, he hadn’t – which was a huge change from the near weekly aside he’d give about whatever his ‘prince charming’ was up to. “You think it’s fading away?”

“I’m not sure.” She said, looking towards the city’s prized monument. “But I think it might mean this trip could be an opportunity to tell him how you feel. What better place to do that then the city of love?”

He mulled that over. When he found out his university offered abroad studies during junior year, he had been so excited. He’d always wanted to travel, but the prospect of going alone was also nerve-wracking. Qrow, facing much the same enthusiasm and inhibitions, had struck a deal that they would go together. That also meant they had been spending an exorbitant amount of time together, living together in the shared home with a few other students. Shared a room, even.

How many nights had they spent together, just talking about nothing and everything? Mapping out plans over train and bus schedules to fit in as many big sights as they could on their free weekends of tourism? Walked along the Seine at night, the city lights reflecting off the water, where Clover would inadvertently get lost staring at how gorgeous Qrow looked in the casting glow?

Maybe… he could…

“Clover, the sky!”

The sudden alarm in Ruby’s voice had his head jerking upwards. To his horror, the space above the tower was turning black with red lightning streaking across. The telltale sign of Omen at work. But she couldn’t be here!

But sure enough, from the depths of the portal, a large, winged Grimm appeared. It looked like a giant raven, with terribly sharp claws and razor-tipped feathers.

His kwami looked to him, determined. “We need to transform.”

He nodded and grabbed his phone, sending a quick message to Qrow, before stuffing it and the bakery box in his bag. After a cursory glance around, he ducked into the shadow of a tree trunk. “Alright Ruby, charm on!”

The clover-shaped brooch on his chest glowed and Ruby collided with it, and in an instant, he felt his civilian clothes disappear, replaced by a skin-tight, red and polka-dot suit and a mask that covered his eyes. His hair lengthened, his normal, spiked quiff falling into a messier comb over, some of the bangs tickling against his forehead. As the magic of the transition faded, he plucked the yo-yo off his belt and went racing across the park, throwing it at a rooftop, feeling the end latch onto a chimney. With a pull, it retracted and he went flying through the air, landing at the top in one smooth motion. He paused only long enough to leave his bag behind before he went racing along the rooftops towards the emergency.

“I don’t understand. How is Omen here?” Clover asked to no one, feeling panic begin to rise. Did something happen to the team back home? The thought made him sick.

Maria had been very strict about how many miraculous he could put on the field in his absence, not wanting to have another fall into the wrong hands like the Pegasus miraculous had. So, he – or more specifically Luckybug – left Yang the Dragon with Tai and Sun the Monkey with Elm, giving both specific instructions to protect San Francisco in his absence. He’d only called for their assistance a few times before when things got really hectic, so he was hoping Noir would be able to balance the less experienced miraculous users out.

But to think Omen may have defeated all three? That was too awful to imagine.

He looked up at where the bird was circling the tower, dread settling into a hard knot in his gut.

How was he going to do this alone?

“Your stinky fish, madame.” Qrow presented the sardines with a flourish.

Blake lit up immediately, diving for the can and fishing one out for herself.

He left the rest of the can on the desk in easy reaching distance, before setting back into his chair where a very blank word document was staring back at him. He gave an agitated huff. He’d been hoping to at least come up with a few research topics for their paper before Clover got back from his lecture in International Affairs. Which was, Qrow mentally reminded with a fond eyeroll, not a required course for the program they were a part of. But Clover just couldn’t help himself, saying it might come in handy for his GPA score as he signed himself up for the class.

Tch, overachiever.

The distinct feeling of being watched sent a shudder down his spine, and he gave the spirit beside him a look.

The cat kwami stared back, unblinking.

“Blake you’re freaking me out again.”

Her ears twitched and she went to fetch another sardine. “I was just waiting for you to get that dreamy look on your face again.”

He flushed. “D-Dreamy?”

“Mmhmm. It kind of looks like,” She gave an exaggerated sigh, placing a paw against her cheek and fluttering her non-existent lashes.

“I never look like that.” He deadpanned.

“Whatever you say.”

“I don’t! And, anyways, what’s it to you?”

She didn’t reply, taking the time to munch into her fish instead.

He sighed, focusing back on his laptop, switching over to the internet to check on the feed from back home. No new reports of any attacks on any of the news blogs. It was like their enemy had decided to take a vacation at the same time he had.

When Qrow had first became Noir, Maria had told him to be very careful with what information he gave, even to other miraculous holders. He intended to vaguely tell Luckybug he would be out. So, it had really been a stroke of luck when Luckybug announced first on their last mission together that a family emergency was going to keep him out of commission for a while – but that he’d left Tatsu and Timber in the wings in case he needed help. So, he never shared his own intentions. Instead, he placed Kali in charge of Weiss the Bee until he returned, knowing that the power team Lucky had left behind would need a more versatile and calculating fighter in their midst.

(The role he normally filled, he thought with a sense of pride).

He’d been checking on things back at the home front regularly, knowing it only took minutes before social media was trending any new crisis, but it had been unusually quiet. He was sure Lucky was doing the same, wherever he was.

His heart clenched up, thinking about him. They’d been fighting the good fight together for over a year now, and it hadn’t taken much for Qrow to become smitten with the mysterious, masked hero. He’d thought he was everything he ever wanted; strong, daring, ambitious, with a dazzling smile and a baritone voice that was to die for. He was certain their time apart would be torturous.

Yet, it hadn’t been.

They said distance made the heart grow fonder, but it was more like his heart had forgotten. He couldn’t pinpoint when it was exactly that he’d become so preoccupied by Clover. How he’d grown to appreciate his gentle gestures and thoughtful words, his hearty chuckles and sincere expressions. It was as if stepping out of the war woke him from a stupor and gave him a chance to see things he’d missed, even when they were right in front of him.

Qrow sighed, placing his chin in his hand.

“This is my favorite part.”

“Huh?” He looked down at Blake, recognizing that mischievous gleam in her yellow eyes.

“The best story I get to witness is when one of my hosts falls in love.”

“I-I’m not falling in love!” He said immediately. “I have a crush.”

“Really.” It was her turn to deadpan.

He shoved himself away from his desk, offense all over his tone as he echoed, “Yes, really. You know how I feel about Lucky.”

He paced the length of the room, coming to stand by the window, staring down at the busy streets below. A moment later, he felt her weight on his shoulder, almost nonexistent, but there.

Her whisker tickled his neck as she turned her head towards him. “What do you know about Luckybug, really?”

Qrow leaned his arm along the glass, meeting his own reflection’s eyes. “I know he’s smart and funny and he’s always willing to put everything on the line to do what’s right.”

“But what do you know of him specifically? What’s his favorite color? What’s his family like? Does he like anchovies on his pizza?”

He snorted at the last one. “He’s my romantic interest, not yours.” His smile slipped away. “I know what you’re getting at. Unless we reveal who we are to each other, this can’t go any further.” He sighed, shoulders slumping. “I know that. But it still feels wrong, somehow. Are… my feelings that fickle?”

“Not fickle.” She levitated, hovering by his face. “They just had no room to grow. These things have to be nurtured, but if there’s nothing there to care for it, they’re only bound to wither away.”

That had been way too scripted. He gave a laugh. “That’s it, I’m not downloading anymore trashy romance novels on my phone for you to read.”

Her ears flattened. “If you make me sit through your boring lectures, I’ll break the sprinkler above your head.”

“Alright, I fold.” He held up his hands in surrender. Though he was almost positive it was an empty threat, he didn’t want to tempt fate with the kwami of destruction.

She softened. “Anyways, I think with-” She abruptly cut herself off, suddenly darting against the window. “What’s that?!”

He jerked around, spotting where the sky was darkening on the horizon, turning a deep, inky black. He’d seen it so many times before, the magic was unmistakable.

“You don’t think…” Blake trailed off.

“Omen.” Qrow finished, features smoothing into one of rigid resolve. He turned to the kwami, her expression matching his own.

He lifted his hand, the jeweled ring glinting back at her. “Blake, luck off.”

Clover landed in the courtyard, shouting as he ran. “Everyone, clear out!” He desperately tried to remember whatever French he could. “Fuir! S’il vous plaît!”

“Chanceux!” One of the locals cried, desperately trying to find their phone.

“Non, fuir!” He repeated.

A screech from above made him cover his ears, looking up to see the giant bird climbing down the Eiffel Tower, the vertical walk down unnerving somehow. He backed up as the bird landed on concrete, its impressive height daunting him. His fingers clenched around his weapon, backing up as the bird lowered its head. Its beak was big enough to swallow him whole if it wanted.

It seemed that, at least, was enough to make the people around him finally start to flee.

“Well, well, well. What have we here?”

The voice had him looking higher, spotting the speaker mounted on the beast’s back like a queen in her bed of feathers. Omen walked forward until she stood on the bird’s crown, lowering her sunglasses just enough to reveal crimson red eyes as she stared over the tops of the rims at him.

“What are you doing here?” Clover asked, pulling the yo-yo’s line out as a warning.

She only smiled patronizingly, as if he were no more a threat than a child. “That’s none of your concern.” She pushed her glasses back up, flipping her raven-haired braid over her shoulder. It fell like a horse’s tail along her back, between the wings the Pegasus miraculous granted her.

He felt bad for the imprisoned kwami being forced to do her bidding.

“Tell me, where’s your cohort?” Omen asked, giving a cursory glance around as if Noir would just pop into existence.

“I think I’m more than enough for you.” He instantly realized that had been the wrong thing to say as she laughed.

“You’re alone.” Fuck. “Well, that makes this even easier.” She gestured to the bird she stood on. “But as I’m a fair opponent, I’ll give you a choice. You can hand over your miraculous now, or you can resist and my little Nevermore can have a bit of fun first before I take it.”

As answer, he only started to rotate the yo-yo at his side, the device whooshing audibly as it swung in fast, heavy arcs.

Omen’s dark wings stretched open. “The fun way it is.”

She shot up into the air – but he didn’t have time to worry about her as the Nevermore immediately struck forward, beak opening to snap him in half. He jumped backwards, throwing his weapon out with a yell. It nailed the bird right in its head, the creature giving a sharp cry before it shook it off and straightened up. It opened its wings, the span of them covering a third of the courtyard, and gave a few hard flaps.

It was like being blasted by hurricane winds. Clover yelped as he was thrown off his feet and went tumbling across the concrete. The Nevermore, able to make up the distance in one bound, was on him in an instant. The wind whooshed right out of his lungs as a taloned foot came down on top of him, pinning him to the ground. He grunted, bracing his right arm between him and the appendage trying to crush him while sticking his left arm between its toes.

The bird jerked its head down for another strike, the razor-pointed beak filling his vision like a guillotine.

He swung his left hand upward, the yo-yo flying high and it was by pure luck he got it right in the eye.

The Nevermore gave a pained cry, hopping back. Suddenly, Clover could breathe properly again. He jumped to his feet, slightly lightheaded, throwing his line out again in hopes of tying the creature up and bringing it down.

Instead, with exact precision, the bird caught the end of the yo-yo in its beak, pulling it taut, and then threw its body around, bringing what was on the end of the line with it. Before Clover could process it, his body was yanked forward and he went flying through the air. Everything around him blurred into a mesh of greens, blues, browns and whites, blending together into a sickening cacophony.

He braced himself for the impact.

It was softer, and warmer, then he expected.

“Not having a great day are you, lucky charm?”

He gathered his bearings, realizing who had caught him and jerked his head up in surprise. “Noir?!”

Noir grinned back roguishly, winking one green eye at him. “You know, if you wanted to fall into my arms, you just had to ask.”

“Yeah, yeah.” Clover pushed a hand against his face, rolling out of his grasp to stand on his own. He retracted his yo-yo and studied his surroundings, taking note that he’d been tossed so far, they were underneath the Eiffel Tower. “What are you doing here?”

His teammate didn’t get a chance to answer, the bird giving another of those deafening screeches as it tried to shove itself between the legs of the tower. They both jerked away, before twisting around and running the other way.

“Could ask you the same thing!” Noir shouted over the noise. “Where’s Omen?”

“Lost track of her.” Which meant she was playing her normal A-game: Exhaust them by making them fight her pet so that it would be child’s play to steal their miraculous. Their goal was to defeat it – because if he could purify the contaminated feather within the creature, it would act like a direct attack against Omen, usually enough to weaken her into fleeing.

“Alright let’s – Watch it!”

Both of them jumped back when the corvid was suddenly in the path of their escape route, its gigantic foot missing them by inches when it was thrust under the tower, claws raking over the ground.

That was no good. Clover looked around, before pointing towards the ceiling of beams above them. “Up.”

Noir gave a nod, reaching out to grasp him around his waist and taking out his quarterstaff. He tapped it to the ground, and within seconds it shot them upwards as it extended. When it was high enough, they leapt onto the first section of metalwork, protected in the shell of crisscrossing steel. Noir compacted the weapon back into baton length, turning to him, “Alright, now what?”

“Now we just-” He started to say, raising his yo-yo, when the whole tower rattled as the Nevermore clamped onto the side they were hiding in. It gave a few wild cries, slamming its beak between the spaces as it tried to get to them.

Noir watched it warily before he called, “We’re safe for now, do it!”

Not wasting a moment, Clover threw his weapon up in the air with a cry, “Lucky charm!” The end of the yo-yo began to glow with the magic of creation, until it held the brilliance of a star. Then, with a pop, an item materialized, falling back down into his waiting hands.

It was a fishing rod.

Noir gave it, and then him, a dull look.

Clover was grinning. “Well, looks like-”

“Don’t-!”

“I’m giving fly fishing a whole new meaning.”

His partner groaned audibly. “You are worse than Tatsu.”

“No one is worse than Tatsu.” He joked. Tai’s never-ending set of puns really did fit the bill for cartoon-y superhero though.

Another slam from their enemy had dirt raining down on them from above.

Getting serious again, Clover rose both the rod and the yo-yo, saying, “You knock it off, I tie it up, and we end this.”

“Got it.” Noir nodded, pointing his staff towards the bird. “On your signal.”

He threw both lines upwards, yanking himself to a higher vantage point, running along the metalwork. They were so high up, it was like he was running towards the sky. Just as he got to the end, he yelled, “Now!”

At the same moment he jumped, the pole extended, slamming into the Nevermore’s chest. It was thrown off with a cry and both of them flew parallel to one another. He wound both weapons back then swung forward, the hook of the fishing rod and the ball of the yo-yo twisting around either wing of the bird. Flightless, it plummeted with another screech to the concrete, slamming down hard enough to shake the earth.

Clover’s landing was much softer, falling onto its chest and using the momentum to leap off of it like a trampoline, landing again several meters past its head. He held both the lines fast, ensuring it couldn’t get free.

“Cataclysm!” Noir came soaring out of the tower next, the power of his own destructive magic having taken shape at the end of his baton, glimmering black like an obsidian gem and curved like a scythe. As he came down, he swung it around, impaling the sharp end in the center of the monster bird’s chest.

It gave one last croaking cry, the ends of its wings curling up before falling flat as its body turned to dust, leaving nothing behind but a single, black feather. Clover threw out his yo-yo for it, the ball end splitting open like the shell of a ladybug’s wings, before snapping it up. He pulled it back in, hand open to catch it.

An arrow struck the end, knocking it off course.

In quick succession, another two arrows were shot off as Omen bared down for them, swooping in like a Nevermore herself. Clover swung the fishing rod, deflecting the one coming his way. Noir did the same for the one aimed at him with a quick spin of his staff, before using one end of it to vault himself upwards and meet their enemy half way.

As they grappled in the air, Clover took the chance to yank on his weapon in. With a flit of his fingers along the yo-yo’s surface, it glowed white, purifying the feather.

Omen gave a pained cry, before slamming the limb of her bow against Noir’s head. Clover’s chest tightened in panic, rushing forward as his partner fell like a stone from the sky. He just barely made up the distance in time to catch him in his arms, relieved to find him still conscious. They both looked up as they heard a scoff.

“Tch. Eventually your luck is going to run out. Nothing will stop me from creating a new world.” Omen sneered. “Until next time, boys.”

She shot an arrow above her, another red and black portal opening up. With a flap of her wings, she flew into it, gone as quickly as she had come.

Clover sighed, looking down at his partner. “You alright?”

“Ugh, gonna be feeling that one tomorrow.” Noir grunted, pressing a hand to his head, one of his leather cat ears being pushed down. His injury didn’t seem to hinder his ability to realize their position, because that telltale smirk overtook his face. “Though, guess I’m the one falling for you now.”

“I’m not above dropping you.”

“Are you always this mean to invalids?”

He loosened his hold just a smidge.

Noir clung to him. “Okay, message received.”

Clover set him on his feet, seeing the people starting to trickle back in to investigate the scene.

Time to go.

Once they were safely hidden on the rooftops, hidden in the shadows of a chimney, Luckybug turned to him with that million-watt smile. “Thanks for the assist. I couldn’t have done it without you.”

Qrow lent back against the brick. As he spoke, his normally rough voice came out even rougher around the edges; the way it always did when he was Noir. “I’m sure you woulda figured it out lucky charm.”

“I’m glad I didn’t have to.” He replied, averting his gaze down. He spun the white feather between his fingers, frowning in consternation. “I still don’t understand how she got here though. Her portals shouldn’t be able to reach this far.”

Any other time, he would have been eager to ponder over the details of this latest attack with him, but he knew his time was running short and something more important was on his mind. “Could say the same about you. You got family out here?”

The frown became more defined. “Noir, you know I can’t-”

“Tell me, I know.” He waved off the excuse. “But that could change, if you told me who you really are.”

Lucky sighed, placing a hand on his hip. “Okay, what brought this all on again?”

Qrow met that blue-eyed gaze he’d once fallen in love with, feeling like everything between them was as thin as the wire of the other’s yo-yo. Uncertain and easy to break. If he wanted to make it stronger, he needed something more.

Now or never.

“Look, all that flirting I do? It’s not for show.” He pushed off the wall, clearing the few steps of distance between them. His heart raced in his ears. “I like you. A lot. I want to get to know you, the real you. But, I need to know if I even got a shot.”

“Noir…” He knew the answer before the other even spoke. It was all over his face, etched in his sad smile and downturned brows. “I’m sorry, but my heart’s already with someone else.”

“Oh.” He turned away.

Funny, he thought it’d hurt more.

A tentative hand rested on his shoulder. “You gonna be okay?”

“Yeah. Yeah, I am.” Qrow replied, surprised that he meant it.

Before more could be said, both their miraculous started to beep in warning.

The hand slipped away. “Guess time’s up. I’ll… see you around?”

Qrow nodded, hearing Lucky retreat along the roof. Before he could leap away, he called, “Hey, that person of yours. Do they know?”

“I, uh.” Gravel crunched underfoot as his teammate shifted his weight anxiously. “Not yet.”

“You should tell ‘em.” He looked over his shoulder, giving him a reassuring smile. “Anyone would be lucky to have you.”

Lucky’s eyes widened, and then he was smiling back. “Thanks. Someone’s going to be really lucky to have you too, one day.”

Qrow reached for his staff, heading his own way. “Well, duh. I’m incredible.”

The other cast his line, flying away with a laugh. Qrow watched him go, before dropping down into the alleyway. He ducked down behind some boxes just in time, the leather bodysuit falling back into his normal wear.

Blake collapsed into his hair with a sigh. “I’m going to need about fifteen more sardines.”

“Glutton.” He got to his feet, knowing his nest of black hair would hide her just fine as he headed for the sidewalk.

“Qrow? Are you okay?”

Answering it the second time around wasn’t any harder then the first. “Yeah. I just needed to know for sure. Now I know it’s okay to let him go.”

She didn’t respond verbally, but he felt the way she nuzzled his head, though whether it was meant to be for comfort or encouragement was hard to say. Maybe both.

It took about fifteen minutes to get back to the share house he and a half-dozen other students were living in for the duration of the program. When he stepped inside, he found it oddly quiet, the only noise a slight shuffling in the kitchen. A glance revealed his twin sister was there, hunched over the counter, nursing a cup of tea in one hand as she pressed her forehead into the other.

Heh, maybe she felt him get clonked in the head earlier. “You alright?”

“Yeah.” She mumbled. “Just a migraine.”

He lowered his voice, “You the only one here?”

Not up for talking more, Raven merely nodded.

Strange, Clover should have been back by now. “Okay, I’ll make sure to tell everyone to be quiet when they get in. Feel better, sis.”

She offered him a weak smile. He ducked out of the kitchen, heading back for his room. As Blake floated down to her still open can of tiny fish for a much-needed recharge, Qrow snatched up his phone to send out the group message, only to find two missed messages from Clover.

The first one was from nearly an hour ago. Sorry, running late!

On my way now. You won’t believe what happened at the Eiffel Tower. That one was from just a few minutes ago.

Qrow quirked a smile. If Clover only knew…

He tapped back a reply. I know. I went out to try and get a view of it. Forgot my phone.

He could see the other was replying, but he switched to the group text in the meantime, sending out a warning to be quiet for his twin. He’d just hit send, when another string of texts came through, one right after the other:

How do you forget your phone? You’re supposed to get photographic evidence!

Anyways I’ll be there in a few.

Also, noted.

Qrow headed for his bed, flopping across the sheets with a groan. The aches of the day were starting to set in, and he felt ready for a shower and a nap. He buried his pounding head into his pillow, shutting his eyes.

He didn’t open them again until he heard the bedroom door click shut. He rose up on his elbows, scanning the room quickly. The sardine can was gone, as was Blake.

“Sorry, did I wake you?” Clover asked as he crossed the room, dropping his bag on his bed.

“Wasn’t asleep.” He ran a hand over his face, adding, “Much as I wanted to be.”

“You doing alright? You look pretty beat.”

Beat up was more like it.

“Been a long day.” He offered as explanation. It did little to wipe the concern from the other’s face. “I’m fine Cloves. We got that paper to work on.”

Clover ran a hand over the back of his neck. “Sure we do but we can take it easy for tonight. Can’t say I wouldn’t mind to turn in early myself.”

“You? Mr. Extra Credit?”

“Haha, very funny. I mean it. I have this terrible crick in my neck. Oh!” He dropped his hand so he could go digging into his bag. “But hey, I did bring you something that just might cheer you up.”

That got Qrow to finally sit up, trying not to seem too eager as the other procured a small, white box and held it out towards him. He reached across the space between their beds to take the gift. Once it was safely on his side, he pulled open the top.

“It probably got a little smooshed, but it’ll taste the same.” Clover was right about that – the cake had fallen on its side, and smears of icing clung to the top and sides of the box.

Qrow swiped a finger across one of them, gathering just enough to take a taste, and his eyes lit up. “Double German chocolate? You’re too good to me.”

“Nah, I can be better. Because I have… a fork!” Clover waved the plastic utensil around, winking his way. “What would you do without me?”

“Probably have less dorky interactions to deal with.” He replied, reaching out again.

Instead of grabbing the tines, he curled his fingers over where the other’s held onto the handle.

Qrow deliberately met his gaze, smiling as suavely as he could. “Thank you, Clover.”

Though his cheeks turned a little pink, Clover met him match for match with his own charming smile. “Anytime.”

As they both pulled back, they couldn’t help but think this was the start of something good.

Underneath their beds, unbeknownst to them both, Ruby and Blake shared knowing smiles.

#clover ebi #qrow branwen #fair game #fairgameweek2020 #rwby #fanfiction #Chase Firekitten's Tale

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satonthelotuspier · 4 years

Text

🐰 Untamed Spring Fest 2020 🐰

Day 7 - Pastel- 1.4k

Some modern junior college AU - Lan Sizhui’s cousin Jin Ling returns from Europe, and Lan Jingyi finds the inspiration he was lacking for his latest art piece.

Signed, Sealed, Delivered

“Jingyi” Lan Sizhui’s soft voice carried surprisingly well through the door of the room he’d set up as a makeshift studio. He supposed coming from a rich family had more than a few benefits, not the least of which was being able to afford a house near campus where he and Sizhui could both have additional space for their courses, a music room for Sizhui and an art studio for himself.

“S’up, Sizhui?” he called and the other opened the door at the acknowledgement.

Sizhui waved the mobile in his hand at Jingyi, “A-Ling wanted to know if we minded if he brought his dog and we went to the park. The dog just got out of quarantine from his move back from Europe”

“Sure, that’d be cool, we like dogs, right?”

“Right. I’ll let him know” he typed out a quick response on his phone and walked over to the art Lan Jingyi was working on. “Are you having any more luck?” he asked, knowing this particular piece was causing him a lot of trouble.

“No, it’s utter crap. I’m not getting anywhere, it’s completely stupid” he pushed himself up from the stool and stretched to release the tension in his shoulders. “I’m going to have to get my arse in gear soon but I’m not helping myself just sitting here staring at it right now” he noticed the pastels smeared over his fingers still and faked chasing Sizhui around the studio, his cousin was just as much of a neat freak as his dad, and the thought of being smeared with pastels was enough for him to take to his heels.

“Jingyi, don’t be so mean” he screeched, laughing as he ran away.

***

Lan Jingyi could vaguely remember Jin Ling from the very few occasions he’d met him as a child, they had never spent any serious time together and had only known each other in passing as relatives of Sizhui from different sides of the family. He seemed to remember Jin Ling being a bit of a sulky, argumentative boy; with anyone except his beloved cousin Sizhui that was.

Lan Jingyi couldn’t vouch for his current temper now he had matured some, but Jin Ling was certainly something to look at these days. His features were even and pleasing, even if there was a little trace of a frown mark between his eyebrows. He wasn’t frowning now though, as he and Sizhui threw sticks and balls for Fairy, his dog, (yes, his dog really was called Fairy, oh well, he wasn’t the only person in the world who was terrible at naming pets).

Jingyi was currently seated under a tree while the other two exercised Fairy. He tried to give them some space to let Lan Sizhui have some time alone with Jin Ling to catch up. Sizhui hadn’t seen his cousin in person for a few years, as Jin Ling had been abroad with his family, but when Jingyi had suggested he let them go alone this afternoon, Sizhui and Jin Ling had insisted he come along.

He felt a little guilty though, Lan Sizhui had spent some of the summer with his aunt, uncle and cousin a few years ago in Italy but that was the last time they’d met in person, and maybe it would have been better for them to have some time to themselves first.

But as he was here he was taking advantage of the situation; with a new spurt of inspiration as the others played around. He’d taken out his pastels and his sketch pad and let his mind wander.

Eventually, exhausted, the other two came over to sit in the grass beside him. Fairy’s energy seemed used up for now and she panted as she lay next to Jin Ling, who took out a bottle of water and used the Frisbee they’d been playing with to pour some water our for her to drink.

“Oh wow, Jingyi, you’ve gotten past your block. A-Ling look at these sketches”

As he’d finished one he’d pulled the page out and left it on the grass scattered around him. There were three finished sketches of the three of them playing fetch, of Sizhui and Jin Ling laughing together, and one of Jin Ling wrestling with a stick with Fairy.

“They’re OK” Jin Ling sounded dismissive at first, but just as Jingyi was about to retort Jin Ling added, “I like how you’ve caught Fairy” he seemed to have realised how his first statement might have been taken and hurried to amend his tone. Perhaps Jin Ling was one of those people that just spoke before thinking of what it might sound like.

Jingyi couldn’t see them getting on particularly well if that was the case, because his own temper and mouth were quick to respond to real or imagined slights. If so they would be very much chalk and cheese. He’d try, for Sizhui’s sake, though.

Lan Jingyi picked up the sketch of Jin Ling wrestling with Fairy and held it out to him, “You can keep this if you want. Be careful of your clothes though as its pastel and it’ll smudge”

“I can see that, but thanks” Jin Ling laughed, and looked at Sizhui, “You’re right, your Lan cousin is a bit of a dork” with that, and before Lan Jingyi had time to react, Jin Ling took out a handkerchief and wiped at the side of Lan Jingyi’s face, where smear of pastels had been transferred to his cheek. Lan Jingyi felt a blush of embarrassment.

“I’m a dork?” he demanded, giving Sizhui a reproachful look. Lan Sizhui had the good grace to look embarrassed, “I’m not the one carrying around a handkerchief like it’s the nineteenth century” he snipped, and the last rub of the hanky was a little more harsh than it needed to be.

He bit his lip then, as he’d fully intended to ask Jin Ling’s permission to use him and Fairy as a study for his pastel piece. He’d struggled with inspiration for the medium until this afternoon, and it had been Jin Ling with his dog that had sparked his creativity. If he pissed him off though there would be no way he’d say yes.

Unless he guilted Sizhui into working on his cousin. If there was one person in the world Jin Ling wouldn’t say no to it was Sizhui.

“I can’t believe you’d say something like that about me, your best friend, Sizhui” he lamented, laying it on thickly, and Sizhui waved his hands.

“No, no, I said adorkable, not a dork”

“Like that's any better!” Jingyi exclaimed, “It’s the same thing!”

“No it’s not, because you’re adorable with it” Sizhui explained and Jingyi sighed.

“Betrayed by my own kin. How can I bear this? How will I ever trust again”

“Don’t be so dramatic” Jin Ling rolled his eyes, but Sizhui's eyes had gone wide and doe-like.

“I’m sorry Jingyi, how can I make it up to you?”

He went in for the kill, “Get your cousin to agree to let me use him and his dog as my subject for my pastel piece”

“What?! You!” Jin Ling exclaimed, but Sizhui, neatly railroaded into doing Jingyi’s dirty work, turned those big eyes on his cousin.

“It would really help Jingyi, A-Ling”

“No!”

“And I bet Auntie would love to see it when it’s done” really, Lan Sizhui might act all pure and innocent and sweet but he was absolutely without mercy sometimes.

“Lan Yuan!”

“And Jingyi is really good, but if he doesn’t get this piece done it’ll be terrible for his course” Sizhui’s face had taken on a sombre look then as if the thought of Jingyi failing ripped his heart out of his chest.

There was a pause of about thirty seconds, as Jin Ling wavered between annoyance at being manipulated and the need to protect his cousin and remove that melancholy look from his face.

“Fine, whatever. He can draw us, or whatever it is that he needs to do”

Lan Sizhui beamed like the sun, “Thank you, A-Ling, you’re the best”

“At being manipulated” he shot a fulminating look at Jingyi then, “Dork” he snarked. But Jingyi didn’t care, Jin Ling was already signed, sealed and delivered with Lan Sizhui’s masterful help.

Lan Jingyi’s smile was pure smug triumph.

#untamed spring fest #juniors #lan jingyi #lan sizhui #jin ling #family #fluff #mdzs #mdzs fanfic #grandmaster of demonic cultivation #the untamed #the untamed fanfic #mo dao zu shi #mo dao zu shi fanfic #Shay's stuff

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lifesbecomings · 3 years

Text

The email

Hi Drew— I just wanted to clarify something and share some perspective. First off, I want to say that I understand and respect Denison’s admissions process. I reached out a few days ago to everyone just curious about the process and wanted to talk about options to continue my education, IF even possible, through Denison! With the positive feedback from everyone and your first email, and then mention, even as a slight possibility, of spring enrollment...one certainly can understand my excitement and push for more discussion and my initiative to get applied/enrolled. With that said I am still curious about steps in general. And maybe I applied as the wrong type of student. I know there are openings still this spring, and especially in the EDUC classes (like EDUC 390), and thought "wow, maybe this is all aligning because it's meant to be." If it is or isn't meant to be, I'm at peace with whatever the decision is or remains. But Denison will always be my first choice. I did leave in 2017 as a medical leave student, and technically I wasn't pursuing a degree through CCS, just taking classes, many students take summer classes or semesters (like if on academic suspension), and then come back and return to campus. I know usually students typically return 1-2 years, and I understand there are deadlines and I know their importance. In no way shape or form am I trying to surpass these. When I first reached out, I said I'd be happy to discuss ANY options in a return. Others, throughout the thread, were mentioning a spring return and spring availability and how fantastic this could be. Both Karen Graves and Baker were on board in the Educ. department, where I am majoring, presumably for a spring enrollment. Maybe it is the fact I only have art credits as transfers. Was it that they were hoping for more core class transfers? Either way, to be perfectly transparent, whatever the outcome is, I will be taking spring classes. As well as summer classes. I want to get my degree. My first choice is Denison. If there is anyway to make this a possibility still. You already know, It would be my pleasure to stay in touch, and I will happily move to Ohio and take classes back on campus in the fall. Denison holds a special place in my heart. I hope my time on campus impacted those I came into contact with, as much as they impacted me. The Briefing: Within the last 2 weeks. Literally, two weeks, a series of events occurred that made me see the potential I could have. It started with a ski lesson, we had philosophy lessons up the chairlift, and the technical skiing lessons going down the hill. It was eye opening. I realized I need to work on my patience, but It also made me realize that I don't have to do something I do not enjoy. Moreover, it made me recognize I need to stop running from what satisfies me the most, people, education, learning, and teaching. I shut myself off in 2017 to the idea of "traditional schooling". I thought, "It's not for me". " I'm not good at it". It stuck. That is, until January 6th 2021, when I had this ski lesson. The ski lesson in combination with my parents friend, a teacher from Brother Rice High School, got me thinking. I was thinking and analyzing myself. My change in perspective was shocking. I needed to accept my talents and embrace them, instead of shutting them out and rejecting them. It is so funny how we sabotage ourselves. This is the start of my story. About how I found my drive and fulfillment. Below are three personal stories I would like to share. 1. Monkey Bars.

There is a story my mother always would tell me growing up about my perseverance and determination. When I was very young, 4 years old, there was a set of monkey bars on the school playground. After school one day I told my mom I wanted to go across the monkey bars. The only problem...I did not know how to do them. But, I had watched other kids that day at recess. So I was determined to figure it out. We were there for 2-3 hours. I was bound and determined to do those monkey bars. I knew that was what I wanted. I had numerous failed attempts, failure after failure, my mother began to beg me to leave with her because my hands were all beaten up, blistered, and bloodied, I still kept going. I made it all the way across those monkey bars that day, and every day after. There is another story, too, a similar story about me riding a two wheeler. Same determination, different goal. Both accomplished.

2. My Miracle.

A senior in college, to the modern western world, is still considered "young". If you're in school, attending high school or even attending university, to have a child anywhere, at any time in that mix, It is looked down upon, plain and simple. I chose to not tell any of my peers, while I was at Denison, my fall semester, that senior year, in 2017. I kept this knowing to myself. I told my parents, and told the father/ fathers parents. Guess what was encouraged? An abortion. Whether verbally spoken (which it was) or unspoken, I knew this is what was wanted from me, wanted for me. I mean, it was, after all, the easiest thing to do. I could still finish my degree and the family could always come later in my life. So, I did just that. I went in for that appointment, at 5 weeks.

Statistically speaking it is 99% effective. Did you know, 1:4 women will have had an abortion in their lifetime. It's neither here nor there, just an incredible statistic. I actually came back to Denison to finish out my degree after. Putting the past behind me. I enjoyed a fantastic fall break that year in Philadelphia with friends, because through Denison my Junior year, I did a "study abroad," in Philadelphia (the best experience ever. Cannot speak enough about that program! So grateful Denison is a part of the Study in Philly!)

Anyway, after coming back from break I wasn't myself that week at school. I came home, went to a doctor's appointment. Pregnant. I was 11 weeks pregnant. 1-2 weeks away from being in my second trimester. I knew. In that instant, I was keeping him. No one else understood, at the time, my decision. I was blamed on one side, entirely, for this outcome, the father still lives in denial. This is important information in my story, as it describes where I have been, who I am and who I've become. The father isn't, and has never been involved. This is fine. It's been uncomplicated. I'm actually very lucky. Besides, I know that my son and I deserve someone 100% interested in me AND my son, not an either or situation. So once making my decision, to continue with the pregnancy, I took one day. One day to be broken hearted, to feel like it was me against the world. Later, to my surprise, I found I had a support network bigger than I could ever have imagined.

I am blessed. I am loved. "We" are so loved. But it took me that one day to realize, the easiest thing is not always the right thing. I knew honestly from the day I first found out, I wanted this baby. And my god, has it not only blessed me, but this child of mine blesses and brings joy to anyone and everyone he meets. As a biased mother would say, he truly is something special. My choosing to bring this new life into the world, is an amazing and miraculous testimony to my dedication and character. Being a mother (parent) is one of the toughest jobs in the world.

3. My Bakery.

First, back story: I tried to take some classes at College for Creative studies in 2018. Knowing I was more than "just a mom". I've done a lot of "soul" searching and self love in my time away. I didn't reach back to Denison at this time because I was convinced traditionally schooling just must not be for me. The root of it, I later would find, was that I was somehow undeserving of it. (super messed up mental ideal). Disclaimer: I, like many, struggled with self worth. Therapy is necessary and beautiful. Anyway, continuing---I had a hobby of sketching. Homes and houses always intrigued me, so I picked up some classes at CCS, interior design classes. This is where I realized a hobby does not make for a career. More importantly, I remembered the promise I had made to myself, that I didn't want anyone else raising my baby boy. I was spending 60hrs + a week on projects and classroom time, leaving him home with my parents and babysitters, a little bit at first, then, more and more. So, I pulled the plug.

When I give of myself I want to give 100%. If I was giving my school work 100% there was none left for my son. I had to pick between the two, and clearly, without a doubt, my baby boy was the sure pick. Schooling this time round failed because It was in person, he was not in school yet, and it was not practical or logistical. I stopped in OCT of 2019. Between October and December of 2019 I went stir crazy. I was 24/7 with my son, living at my parents home still, and my mental health was on the decline. I felt trapped. I needed a way out. And thus "A Degree Above Bakery" was born. I have made over 5,000 dollars in profits from this business. I have a standing order, weekly, with Westborn Market. However, this flow, and work is at my grace. I can shut it down, permanently, or temporarily. I can drive it forward more, or scale it back, starting tomorrow. I was determined to find a way out and give myself some "me" time, as well as doing something I enjoyed that gave me flexible hours to work with my son present. I originally started in my own home. Operating under the cottage food law. That is, until I started to rent space in Plymouth MI from Westborn Market in April 2020. I bake Sundays currently.

I created and established then registered my name. I created and bought a web domain. I have my own labels and packaging I created. Every aspect of my business I have built and created. The brand, the marketing, getting into a grocery store. My point here, being, when I think of something, I do everything in my power to try to reach my goal, whatever the road block. When I get an idea, I see it through. To the best of my ability. __________ My overarching theme is determination. You will have nothing without it. I will be respectful and understanding of any final decisions, acceptance, reinstatement, or lack thereof. If there is still a slimmer of possibility to qualify for spring semester at Denison or be considered again... It would be an honor and mean more to me than any words could begin to describe. I had to take one last shot with you all, before seeking another institution. Rules and regulations will be forever. I understand this, but If there is anything I can do to help enhance my application/reinstatement/case/enrollment/scenario please don't hesitate to ask. I would be honored to commit to in person class on the hill in the fall, after taking summer classes, and taking the spring classes online at Denison, I also will be able to pay, in full, for the spring tuition as well as on campus next fall/winter. I also paid in full while being on campus every year from 2013-2016. Please also hear me when I say, yes, obviously I would do whatever and help to see a successful spring enrollment, but I would be happy to transfer credits from this spring (elsewhere), and summer, to complete classes on campus in the fall. I will stay open minded to all possibilities, as I know Denison does!

With much respect and appreciation, and excitement,

Sarah McNaughton

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chasholidays · 5 years

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Hey so I'm a stressed little science major and I was wondering if you could do an angsty minty with a modern or college twist. Pre-relationship? I love angst and minty so anything would be good! Thanks!

Monty’s junior year of college is shitty before it even begins.

Sophomore spring sets the tone with three major events: Jasper’s study abroad application, Monty’s parents’ separation, and Harper and Monty’s breakup, in that order.

On its own, the study abroad thing wouldn’t be so bad. Monty had been a little anxious about it, mostly because he and Jasper have been going to the same school since they started going to school. He hasn’t always been in Jasper’s class, but Jasper has always been there at lunch and recess, during study halls, in the library and in his dorm and in his life.

In some ways, the prospect of Jasper being gone was exciting, and in other ways it felt necessary. They weren’t going to be together forever, which meant they had to be apart at some point. Junior year is as good a time as any.

He hears about the separation next, from his mother, during one of their weekly phone calls in March. “I know this is going to come as a shock to you, but your father and I have decided to separate.”

“Separate?” Monty echoes, his voice hollow. It had occurred to him, at various points in his youth, that his parents might not stay together, but some part of him had assumed that they were out of the woods now. That if his parents hadn’t broken up by the time he was a certain age, they just never would. You always heard about children of divorce, not college students of divorce.

“We talked about it a lot,” says Hannah. She sounds so tired. “And I think this is the only way.”

“Okay,” he says, because what else is there to say? This isn’t his decision. He’s not the tiebreaker vote. They already agreed.

“It’s for the best. For us, at least. And I hope now that you aren’t home so much, it won’t be–as difficult for you. We’re doing our best with this.”

“Yeah, I know.”

“Do you want to talk to your father?”

Somehow, he’d expected them to already be apart, not that his father would be there. But they do still love him, and they’ve still been married for twenty-plus years. They still know how to work together, so maybe it’s good that they’re breaking up before they lose that.

“Sure,” he says, and lets them talk until they feel better.

He doesn’t tell anyone but Jasper about the divorce because he doesn’t quite know how to feel about it. It’s not a big deal, in some ways, and it’s not even officially a divorce yet. They’re separating, and he’s not even home to witness it. It doesn’t affect his life that much.

He really does believe that. Like if he’s not there, it doesn’t matter what happens to his family.

He and Harper have been dating since freshman year, which means he maybe should have told her what happened, but every time he tried, the words didn’t come out. It felt like he was making a big deal over it and not making a big enough deal all at once, so it averaged out to just saying nothing.

He doesn’t think that’s why Harper breaks up with him–she’s got an internship over the summer and is studying abroad over the fall, plenty to keep her busy–but he can’t help wondering if it was a factor. If, despite his best efforts to remain unaffected by the whole thing, it did hurt him after all.

But still. It wasn’t as if he thought they’d be together forever or anything. So maybe it doesn’t matter much exactly when the breakup happens.

“Should have told her about your parents,” Jasper advises. “Then she wouldn’t have dumped you.”

“She didn’t dump me, we talked about it and agreed that breaking up was the right call. And I don’t want my girlfriend to stay with me just because my parents broke up.”

“I guess not,” Jasper grants. He slings his arm around Monty’s shoulders, gives him a squeeze. “You going to be okay?”

“Yeah, of course.”

And he thinks he is. He goes home for the summer and stays with his dad, who kept the old house, for June and July, and then in August his mom gets a new job and moves to Indiana, and he goes with her to help her get set up and get a feel for the new place. It’s nice, but it’s not his, in the same way the old house doesn’t feel like his anymore either. Part of growing up is realizing your parents are people too, but it’s hard to see them being people like this. He’s never wanted their lives to stay the same without him, but at the same time, he can’t help but feel like he’s being left behind.

He feels like a total asshole over the whole thing, selfish and immature, so he doesn’t mention it to anyone, not even Jasper. Instead, he goes back to school and keeps his head down, goes to classes and eats and studies, keeps himself busy enough that he doesn’t even realize until November how bad it’s gotten.

“You’re going to be here for Thanksgiving?” is the question that tips him off, coming from Bellamy Blake, his floor coordinator. It’s a position sort of like an RA, but with lower pay and fewer responsibilities, from what Monty can tell. His job is to be the person who lets the college know if anything is wrong in their dorm and communicates with the dean’s office, as well as serving as a general contact for anyone with a problem. He also collects dues from anyone who wants to pay them and uses them to set up activities, which Monty goes to largely because it’s something to fill the time.

Said position is probably why he knows Monty will be in the dorm; he must have gotten a list.

“Yeah.”

“Any plans?”

“Not really. I’ve got a really heavy course load and traveling is a pain, so I figured I’d just skip it this year.”

Bellamy nods. “Well, if you want something to do Thanksgiving day, Clarke’s local and her parents loaded, so they’re happy to take strays. Her dad is a great cook.”

“I’m fine.”

“Dude, you know there’s a law against college students turning down free food, right? I promise it’ll be good, we’ve got a few other students coming and the Griffins get awkwardly liberal when they’re drunk, not awkwardly conservative.”

Monty smiles a little. “I appreciate the offer, but it’s really okay."0

"Okay, last one,” says Bellamy. “This is a real offer, you can turn it down, but seriously, there’s no downside, and I’m making pie. Plus, I did Thanksgiving alone in the dorm freshman year and it sucked, so–” He shrugs. “We’ll give you a ride and you’re not doing anything else.”

It’s on the tip of his tongue to say no, but what actually comes out is, “How many other people are going?”

“Uh, let’s see–there’s me, Clarke, Miller, Raven, Wells. Everyone but Wells is a student here. Wells is her best friend, their families go way back, so adults are Professor Griffin, her husband, Wells’ dad, and I think Professor Sinclair.”

“Raven Reyes?” he asks. “And math professor Sinclair?”

“Yeah. Raven’s friends with Clarke and Professor Sinclair knows Clarke’s dad. And Raven, I guess.”

Monty doesn’t recognize any of the other names, but he likes Raven, and he’s met Clarke a couple times and likes her well enough too, and sitting alone in his dorm room would be–really sad, actually. And that’s what he’s done most of this year, when people have asked him to do things. With Jasper or Harper around, it was easier, but when he’s on his own, it’s easy to just be anti-social.

“You’re sure you can invite me?”

“Yeah, Jake extended a general invitation to anyone I knew who was going to be on campus.”

“Then yeah, thanks. That would be fun.”

His smile softens, pleased and warm. “Cool. Clarke and Miller have cars, so one of them can give you a ride. I’ll let you know where we’re meeting.”

He spends the rest of the evening dwelling on the interaction, more because he finds it so noteworthy than because he thinks it is. If he hadn’t been going home for Thanksgiving last year, and someone had invited him home with them–well, it probably wouldn’t have even happened like this, last year. He’s not going home because he didn’t want to pick between his parents and he really does have plenty of work to do. But if Jasper were around, or he was still dating Harper, they’d be excuses for him. He could have gone back to stay with his dad because he wanted to see Jasper, or Harper would have taken him to visit with her family. And if neither of those had worked out–

He’s been pretty anti-social, this year. He’s maybe forgotten how to just be a person with friends.

Not that going to his dormmate’s girlfriend’s house for Thanksgiving counts as having friends, but it’s at least non-academic human interaction, and that’s a good place to start. He’s been in a fog, and it would be nice to get out of it. So on Thursday morning he takes a shower and puts on a nice shirt and some slacks, checks to make sure his hair is in order. He asked if he should bring anything and Bellamy said no, but Monty has never believed anyone who told him not to bring something to an adult formal gathering, so he picked up a bottle of sparkling cider. It’s not as good as wine, but buying wine with a fake ID to bring to a professor’s house feels like a risky move.

He puts it in a nice bag and just looks at himself in the mirror for a long moment, trying to take stock of changes, not that there are many. It’s always easy to not tell when people are in rough shape, especially mentally. He’s not even sure who he would have expected to notice. He’s seen friends and acquaintances at meals, been normal with them. He’s opted out of social events because he has homework, but everyone does that. He probably looks more tired than he used to, but he’s taking some rough classes.

He tests out a smile in the mirror, finds he looks like a real person, and the thought makes the smile grow. He’s got this.

Bellamy said he was going over early to help out, so Monty could just get a ride with Miller and Raven, and told him when and where to meet them. If not for Raven’s involvement, he’d probably bail, but Raven is one of those socially competent smart people, and Monty will definitely be able to just hide behind her.

And, luckily for him, she’s already waiting outside the library when he gets there, hands stuffed in her pockets and breath puffing out into the cold air. He gives her a wave and a smile, and she returns both.

“Hey, long time no see.”

He shrugs. “Yeah, well, I stopped taking math classes because computers are cooler.”

“And I stopped taking computer classes because math is cooler, so–”

“There’s no way you’re done with computer classes.”

She grins. “Just for the semester. Got other shit to do, you know? What about you, what are you taking?”

Catching up on classes carries them through until the car shows up, and Raven gets into shotgun without comment, leaving Monty to climb in the back and come face to face with–

“Nate?”

Nate Miller was in Monty’s freshman English seminar on folklore, and he was and probably remains the number-one reason Monty suspects he could be kind of bisexual. They sat next to each other and shared notes and cracked jokes and Monty had been hoping something was going to happen, even went to a few parties where Nate was in the hopes of running into him. But the semester ended and they fell out of touch, and Monty and Harper became a thing, and Monty could ignore the whole crush-on-a-dude thing because it wasn’t really relevant to his life anymore. He had a girlfriend and he was happy.

Except now he’s single and still floundering and Nate Miller is smirking at him from the driver’s seat of his shitty car. “Hey, Monty, long time no see.”

“Didn’t know you two knew each other,” Raven says, looking surprised. “I’d give you shotgun, but the back doesn’t really have room for my leg.”

“It’s fine,” says Monty, smiling. “We were in the same English class freshman year.”

“How’ve you been?” Nate asks. “I didn’t make the connection when Bellamy said one of his dormmates was coming. Is he the most annoying floor coordinator ever?”

“He’s the most involved one I’ve ever had. But it’s pretty okay? He sets up a lot of stuff, but it’s usually fun and he doesn’t pressure us to do it. And I know that if I ever had a problem, he’d drop everything to help, so–overbearing but effective, I guess? And I wasn’t going to do anything for Thanksgiving, so I appreciate him getting me out of room and forcing me to hang out with his girlfriend’s family.”

“And a bunch of awesome people,” Raven adds. “Do you know Clarke?”

“Not very well. She comes to dorm stuff sometimes, but we haven’t chatted much or anything.”

“She’s cool,” says Raven. “Even though I know her because my boyfriend was cheating on me with her.”

Nate snorts. “Fuck, I forgot that’s how you met Clarke. What a dick that guy was. What was his name? Flynn?”

“Finn. He doesn’t even go here, he came to campus to see me and decided he was falling for her when they kept running into each other at the coffee shop.”

“Wow,” says Monty. “That’s–really something.”

“It turned out okay. Clarke and I dumped him, she found Bellamy, I found Zeke, I stalk Finn on instagram sometimes and he’s definitely single and alone. How’s Harper, by the way?”

The question doesn’t hurt, but it does make him wince a little. It’s less that he’s sad about it and more just the awkwardness, the need to deal with and manage people’s reactions. “She’s in Italy, studying abroad. But we broke up.”

Raven only shrugs. “That sucks. Jasper’s abroad too, right?”

“Yeah, full year in Kyoto.”

“Is he sending you a bunch of weird porn?”

He laughs, surprised. “And care packages full of snacks, yeah.”

“Awesome. So, let’s talk Thanksgiving, I assume you want a crash course on who’s going to be here.”

Raven takes control of the conversation, but in a nice, helpful way. Clarke’s mother apparently teaches at the university’s medical school, and her father is an engineer. Her best friend’s dad is a widower and local politician, but, again, a liberal one, which Nate says is important because it’s a very queer meal.

“Meaning?”

“Bellamy and Clarke are bi, I’m gay, Wells is pan, Raven’s–” He frowns. “Where are you thinking?”

“I think pan? I don’t know, I’m dating Zeke right now, but if we break up and a girl catches my eye, I’m cool with that. Are you our token straight?”

It takes Monty a second to realize she’s asking him. “I guess? I don’t know. I’m not against dating a guy, I’ve just never done it.”

He’s said it before, but just to Jasper, late at night, this theoretical admission that was never supposed to matter. In the car with Raven and Nate–Nate, the first guy he ever had a crush on–it feels too real and completely unearned.

But all Nate says is, “Cool, welcome to the queer meal. We have pie.”

Clarke opens the door for them when they arrive, her smile as bright as Monty’s ever seen. She hugs Raven and Nate, and then hugs him too, murmurs, “I’m glad Bellamy nagged you into coming.”

“Me too,” he says, and it turns out to be true. Everyone is perfectly friendly, and he interacts like a normal person, albeit a slightly awkward one. Clarke’s friend Wells is minoring in computer science, so he and Monty have that to talk about, and Professor Sinclair is always interesting. Bellamy’s a little more relaxed when he’s not an ostensible authority figure, Clarke is slightly drunk and loose, and Raven can’t stop smiling.

And then, of course, there’s Nate. Monty’s not sure if Nate is looking out for him deliberately or if he’s always a little apart from the group, but either way, they’re a unit during the meal. Monty finds out Nate and his ex-boyfriend broke up around when Monty and Harper did, that he’s majoring in English, that his dorm isn’t far from Monty’s. He’s here for Thanksgiving because his dad is a cop and works through Thanksgiving so he can take time off to be with his son at Christmas, which is kind of adorable.

The whole thing is kind of adorable, and it’s a little weird, to go straight from “failing to leave his dorm” to “new crush,” but Nate isn’t exactly a newcrush. He was just on hiatus.

Once they’re done with dessert, Mr. Griffin asks, “So, who’s up for board games? We’ve got options.”

“Pandemic?” Raven asks.

“Of course, what do you take me for? It’s Abby’s favorite.”

Monty’s flagging, but Raven’s eyes are alight with excitement, and he’s not going to be the dick who says they need to leave. And he does like board games, it’s just a lot of socializing, especially after so long avoiding situations like these.

“I actually need to get back to the dorm,” says Nate. “I told my dad I’d call him when his shift was done. Clarke, you can take Raven, right? Monty, you staying or coming back with me?”

“I should get back,” he says, hoping his relief isn’t palpable. Everyone’s been great, but he’s done. “I’ve got a program due right after break and it’s a mess.”

No one blinks an eye or tries to get him to stay, not even Bellamy. There are more hugs all around, Mr. Griffin attempting to make Monty take food home, everyone telling him he’s welcome any time he’s on campus for a holiday. He thanks them for having him, assures them that he’ll just steal Bellamy’s leftovers, and then they’re outside in the crisp air and Monty feels like he can breathe again.

“It can be a lot your first time,” Nate says, without Monty’s having to say anything. “I figured you might need to get out.”

“Just a little. They’re nice, but–”

“Like I said, I get it. And there’s definitely some–they really want to have a great holiday, and you can feel the strain.”

“Not always. But yeah, sometimes.”

Nate unlocks the car and waits until Monty is in his seat with his belt fastened before he goes on, “And, no offense, but you seem kind of beat.”

“None taken. I can be pretty introverted.”

“Yeah, but–before we even got there. Feels like you’re maybe having a rough semester.”

“Is it that obvious?”

He pauses for longer than it takes to start up the car and get moving. “I just remember how you were freshman year. I was feeling pretty overwhelmed at college, and you seemed like you had everything figured out.”

Monty smiles. “Yeah, I guess that would make sense.”

“So, are you okay?”

“I’m not used to being on my own,” he admits. “No Jasper, no girlfriend, and a lot of my friends are–not really friends, I guess. Not in a bad way!” he adds. “It’s not like they betrayed me or anything. Just they were more friends with Jasper or Harper than me, or we lived in the same dorm and now we don’t, or–”

“You had a class together and stopped talking after the class ended?” Nate supplies, and Monty colors in the dark.

“For example.”

“I’m not mad, it’s not like I knew how to keep in touch with you either. I sometimes wanted to, but I had kind of a thing for you, so I kept talking myself out of it.” He snorts. “Playing it so cool I iced you out.”

“You didn’t,” Monty hastens to assure him. “I didn’t think you were–I felt the same way, I guess. I wanted to stay in touch, but I didn’t know how and I didn’t want you to think I was coming on too strong or being weird so I just didn’t do anything. Except drag Jasper to some places I thought I might see you.” He swallows hard. Nate already said it, so he can say it too. It’s safe. And it’s in the past, right? They used to have a mutual crush, and now that’s over. “You were the first guy I was ever interested in in real life, I didn’t really know what to do with that.”

“It doesn’t get better when you’ve liked more guys,” Nate says. “It’s always a mess.”

“Great.” He leans back in his seat, closes his eyes. “My parents got a divorce. Or maybe they’re still just separated, I’m not sure where they are in the legal process. And I just keep thinking–they were married for twenty-three years and then they were done. How can you be with someone for that long and then just decide it’s over? Like, I look at me and Harper and I wasn’t sure we’d be together forever, but I could have kept dating her. And then I see Clarke and Bellamy, and they’ve been together for about as long as me and Harper were, but I believe in them. Like, I feel like they’re going to make it. But what does that even mean? They’re married for twenty years with a kid and then they decide they’re not happy anymore? I just–”

He finds himself almost gasping as he finishes, the deluge of words leaving him breathless and shaky. It’s been a rough year for Monty’s faith in anything.

“I guess it depends on what you mean by make it,” Nate says, and Monty is grateful beyond words that he just goes with it. Lets Monty process for a minute. “Just because people break up doesn’t mean they failed. My parents split when I was pretty young, and it was amicable. They got married because my mom got pregnant and decided it was better to break it off before they hated each other. She’ll be here for Christmas with her wife and their kids. My dad’s their uncle and I’m their big brother and they love us. My family didn’t get smaller when my mom left, it got bigger. So I guess it’s more–I bet your parents don’t feel like they wasted twenty years of their lives, you know?”

“I know. I think that’s part of the problem, maybe? It feels like I’m making too big a deal. Jasper’s parents got divorced when we were in middle school, and it sucked for him. They were fighting, he nearly had to move, they don’t even talk anymore. It feels stupid feeling this upset about it.”

“That’s bullshit. You don’t have to have the worst life ever to feel bad. It sounds like you lost all your support systems at once, that’s always going to be shitty. And it’s not like I was this well-adjusted, what, a few months out of the divorce? I was just a kid who missed having my mom living with me. And when she and Alison got together, I was still working through my own sexuality stuff, and I didn’t deal with it that well.”

Monty bites his lip on a smile. “You know, I think this is the most I’ve ever heard you talk about yourself.”

“Well, it’s been a while. Maybe I’ve changed.”

“Maybe.”

“Maybe I just like talking to you.” He clears his throat. “So, that’s why you didn’t go home for Thanksgiving?”

“Yeah, I didn’t know how to decide where to go. My parents live in different states now and it just seemed easier to not think about it. I’ve got a lot of work I can catch up on. And the common room’s empty, so I can play video games on the nice TV and not feel bad.”

“What about Christmas?”

“More time off, so I’m doing half the break with my mom and half with my dad. We’re not Christian, so the actual holiday isn’t a big deal.”

“That’s good.” They drive on in silence for a little, but it feels like a good silence, the kind where they’re both just–thinking. “I don’t want to not see you again until Bellamy drags you back to Clarke’s for Thanksgiving next year.”

“Is this every year now?” Monty asks, smiling a little.

Nate doesn’t let him change the subject. “What are you doing tomorrow?”

“So far, video games and programming.”

“If I bring my Switch, will you play Overcooked with me?”

“Sure.”

“Cool,” says Nate. “It’s a date.”

It’s not, Monty decides as he goes into his dorm, a solution, not all on its own. Even if he does get a new boyfriend out of this, it’s not going to solve everything, and it shouldn’t. His semester hasn’t been shitty because he was single, and if he and Nate do start dating, his world is still going to feel unstable beneath his feet for a while.

But even if nothing happens with him and Nate past tomorrow, he feels better. He told someone, and it wasn’t awful. He went somewhere and he had fun. He got through his first holiday break away from home, and it was fine.

It’s a nice night, the moon almost full and the air crisp, and Monty breathes it in, feels it down to his toes.

That’s a good enough start.

#i-am-copper-and-tellurium

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chogiwank · 6 years

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Milkshake Boy - Art Student!Renjun AU [Part 1]

part 2

Pairing: Art Student!Renjun x Art Student!Female Reader

Summary: Y/N is new in town and works at an Arts Shop which old ladies, teachers and parents picking up supplies for their children mostly visit, and a cute boy who comes by everyday. Having an accidental encounter with the boy they develop a friendship and a love with milkshakes, art and of course each other. Because what is even a love story if they don’t fall for each other with cheesy shit involved

A/N: this story is requested but also inspired by a couple of prompts I came upon therefore not exactly an original plot I suppose but original story !! [part 2 posted] - Doyoung’s Darling

New York is such a beautiful place to live in, especially during the winter time. The snowfalls, the city lights at night of yellow and during Christmas the red and greens. I study at NY Arts School at the end of my sophomore year as a visual arts major. We were considered one of the least popular, the dance majors being the most. We weren’t really seen as much - what can you even do as a visual art major? Is what everyone asked. No one really cared to know for the history of art, Picasso, Monet, Da Vinci. No one really wanted to know what art really was, or why we even loved it. We were considered sort of outcasts despite it being an art school, such irony right? No one here realized art was a way to have colour in our lives, a way to speak with pictures without having to say a single word. It was a way to figure out how others minds work with their interpretation of pieces. It’s a way to make essentials and decoratives which existed in our daily lives; plates and utensils, carpets, blankets, many many things which art was discredited for.

Outside of school, I worked a job as a barista at this cafe, three to five hours for the weekend and then head to the library to study. My parents- well my mother works a job as an English teacher. My father passed away two years ago, I never got much time with him due to him being overseas for his job, he was a good man and we both loved him very much - but unfortunately, his kidney’s gave out on him and couldn’t live a full time with us. Hey, that’s life right? Mystery and questions of will tomorrow come or not, it’s unsolved until it actually happens.

Without having many friends because of my hectic life after the death of my father, my weekend jobs to help out my mother and studying until 2AM in the mornings, life in New York was still really nice. I didn’t mind it, and I wouldn’t change it for anything - that was until my mother got a job offer overseas, to teach abroad in Korea. Yeah, Korea, that’s a huge change, right? Moving from New York to Korea, a massive culture shock, especially right before my junior year of high school. Although I had no choice, being a minor I wasn’t allowed to live alone, the only family I had left was my grandparents from my father and mother’s side. Mother’s lived in Canada, the land of freezing cold winters and sometimes even snow in May. Now don’t get me wrong, I love my winters but snow in spring? I’m not even kidding guys there was deadass snow in May and I was crying my ass lives in Canada and I’m not even surprised I JUST WANT MY WARMTH Really, I’m fine with winter it’s a beautiful season but I prefer my winters to stay in December and I like my warmth during spring and summer. So that was not happening anytime soon. Then there was the option of my grandparents from my father’s side but they lived overseas in Korea - so at this point, there was really no option I had to leave New York, I had to leave NYA behind and start a completely new life. Live in a foreign country where I wouldn’t know anyone besides family and I had to work on speaking a whole new language. See, I know bits of Korean and I can understand it - thanks to my father being Korean, but I suck at speaking it. Now, of course, my mother and I looked into it to get me into an international school so it’d be easier for me to adjust, but I still felt unease. Everything would be so different, totally new people, teachers, school a whole new country. I’m not the best at change but...for this I had no choice, it was for my mother, the sake of her job and our living.

And so here I am in Seoul city the capital of South Korea.

I arrived here in early June, around the time school was ending for Korean students. My mother and I were provided with a small studio in the city, acquired transit passes and I surprisingly ended up with a job. It wasn’t much I just got to work in an Arts Shop as a cashier, for the time being before school begun once again in August, it was weird because school for me usually started in September, but I guess that’s the beauty of culture change, adjusting to new routines and lifestyles. Of course, my grandparents gave us some money to last until second month’s rent and invited us over for dinners to help us save some before mother started her work.

The owner of the Arts Shop was very kind, an old man who sat behind a counter every day reading the newspaper and always had a bright smile talking to customers, and currently I was in his position - without the smile. I was spending five hours of my vacation days in a foreign country behind a counter of a shop which old ladies, teachers and parents visited. There were the rays of the bright sun which shone into the store, lighting it up during the day and bringing in heat. The air conditioning wasn’t available so I was left to cool down with any paper or book I could fan myself with, it wasn’t very useful but the best I could do.

“Excuse me, I have a quick question.” A boy came up to the counter with a bright smile. He had dyed blonde hair covering his forehead, round glasses and a yellow t-shirt. His eyes a shade of brown, chocolate-coloured if I must say, sort of hazel with the sunlight on his features.

“Excuse me?” He waved a hand in front of my face, knocking me out my trance.

“Oh yes, sorry.” I shifted my gaze to the counter top in embarrassment. Was I staring? I can’t be, oh boy he probably thinks I’m a creep. “How may I help you?”

“Well there’s two things, first do you have any of these paints?”

I examined the empty bottle of paint he placed on the counter. “Ah, asianpaint’s oil paint. That should be in soon, just not in stock today sorry to dissapoint.” I shrugged my shoulders. “Second question?”

“Any idea when they’ll be in?” He anticipated.

“Possibly in a week, but that’s if they don’t get held up somewhere in transport.”

“Oh alright, well thank you.” He bowed, grabbing his empty paint bottle stuffing it into his backpack and walking out the door.

Now, that boy I’ve been seeing him every day since I’ve started working, which wasn’t really that long ago, maybe it had been just one week? I see him every day in the same spot, he’ll come around during the evening and sketch in his book while drinking a milkshake, strawberry I think? I caught myself waiting for him to show up each time. In fact, I started to realize how cute he actually was- if only I had socialist abilities but I don’t think they’ll be out any time soon.

The next day passed by as the same old routine: wake up, eat breakfast, mother and I would head out to my grandparent’s to check in, then at 3:00PM I’d be here to work until 6:00 or 8:00 you know depending on how exhausted I was. I would then head home to eat dinner and then sleep. The next day would just be a repeat of the previous one. Today was just like any other, except with a slight change - the manager asked me to come in a little late to close up shop since he had other duties to attend to early and so I accepted. I walked in at about 6:00 and closed up shop around 9:00 it wasn’t that busy considering many people would be having dinner between this time and so no one came in, giving me the opportunity to sit down and play games on my phone, scroll through Instagram and such.

As the clock hit 9 I began to check around the shop to make sure everything was okay, I locked the entrance door and walked out from the exit. Unfortunately, I didn’t have the chance to meet with the cute milkshake boy who would always sketch. It was a bummer really but, lately, he’s been talking to me, nothing too big just little conversations of ‘how was your day’ ‘have you been well’ and little jokes here and there. It was quite nice actually, made me feel like I was being accepted.

As I started to walk away I turned the corner bumping into someone, falling backwards with a hard hit to my tailbone and smashing my head on the ground. I groaned from the pain and my eyes squeezed shut feeling a weight on top of me. I sat up as I felt the weight of the stranger lift off me, speaking incoherent apologies and ‘I should’ve looked where I was going’. My brain adjusted my vision from the hard fall to the night lights, fixing the blurred face of the stranger. My eyes grew wide from the surprise of who the stranger was, I swear they almost popped out of their sockets.

“Milkshake boy,” I said as I groaned, the back of my head throbbing from pain.

“Are you okay?” He asked in concern, rubbing his elbow as it bled due to the scratches from the concrete. “Can you see how many fingers there are?” He waved three fingers in front of my face.

“Three.” I hissed rubbing the back of my head. He let out a sigh of relief and stood up helping me get on my feet as well. Losing my balance I let out a yelp as I began to fall once again, the boy’s arm wrapping around my waist to keep me up. Looking up, I thanked him for preventing a second fall, eventually making eye contact I giggled at our position - a dip with his arm around my waist and our faces close to our noses barely brushing each other- confusing the boy at my abrupt laughter he furrowed his eyebrows until he came to realize how we stood and our closeness. He blushed, his cheeks turning a tint of pink helping me up to stand on my own. his gaze shifted to the ground as he fiddled with his thumbs from the embarrassment.

I cleared my throat to speak breaking the awkward atmosphere,

“you’re milkshake boy, right?”

“w-what?” He looked up with wide eyes. “is that how you acknowledge me? Milkshake boy?”

“Uh yeah, kind of - you never really told me your name.”

“Oh...” he trailed off from the realization, “Sorry, my name’s Renjun.” he extended his arm for a handshake.

“Nice to meet you, I’m Y/N” I smiled. “Still prefer calling you milkshake boy though, it works better.”

“Well if you’re going to be calling me that...” he scrunched his nose, placing a hand on his chin in thought. “I might as well keep calling you counter girl.”

“counter girl?” I questioned. “is that the best you came up with?”

“the most decent one.” he corrected. “there was also Arts Shop girl, cute counter girl-”

“cute?” I raised a brow from his confession.

“w-what- oh!” Renjun panicked from his accidental slip up. “no, no! I meant like uh..well it didn’t work that well.”

“So you don’t think I’m cute?” I teased.

“no, no that's not it I-”

“I’m joking!” I laughed. “Loosen up a little.” Renjun rubbed the back of his neck as his face got a darker shade of pink from his continued embarrassment. He was really adorable from afar, but boy was he even cuter red-faced, and when his nose scrunched up, oh boy. I think my heart melted.

“What are you doing here so late?” Renjun questioned. “Don’t you usually come in the afternoons?”

“Oh, so you stalk me now?” I teased, making Renjun flush as he denied. “Wow, you really do blush easily.”

“What, no I don't!” Renjun said flustered. “I just- it’s cold.”

“Yeah, it’s cold in 18 degrees Celsius and that's why you’re constantly red not because of every time I tease you,” I smirked. Renjun gave a stern nod crossing his arms over his chest.

“That’s right.”

“Whatever you say milkshake boy.” I shrugged my shoulders. “I have to be getting home now-”

“What? Alone at night?”

“Well yeah, what about it?” I tilted my head to the side.

“It’s just so late.” Renjun said concerned. “What if anything happens to you? You shouldn’t be out alone this time of night.”

“How do I know you won’t murder me?” I crossed my arms over my chest, teasingly cocking up an eyebrow.

“I would rather not be someone suspected for murder,” Renjun laughed. “Plus I’d probably get kicked out of my art program.”

“Art program?” I questioned. “You’re in an art program?”

“Yeah, don’t be teasing me or any-“

“No, no! That’s really cool, I used to be in one.” I exclaimed. “I love art so much, it’s one of my greatest passions.”

“Really? Why aren’t you in it anymore?” Renjun asked.

“I used to live in New York with my mom, then we moved to Korea because she got a really good job offer.” I smiled.

“Oh I see, New York yeah? Is the cheese cake as good as they say?”

“I wouldn’t know,” I chuckled. “I never really liked cheese cake.”

“Whoa really? Anything you did like?”

“Hotdogs actually, I ate them everyday after school - I kind of got sick of them at one point so I ended up switching between fries and hotdogs.”

“Understandable,” Renjun laughed. Gosh, his laugh was so pleasing, it could probably calm tsunamis and gather animals around him like in fairy tales when the Princesses sing - his laugh was a perfect melody. “My sister should be here to pick me up soon, let me give you a ride.” He offered.

“What? No, I couldn’t let you do that, we just met.”

“Come on, please?” Renjun pout. “It’s either you let me drive you or you give me your number so I can check up on you to make sure you got home safe.”

“Oh,” I blushed looking down at my feet. Did he just ask for my number?

“I’d probably have nightmares if I found out I let you walk alone and someone murdered you.” He grabbed my arm. “Let me drop you home.”

I nodded my head, “102 Jeongu, I live up in the apartment.” My face was still flushed and god it was so embarrassing, a few minutes ago I was literally teasing him for getting flustered easily and now the tables have turned. He smiled as I told him my address turning around to the street as a bright light shone on us.

“Noona!” He said heading over to the car. He opened the door signaling me in. I shyly greeted his sister as he introduced us and drove me home. I felt sort of bad though, I didn’t even know where his house was, what if it was on the completely opposite end? Gosh that would fill me up with so much guilt but I was thankful for the ride as it saved my legs from the pain of walking 30 minutes and the possible dangers of the night - you know the possibility of me getting murdered or kidnapped by someone, which I doubt but not really impossible. In all honesty, I hated the dark anyways, it’s childish but I’ve always been scared of it I don’t know why? I’ve just never been comfortable enough to be alone surrounded by pitch black. Possibly the outcome of all the horror movies I’ve watched.

Arriving at the apartment doors I thanked them and asked if they would like something in return for the favour, both denying for the return of anything.

“It was our pleasure,” Renjun’s sister warmly smiled.

“Just stay safe, okay?” Renjun flashed a bright smile waving as they drove off.

I walked to my apartment and greeted my mother who sat on the couch reading a People’s Magazine. Wishing her a goodnight I got myself ready for bed, my mind playing out the encounter with milkshake boy as we stood close our noses almost brushing each other’s. Should I have kissed him? No, wait wait that’s wrong - I’d come off too strong and probably drove him away. I really wouldn’t mind kissing him, his lips were so pretty and pink, they seemed soft so perfect to attach mine to. Maybe one day, I sighed. One day, as long as he’s not a douche - please don’t be a douche, uh what was his name again? Renjun? Yeah, Renjun. And so, I drifted off to sleep after the surprise event of today hoping tomorrow to be another.

A/N: I hope you guys enjoyed this!! Please feel free to DM or comment below your thoughts and send in requests if you wish!! I’ll be making a part 2 as long as this post gets let’s say uhhh 30+ notes likes and such !! <3 take care of yourselves,, lovelies!! - Doyoung’s Darling [PART 2 HAS BEEN POSTED LINK ABOVE!!]

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babywhereyougone · 5 years

Photo

[Translation] The Television 2019-01 - Wild Sexy (Part 2 - 20 Questions) (original scans: nsnsns_mmm@twitter)

1. When’s your birthday? Ryo: October 30, 2000 Mizuki: October 31, 2000 Yuto: November 15, 1999 Soya: September 20, 2002 Ryuto: September 30, 2002

2. Where’s your hometown? Ryo: Kangawa Prefecture Mizuki: Kanagawa Prefecture Yuto: Kanagawa Prefecture Soya: Tokyo Ryuto: Kanagawa Prefecture

3. What’s your blood type? Ryo: O Mizuki: AB Yuto: A Soya: A Ryuto: O 4.What’s your hobby/special skill? Ryo: My hobby is billiards. I have been playing it for about a year and have gotten pretty good. My special skill is talking with people I’ve never met before. Zero shyness. Mizuki: My hobby is shopping. My special skill is eliminating my presence. No matter the circumstance, I can disappear with ease and have people wondering where I went (laughs). Yuto: Baseball. I played it from second grade to my first year of high school. I also love watching it. Soya: To debate and talk about the world news and topics. Ryuto: Playing the ukulele is a recent hobby. I bought it when I was abroad, and I got really into it after I played it as a break from the test studying period. My special skills is turning things I hate into things I like. Such an example is acrobatics! 5. On average, how many hours of sleep do you get a night? Ryo: 6 hours. I sleep at midnight and wake up at 6 in the morning. Mizuki: About 7 hours. Today was 6 hours. Yuto: 8 hours. Today was about 8 hours, but the ideal is 24 hours. I can sleep all day! Soya: 6 hours. I got 11 hours today so I’m super content. Ryuto: 7.5 hours. It was about 6 hours today. 6. What’s your favorite thing to eat lately? Ryo: Beef tongue. I buy a block of beef tongue, cook it in sesame oil, and mix it with some spring onions. Eating it like that is the best. Mizuki: The smell of truffle. (Iwahashi) Genki went to this place and had truffle french fries that were super good and now obsessed with, but I haven’t had the chance to try yet (laughs). Yuto: Convenience store oden. I must have daikon and sometimes I’ll also buy egg and kon’nyaku, too. Soya: Cream croquette. Crispy on the outside and soft, melty center inside. Ryuto: Convenience store kalbi bento. 7. What did you eat today? Ryo: For breakfast, I had yesterday’s leftover yakiniku. For lunch, I had curry. Mizuki: Bacon cheeseburger. Yuto: Kimchi. I wasn’t feeling too well this morning, but I felt better after eating kimchi. Soya: For breakfast ad lunch, I had beef tongue rice my mother made. Ryuto: For breakfast I had cereal. I was studying for tests during lunch so I didn’t get a chance to eat… When I’m immersed in something, my appetite takes a break. 8. How many texts do you send in a day? Ryo: About 50. I have about 10 people I talk with regularly. I call in my downtime, so I don’t text much. Mizuki: Almost zero. I immediately reply when I get something, but I rarely send anything myself. Yuto: About 50. Soya: I don’t answer my phone when I’m busy so zero. I usually only text my family, the group members, senpais, and some other people, so maybe about 4 a day. Ryuto: About 3. I call more than text. 9. Who in Johnny’s did you message most recently? Ryo: Shime-chan (Shimekake Ryuya) texted me, “Why didn’t you come to the stage show,?” and I replied, “Because of work and tests.” I want to go if I could~ Mizuki: Nishimura Takuya of Kansai Johnny’s Jr. When I have time, I’d ask him how he is and he sends back a nice reply. Yuto: 7MEN Samurai’s Sasaki Taiko and I entered the company at the same time, so he’s always being cheeky with me. For instance, he saw the TV show I appeared on recently, “Everyone looked amazing …except for Yuto” (laughs). Soya: Tanaka Juri-kun. He gave me advice on the rap I did for “The Shounen Club.” Ryuto: (Sasaki) Taiko. He wants to get something simple across but can’t find the right words for it so the text comes off as angry (laughs). 10. What’s your favorite emoji? Ryo: Cute, funny faces emojis. Mizuki: LINE stamp of the white, round character with his thumbs up. Yuto: Stamps of my favorite anime character. I use the “OK” and “Thank You” ones a lot. Soya: Surreal character stamp of a slim kid. The one where he’s bowing going, “G’mornnnnn!!” is convenient so I use it a lot. Ryuto: Grinning and laughing white bear. I like the relaxed, half-baked ones. 11. What’s on your homescreen? Ryo: A picture taken at Disneyland of JUNIOR 5, including Saku-chan. Mizuki: It’s completely white. I can see the icons easier this way. Yuto: A picture of Mount Fuji I took outside of the hotel window on a family trip. Soya: It’s a photo of a single red rose I purchased. The photo quality on my phone is really good so the red is so vivid and beautiful. Ryuto: The view of the ocean at sunset. Around the summer, it was of Yuto’s expression upon taking a photo with Matsumoto Jun-kun in the dressing room. 12. What’s the most recent photo you took? Ryo: Of my own hair. Just dyed it black. Mizuki: Choreo video. Yuto: A picture of Matsumoto Jun-kun during his concert. The pose he was during while wearing pink gloves was really cool so I took a picture of it without thinking about it when I saw it in a magazine or something. Soya: A picture with friends taken in front of the emergency stairwell on the day of the school culture festival. But we took it with the light the wrong direction so it was a big fail (laughs). Ryuto: Taiko holding a ukulele. 13. What sort of pictures do you have the most in your camera roll? Ryo: Pictures with friends. When we go out, we ask people nearby to take photos for us. Mizuki: I don’t really take photos, they’re pretty much all choreography videos. Yuto: Photos of the members’ selfies when they steal my phone. I dunno what kind of faces Hashimoto-kun makes, Saku-chan’s photos are of eyes wide open, etc. (laughs). Soya: Family. My older sister loves photos so there’s a lot of everyone. I’m like cut off to the side. Ryuto: Of the members. I turn my camera towards the members in between rehearsals. I have a lot of good faces from Yuto. 14. What do you always have in your bag? Ryo: Breath mints. Mizuki: Mask and tissues. And a train character chewing gum. I loved that gum since I was kid so I always have it. Yuto: Perfume. I’m into scents, and I’ve been into jasmine lately. Soya: Hand wipes. I use it when there isn’t any hand soap when I’m out. Ryuto: A ballpoint ben. It’s the kind with both black and red ink together and it fits into my wallet. 15. What’s your most recent purchase? Ryo: Hawaiian jewelry. I bought something that has “strength” associated with it. Mizuki: A red smartphone case. (Takahashi) Kaito gave me a case that has a built-in battery that I’ve been using, but the color faded… so I went and bought the same color and style! Yuto: Hawaiian ring. Soya: Five rings from Hawaii. My fingers look pretty when I put them on. Ryuto: Mobile battery. 16. What do you want the most right now? Ryo: Motorcycle. I want to ride one during a concert! I have to get a license first, though. Mizuki: I want to try living on my own so I want a one bedroom apartment (laughs). Yuto: White sneakers or boots. I surprisingly like white, even the wristwatch I’m wearing now is white. Soya: A super amazing massage chair for when I’m tense. I never experienced it before, but I want to experience the first class cabin of an airplane. Ryuto: Macro lens for an SLR camera. 17. What type of girls do you like? Ryo: A girl who looks good with short, brown hair. Mizuki: A girl who supports and doesn’t reject my opinions. Yuto: Someone who isn’t clingy, a girl who is a bit of a tomboy. Soya: A bit of a dreamer who says funny, innocent things at times. Ryuto: Someone who talks for me. I don’t hate conversation, but I’m bad at bringing up topics… 18. If you were a girl, which member do you want to go out with? Ryo: None! I know too much about them all so it would be bad (laughs). If it’s any other group, then (Yoshizawa) Shizuya-kun. He’s so nice. Mizuki: Sakuma! Since he wouldn’t be disagreeable with me (laughs). Yuto: None (laughs). But, if Saku-chan was my boyfriend, it would be pleasantly fun. Soya: Hard pass on all (laughs). But if I had to choose someone, the person that fits the answer to the last question the most would be Sakuma. Ryuto: I guess Mizuki-kun. If I were his girlfriend, I’d probably fuss a bit over if he’s sleepy. 19. When do you feel the most happy? Ryo: When I’m talking with my friends at school about how we’re graduating soon. It’s a bit sad though—that only have a little bit of time left together with my classmates. Mizuki: When I hit the snooze button. And, when I eat yummy foods! Yuto: That feeling when I realize that so many different people love me now than ever before. Soya: Shampoo (hair wash) at the beauty salon. Ryuto: When I can relate to a book I’m reading. 20. What’s one thing you want to say to yourself about this past year? Ryo: You’ve grown up a lot! You now like black costumes more than the sparkly ones, you now have an interest in cars and motorcycles, your tone suddenly changed. Mizuki: Blossom. It’s your final year of high school, and it feels like it was spent brilliantly blossoming. Yuto: It was an incredible, spectacular year! Soya: You worked hard! Deserving of praise! Ryuto: You worked hard! You gave everything you had in all the work opportunities given this year.

#hihi jets #hashimoto ryo #inoue mizuki #takahashi yuto #igari soya #sakuma ryuto #magazine #translation #*

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thenewwei · 3 years

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40 years ago I was born this evening at Flushing Hospital in New York City.

40 years later, not only am I glad to be alive, but I genuinely feel I’ve lived such a full and amazing life and am happy enough that even if I died today, I wouldn’t feel bad about it or regret much.

I didn’t always feel this way, but I do today.

I can’t remember my 10th birthday very well at all. But I do remember being a relatively happy 5th grader, having transitioned to my Flushing elementary school from Corona two years before. I can’t remember if bullies were still bothering me then, certainly there were jerks and turncoats here and there, but I had good friends, we went on some good overnight field trips in Long Island. Oregon Trail and Cops and Robbers were fun (end of 6th grade was especially awesome, if you count in Connect Four sessions) and it was still a couple of years until the horrors of JHS.

I can’t remember my 20th birthday either, but I definitely remember the circumstances. I was working in my uncle’s motel in NC cleaning dirty carpets. This was between my sophomore and junior years at Wesleyan, but I was slated to go abroad for a year at Oxford in late September.

It had been an eventful summer, at least for my young life. I had decided to turn down an internship at Wesleyan University Press for a month’s job at the circulation desk of Olin Library because I had already committed to it; probably a bad decision, but one that likely didn’t affect me much in the long term. During this time I continued to develop my relationship with a sweet and beautiful girl I had met that spring at school, my first girlfriend, who lived nearby in CT.

After that month, I came back home, took a job teaching kids at an “elite” tutor academy in Elmhurst, Queens, and was promptly fired a week later because I “couldn’t control the kids”—first and only time I’ve ever been fired from a job, and probably the first and only time I couldn’t control the kids—ha ha.

Anyway, my uncle offered me a job doing odd jobs at his motel, so I took the Amtrak down South and began working for him. Even though the work itself wasn’t too inspiring, I did meet plenty of interesting people this way, and experienced a completely different atmosphere from the North, and continued to write (I had already written a novella, novel and short story collection at this point—all bad, of course—and had won a couple of awards for high school and college kids).

My flight back—I decided to fly—was on the morning of 9/11/01. My uncle dropped me off at the airport. At the ticket counter, the woman processing my ticket told me a plane had crashed into the World Trade Center (assumably, accidentally). I laughed it off. I thought she was kidding.

When I went inside the gate, I saw the news on the TV, and realized she wasn’t kidding. I can’t remember if I saw the second plane hit live or not, but it became quickly clear this wasn’t an accident, and that I wasn’t going to make it home to NYC.

Somehow I got in touch with my uncle and he drove me back to the motel. I still remember sitting in my motel room, watching people jump out of the towers while my girlfriend, on the phone with me, told me not to watch. I took the train back a week later.

I didn’t sign up for the military, and I didn’t get drafted, since the govt decided not to institute Selective Service. As usual, I decided to follow through on the commitment I had made, for better or worse. I visited Wesleyan briefly and saw my girlfriend and friends for the last time before I went abroad on a flight where even the flight attendant was openly racist towards me.

My year at Oxford was one of the best years of my life. I had tutorials where I could read and learn what I wanted, I wrote over 50 stories and essays, I backpacked Europe extensively, including alone, and had a “trans-chunnel relationship” with my girlfriend, who was studying abroad in Paris during the latter half of the year.

I experienced some racism in Europe, most of which I’ve never written about or even talked about publicly, but compared to my experiences in gang and crime-filled NYC as a teen, it was like nothing, and on the whole, it was a good experience, even though as a person, I remember being neurotic, paranoid, depressed much of the time, and of course insecure. But I had formed great friendships, I had an on-and-off again—but mostly on—gf, and I was physically in the best shape of my life (until, possibly, now).

I do remember my 30th birthday. I was depressed and didn’t do anything special but I did have a lonely meal at a Japanese restaurant and remember complaining to an acquaintance online about my depression.

I honestly felt like a complete failure. Both my long-term romantic relationships with two great girls (sweet, beautiful, brilliant, in love with me and much else) had failed. I blamed myself and frankly, I wasn’t worthy of either of them. While I had earned two masters degrees and had a decent job (maybe not for an Indian-American or whatever, but still, not terrible), I hadn’t gotten anything but rejections for my writing. I hadn’t been published anywhere since college, I hadn’t won any awards, I had no agent, publisher, college teaching gig, or anything else, even as many of my Wesleyan classmates (Lin-Manuel Miranda, Jason Pinter, Paul Yoon, to name just a few) had already achieved publication, fame and much else. Since I pretty much judged myself solely on this standard, at least professionally, of course, I felt like a complete failure.

On the social front, I still had strong friendships, and was developing more. I still had a solid family core. I was traveling and making more friends. I was single, and I still lived at home.

Fast forward to today, and I feel completely different. I’ve published four books, albeit independently, but I’m proud of them, and I feel like each book is better than the last. I’ve gotten great reviews, they’ve hit the Amazon bestseller lists, I’ve done solid interviews, been on TV, I’m active on social media.

I’m still single after more than a decade, and I still live with my family, and I still don’t have an agent (ha ha) but so what? I still have great friends, in fact, I have more than ever. I’ve strengthened many of the friendships I had then, even at distances, and made many new ones. I’ve traveled much of the world. I have friends and acquaintances of every race, religion, gender, sexual orientation, national origin, citizenship and residency.

I live in the greatest city on Earth, where I can eat any type of ethnic cuisine at any time of the day, endlessly explore any type of culture and where I have access to pretty much anything and everything of God’s plenty including art, literature, film, scientific knowledge, and much else. I’m content with my decision not to move to Cali, at least for now. So far I’ve survived the pandemic. I’m in great shape, and I’m better than ever at basketball. I’m happy. What can I really complain about?

That said, I’m hardly done. I haven’t reached anywhere near the literary fame and stature that I’ve wanted for decades. Given the odds, I may never, but I have to keep on trying. I’ve recently won awards and grants, something that never happened to me a decade ago. My next book, Bad Americans, is progressing well.

Having been a pessimist for much of my life, I feel positive and optimistic. I think the next decade is looking up for me, or at least I hope it is. I plan to write and publish many more books, and progress my literary movement The New Wei. There are plenty of other projects in the pipeline too, of various disciplines. I’m planning another road trip across the US and other adventures. Even my dating life is better than it’s been in years. Who knows, maybe marriage and the baby in the baby carriage is on the horizon (yeah right, you wish mom, but hey, anything is possible, right?).

My 40th birthday summer has been amazing. I visited a couple of good friends near Philly. I took my recently retired parents on a fun trip to the South, where we hung out with some of our large and beloved extended family. My parents are happy. My sister, who I rarely ever talk about publicly, is happy. My good friend Bob got married and I was his proud Best Man. We had two karaoke bashes with some Bayside buds. I’m planning on having dinner with some of my closest friends tonight, weather depending. Other close friends I’ll see later. I’m taking a trip to Providence RI over Labor Day Weekend with even more. I’m planning a subway musical reading. Some of my cousins gave me ridiculously thoughtful gifts. I could go on and on.

Life at 40 is amazing. I think it will keep getting more amazing. And even if it doesn’t, so be it. It’s life. There will always be hurdles, and it has to end at some point, right?

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geimei · 7 years

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Hi, im really intrigued by the maiko tomitsuyu of tomikiku okiya in gion higashi, I think she's very sweet and was just wondering if you knew if she was a popular maiko and if you think she'll continue on to become a geiko/ when that might be etc :) and just any other miscellaneous information you had about her or the geiko of the tomikiku okiya :) thank you !!

Maiko Tomitsuyu had her Misedashi on the 1st of August 2013, so she has been active for almost 4 years and 1 month now. She debuted under famous natori Geiko Tsunekazu (Shigenoya Okiya), from who she got the “tsu”-part of her geimei, although their names are written completely differently. Her gemei is written like this 富津愈 and means “Abundant and increasing ports”. (This is from missmyloko’s Gion-Higashi-Kanji-Tab)She became a senior Maiko in August 2016, so two full years after her Misedashi.

Tomitsuyu was born in Uzumaki, Kyoto, and is the daughter of a successful real estate developer. Before becoming a Maiko, she studied abroad in New Zealand for three years and finished Junior High School there. Since she finished Junior High School there, she must have been only 12 or 13 when going there, that must have been so scary!

Before coming to New Zealand, she actually had never had even one English-lesson before, so she had to start at zero! She is fluent in English by now and her English also has an adorable New Zealand accent ^^. She often entertains forgeiners, because of her great English skills, and was also able to teach her older sister Tomitae a good deal, too, so she speaks very good English now, too. The Tomikiku Ochaya also offers special “packages” to first-time customers, and many of them are foreigners, so she gets to really use her language skills.

She also mentioned in an interview that she was actually only supposed to stay in New Zealand for one year, but after getting significantly better at speaking English and making friends, she started enjoying her life there so much that she stayed for two more years. When she came back to Japan, she actually had problems remembering her own first language and it took her a while to get adjusted to it again.

She debuted at 17, so she was a little older than most Maiko are at the time of their debut, so she is 21 by now. Gion Higashi is a tiny district and always needs new members to join, so they usually aren’t too picky with age and 17 is ok for them. However, they don’t allow girls older than 17 to debut as Maiko, so Tomitsuyu just made the cut.

Tomitsuyu has been popular since her debut, I’d say that she is the second most popular Maiko of Gion Higashi behind Hinayū, but since Gion Higashi’s highest-earner-lists haven’t been published for years, that’s a bit hard to tell. so she might actually be number 1. It’s about how much business as Maiko gets and not how many pictures are taken of her, after all.

She also appeared in many Japanese tv-programmes and gave interviews about her life as a Maiko and also appeared in some documentaries, mostly Japanese, but also at least one British one and also in two French ones, one which was already published about two years ago and one which is currently still in the making (the trailer is already out and Tomitae took part in it, too). Her interviews is where we know so much about her from.

Tomitsuyu is a very beautiful girl, she definitely has the typical “Maiko-look” and is easy to remember (at least she was for me); she really looks like a living doll when she wears oshiroi and hikizuri. Her cute looks also match her personality: She has been described as quite bubbly and fun, and always has a few kind words for everybody. The most popular Maiko and Geiko are those who can make their guests feel good and enjoy themselves, and Tomitsuyu seems to be succeeding at that. She is a very funny girl and seems to be enjoying herself a lot, but when it comes to the arts, she is serious and dedicated.

At the end of this month, she has started tying her obiage, which is a sign that either her Erikae or retirement aren’t too far away; it might even be at the end of this year, but maybe also at the beginning of next year. I really really hope that she becomes a Geiko, she has been one of my favourites ever since I became interested in Geisha, and to be honest, I would be sad if she left. She is popular and is such a great addition to a district like Gion Higashi that is always in need for new members. Also, with Tomitae being an equally successful Geiko and the new Minarai, the Tomikiku Okiya seems to be doing really well right now, so it would be even greater if she decided to stay around. I really can’t say if I think that she’ll stay around or not though, Maiko usually don’t talk about these kinds of serious things in public and Maiko who I thought were very likely to become Geiko have quit, while those who I thought were more likely to retire had their Erikae and are still flourishing today, so that’s really hard to day.

Now, onto Geiko Tomitae, who you also asked about. She had her Misedashi on the 11th of October 2011 and her Erikae on the 20th of May 2016, so she was a Maiko for 4 years and 7 months. Her Erikae was the first Erikae in Gion Higashi I witnessed and Erikae in Gion Higashi are a pretty rare event: Ryouka had her’s on the 3rd of March 2015 and before her, the last Erikae was Miharu’s on the 1st of October 2010.

Tomitae’s geimei is written like this 富多愛 and means “Much Wealth and Love”. She had no official oneesan, which is not uncommon in small districts like Gion Higashi or Kamishichiken. As far as I know, she debuted at 16, which is the usual age for Maiko to debut at today.

Her name is very interesting, as she was the first serious Maiko the Tomikiku Okiya had in over 10 years, because the okaasan lived abroad. I’m calling her serious, because the two Maiko that debuted from Tomikiku in 2008, Tomitaka and Tomishizu, already retired in early 2009 after only a few months of being active. Her name is really a testament to how much trust her okaasan had in Tomitae’s talent and future, especially considering the very early retirement of the two Maiko debuting prior to her and the fact that Gion Higashi has a pretty high drop-out rate.

In contrast to her little sister Tomitsuyu, Tomitae’s looks are much more mature and womanly and always have been. By the way she carried and carries herself, she also always knew this as she has a very dignified, elegant and sophisticated aura surrounding her - just like a Geiko should. She is also quite tall, which naturally makes her stand out.

In missmyloko’s “Mylo’s Pick of the Week” she took a closer look at Maiko Mameryū (Tama Okiya) of Gion Kobu just a few days ago, and Mameryů really reminds me of Tomitae in a way. Missmyloko said that Mameryů looks much more like a willow than iike a flower, like most of her fellow Maiko do, but her subdued, mature look and the fact that she is taller than the average Maiko help her stand out. I think the same applied to Tomitae when she was still a Maiko.

Tomitae started becoming very popular with photographers in her second year as a Maiko, as her unique looks really made her stand out to them. She has also always been very popular with customers, too, living up to her name, Although she looks quite serious in many pictures, she can actually be seen smiling and laughing a lot and is very approachable. Just like her younger sister, she is a pleasure to be around, but especially since she became a Geiko, she isn’t very childish anymore. As aforementioned, she speaks English very well, too, due to the help of Tomitsuyu and the many foreign customers the Tomikiku Ochaya has.

She also appeared in several documentaries, interviews and promotional programmes about her life as a Maiko/Geiko, but not as many as Tomitsuyu, as far as I can tell.

Tomitae was always very dedicated to and serious about the arts, and proved it one more time when becoming a Geiko last spring, really living up to the hopes of her okaasan. She is another Maiko I took a liking to very early on, so I was very happy when I heard about her Erikae and hope that she stays around for even much longer!

#ask #tomitsuyu #tomitae #tomikiku okiya #gion higashi #karyukai #geisha #maiko #geigi #geiko

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neioo · 7 years

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SUMMARY: They thought it was over once the ‘Plan’ was completed. Time had passed. Most of their wounds had healed, but unknown to them, there were still other Nations, forgotten Nations, who continued to be tortured and experimented on.

All until one man, also forgotten, decided to rescue them and craft his revenge.

His actions cause the secrecy of the ‘Plan’ to crumble. Those who were involved are exposed. And as their punishment, they’re forced to work as pawns. Their ideals are again challenged—their humanity put to the test. Are they doing the right thing? Who can they trust? But most importantly:

Are they to blame?

This book is a Sequel to Are we humans? THE BOOK is available for purchase (HERE) or (HERE) as well as can be found (here) on AO3. As it’s a sequel, AWH can also be found (here) on AO3

Thank you so much for sticking with me! A bunch of rambling about this novel and updates on WDWW under the cut ^^

It’s done. It’s finally fucking done.

I mentioned this when I posted the proof, but my spring semester was rough, and then I catapulted myself into a study abroad in China for two months, which was very labor-intensive (10+ hours of work every day, not to mention going to 5 hours of classes)

I’m alive, though, so that’s cool.

I think DFU after being editing is way better than when I started. Are there still mistakes? Probably. Typos? I hope not, but…I was trying to go really fast at the end.

But Maddie, shouldn’t you stay with DFU and release it when it’s perfect?

I’m one person who’s doing this in their free time and at this point, I’ll be pissed if I find something wrong, but I’ve just come to accept it. If you purchase this or read on AO3 and see something, I apologize.

My editor really helped a bunch, so thank you so much. DFU is better because of you ^^

Updates:

Sorry for not touching WDWW in a month (I needed to focus on DFU and I needed a break as people do every now and then). I have an outline for the next two chapters, and I’ve already started writing the next

Ha ha.

I think I planned too many chapters. 6 (yes 6) seem unimportant so I’ll probably be scrapping them, making the total to 15 chapters. idk I’m not sure if this’ll be longer than 45k. That’s either cool or not cool. I’ll be done it soon! But I’ll also be done the AWH AU soon so.

Still gotta edit the fucking thing, though. You’re not free of me quite yet

In all honesty, I want to go back and edit AWH more too (I know jesus), but that’s still up in the air

Once WDWW is edited and done, I’m not writing any more hetalia fanfiction. I’ve done my support for the fandom. 再fucking见

(nah I’ll probably be sad and have an identity crisis but considering I’m only on chapter six as of now, and then I have to edit, we have at least 5 months before that happens)

What’s afterwards then? Probably OC work. I do want to get a novel published one day. And this blog? ¯\_(ツ)_/¯ maybe I’ll go into the void like George deValier . you son of a gun George

Goodies! Or whatever.

Here’s what I posted at the back of DFU that you can read here if ya want:

I was a freshman sitting in my high school’s library, named the ‘Knowledge Commons’ because the school was a newly opened IB only high school within my school district, and I guess the ‘Head Master’ felt the need to be pretentious. I was the only kid in there. It was the first year and there were only two grades, and most kids had class while I opted to take a free period. My friend Simran got out of orchestra early and ran in there to find me.

“What are you doing?” she asked.

I was probably fucking around on YouTube, looking up anime OSTs, but it’s hard to remember. “Nothing.”

“You should watch this new anime I found!”

I frowned. “Yeah, but I’m watching Soul Eater right now.”

“No, trust me. Have you ever heard of Hetalia?”

“Vaguely. I was thinking I might watch it next.”

“Watch it now! The episodes are only 5 minutes, and it’s on YouTube.”

I shrugged. “Okay.”

And that’s the story of how I sold my soul.

Simran left me in the middle of me watching the first episode. I don’t know where she went—the bathroom? But I was left alone and confused as all hell.

But I kept watching.

I never did finish Soul Eater, by the way.

I immediately got sucked into the Hetalia universe, and with the 2012 Olympics approaching; I started daydreaming weird scenarios with the characters. That summer, I was also working at a horse camp, and the times when I was doing mind-numbing manual labor work, I would also daydream.

It was somewhere in late 2013 that Are We Humans? was fully laid out in my head. The universe started with the single scene of Spain and Prussia rescuing France from Nazis (which I’ve never even written yet), and then expanded into…this.

It was in late 2013 when I was taking a shower that I finished daydreaming about how Prussia was rescued and happy, realized that: “I could make this a complete novel,” and then immediately got irrationally angry. I had told myself I would never write fanfiction because then I could never get it published.

So I refused to write it.

I focused on OC work, but then in my junior year of high school, we started learning about the Second World War and the Cold War.

Before this, I never cared for history class, but I started paying attention for the sole fact that I could ‘make my Hetalia daydreams more historically accurate.’

In May 2015, I graduated high school.

And I was bored.

A few weeks passed, and I tried to entertain myself. It was on June 9, 2015 that I dug through my computer to look at my old writings.

On that fateful day, I found something I wrote in 2014.

I was at an internship for school—if you could call it that. It was a three-day thing where I went to a company, interviewed people, then sat around and tried to bide my time. It was in one of those down periods that I desperately tried to entertain myself by writing.

AKA, I wrote the first two chapters to Are We Humans?

It was in first person. The last OC novel I wrote in was that, so it only seemed fitting at the time. But on June 9th, 2015, I knew that people hated reading fanficion in 1st person, so I change it to 3rd, posted it online, and then shut my computer for the rest of the night.

The first comment I ever got, was “Nice drawing :)” back when I posted my own artwork with the fic. I was immediately flabbergasted, thinking no one would ever comment on it, let alone read.

Since then, the entire series grew. I finished Are We Humans? in a little over six months, and after doing so didn’t think I would write a sequel. But then, somewhere in March 2016 I was walking laps outside my dorm, and came up with this entire idea. Honestly, I wasn’t going to write this either until I got bored, yet again, in summer 2016.

Shout out to my job, which was mind numbing but had enough downtime that I could furiously write the chapters to DFU in a notebook.

I’ve singled people out on AO3, so to those who I expressed my gratitude there, thank you so much again. This universe has been enjoyable for me to write. I may never be able to officially publish it, but at this point this project is just a labor of love, and to have these paper copies are enough for me.

Prussia was always going to die. Even if I never wrote the sequel, I was trying to hint at that he would die in Are We Humans? If we’re being real, this universe was invented around him. He may not be the central focus 100% of the time, but nevertheless, I’m happy I got to explore his character.

Er ist mein Sohn, und ich liebe ihn. Vielleicht ist er tot, aber er lebt immer in meinen Herz.

Again, to all those who have read, thank you. It’s your support of the fic that pushed me to finish and expand this universe.

And to my brother, who used to make jokes about how Prussia is dead, look at what you did. If you, dear reader, wanna blame anyone, blame Steven, who’s begrudgingly listened to me ramble about hetalia for 5 years now.

#hetalia fanficion #historical hetalia #aph #hetalia #yeah #miscellaneous #i was gonna post a pic of myself but then didn't feel like doing my makeup. so woo *jazz hands*

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measuringlife · 5 years

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Measuring Monday: Career Aspirations & Trajectory

The first job I said I wanted to have as a little kid (maybe 5 years old or so) “when I grew up” was a fashion designer. I remember this “fashion plates” toy I had where you could mix and match the plates of outfit tops and bottoms. Then pencil /charcoal rub across them onto paper so you could color in the outfit you created. I also had a light up sketch table for tracing that I remember I really liked. I got into playing Barbie and dressing them up however that dream didn’t last very long. In like 2nd grade I wanted to be a judge, perhaps because there were a lot of early-mid nighties high profile trials that sparked my interest. I soon learned that in order to become a judge you had to be a lawyer first, so that was my career ambition much to my mother’s delight for a few years.

In 7th grade, I started watching the Today Show on NBC before school and set my sights on broadcast journalism. I loved both the idea of anchoring the Today Show or being an MTV VJ. The more the 24-hour news cycle evolved the more I wanted to be a broadcaster, the round the clock coverage of Princess Diana's death was particularly memorable. While watching the Today Show I saw a commercial for Quinnipiac University (well at the time it was a College)’s new Ed McMahon School of Communications. Thus my love affair with Quinnipiac started.

As I’ve mentioned in previous posts I worked a lot in high school, plus my school was like 25 minutes away from home so I didn’t participate in extracurricular activities, even if I did there was a very limited “media” program - I think I only got a semester of “media” class in my junior year and I was never into print media so the newspaper wasn’t of interest either. However when it came time to start of Quinnipiac I started networking with the college radio station upperclassmen. I found myself doing the news for the daily morning show my first semester and then starting my second semester had my own weekly 2-hour radio show with a rotating cast of co-hosts over the years. I even did my internship at a top 40 station in New Haven. I was really torn when it came to graduation, but I took the safe route and got a free masters from the University of Connecticut in higher education and student affairs.

I start my post-college years working at UConn as a part-time hall director which meant free housing, free laundry, and a free meal plan plus a small stipend. It was a solid gig, but I definitely worked more than 20 hours a week. The summer between grad school years I did an internship in Alabama of all places at Auburn University. My goal was to move to California after grad school so I applied to 2 California schools, one in DC, FL, NC, and then Auburn almost as a joke, but I paper I really liked their program. After phone interviews with a number of schools, I also was shocked to realize that I really liked my interview with Auburn. Since I never studied abroad I thought why not spent 10 weeks in Alabama. Well, I loved it - much to my surprise!

When it came time to start job searching for my first full-time job out of grad school I had my eye on as I came to call it “the smile of the US” aka anything along a coast East, West or South. California was my top choice, but I knew I had to go where the jobs were. In addition to Cali, I was focused on warmer climates so the Southeast, particularly Florida were high on my list. I was also searching in North Texas since my Dad had just moved from south Florida to Dallas. I also kept my eye out for any openings at Auburn. I ended up having on-campus interviews at 2 schools in North Texas and one school in south Florida, plus an interview offer at a school in Savannah. I ended up choosing to work at Midwestern State University in Wichita Falls, Texas. Which was about 2 hours north of Dallas and 10 miles south of the Oklahoma border. I really like the school, the job, and the prospect of being 2 hours away from my Dad. I did not, however, realize what a podunk town it was and what a fish out of water I was going to be. Thankfully I did find some friends and I really needed them after only 5 months of living in North Texas when my Dad died. After about 10 days out of the office, I came back to work and Texas which some folks didn’t think I would, but I quickly realized I couldn’t stand to stay there without him.

I started looking for jobs in spring while nursing my wounds back to health with a new puppy and watching season 7 of American Idol. I applied to one job in NYC thinking that maybe I should head home. However, I soon learned of a job opening back at Auburn in the office where I interned. I actually interviewed for the job on campus on my Dad’s birthday. It was comforting to interview with people who knew why I was leaving a job after less than a year and know my recent history. Auburn was a good “layover” of sorts. I loved my job and my office, but my social life left more to be desired. After a serious relationship started to bloom and I began to feel real pressure to put down roots in Alabama I knew it was time to leave. I needed to date in a city that I could live more long term.

My next stop was George Mason University in Fairfax, VA. Mason was actually one of the schools I was seriously considering for my grad school internship. Unfortunately, this office was saddled with issues from the beginning, staff turn over, vacancies not filled, lack of direction. I also had a combative relationship with my eventual supervisor. I’m convinced there was some ageism involved, she thought I was climbing the ranks too quickly and saw me as a kid. Keep in mind she never made any attempt to try and know me. All she saw were my flaws and she refused to ever give me any of her time unless I begged for it. In retrospect trying to get her to “like me” or “respect me” or “be proud of me” led in part to my workaholism because I felt rejected and abandoned by an authority figure (only in hindsight and after a lot of therapy can I piece that all together). It was a slow burn of trauma, but traumatic nonetheless. I had spent a solid 18 months searching jobs in southern California, where my heart was set to go and the guy I was seriously dating (spoiler alert he's now my fiance) was also very interested in a Cali move, but the jobs weren’t right. I interviewed for three jobs out there and turned down the two I was offered. At this point, I couldn’t wait for California anymore. I was so burnt out that I started seriously applying for jobs outside of higher ed.

I found myself in a few interview processes in the DC Metro corporate sphere. I kept my eye on Director level jobs in higher ed in DC, but given my specialty area they were far and few between. Imagine my surprise that while I was in the middle of a lengthy interview process with one company, my dream titled job came up in DC. The process moved quickly and I got the "dream" job. Year one on the job started off with a steep learning curve. I was trying so hard to do it all, to impress everyone, to come off confident and self-assured that I was burning the wick at both ends. And this was BEFORE 50% of my staff left. Okay in all fairness I run a two-person office, so when my one staffer left (and I 100% understand why he did, he was given a bigger shit sandwich than I was handed and he had to eat it longer). I was alone 6 months into the job as I approached my work's peak season. It was hell, I was drowning, and stupid me didn’t realize it. After years of learning how to survive nightmare situations, your reflexes kick in. I was in survival mode and I was surviving at all cost. The biggest collateral damage was on my mental health and my sleep. I had never slept 2-4 hours a night for weeks at a time and it was taking its toll.

When I hired my new staff member in the midst of this I made it a point to reintroduce myself after the storm had passed. I even quoted Fight Club saying “you met me at a very strange time in my life.” Strange = horrific, but I wasn’t ready to acknowledge had bad it was and how much of it I let happen. Ultimately like most people in recovery, I felt like everything was happening TO ME, but I now know it was happening FOR ME. I needed to hit rock bottom particularly around my workaholism and lack of boundaries. The past year has been so much better for so many reasons, including a wonderful new supervisor who for the first time in a long time I know undoubtedly has my back. I don’t know how long I’ll stay where I am or in the field in general. I'm working all these side hustles and really digging into this project to see if I can achieve my dream of living a creative and connection-filled life on my own terms.

#MLabout #MLchanges #MLwork

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goodgreycious · 7 years

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CAN I GET A HOT TUB?!

Or maybe an in-depth analysis of Moana? The perfect fanfiction about my OTPs? Some sanity?! A JOB?! But most importantly… a hot tub. Because I clearly have my priorities sorted.

I’m just kidding. There’s not enough room for a hot tub in my apartment yet. But let’s get down to business (TO DEFEAT) (…THE HUNS…)! A few weeks ago, for my very first blog post, I have to say I was utterly blown away by the reactions and love it was shown. If you are ever in the position that I was in, the feeling of getting that kind of reaction is unparalleled. So thank you, thank you from the bottom of my heart. Just as I hope my Tumblr family will grow, so shall my commitment to being the best blogger I can be for anyone who finds their way to my humble little abode. I want everyone to feel just as “at-home” here as I do. Which, sadly, should not be an excuse to not keep to my goals of posting here once a week, but that’s been my reality over the past weeks and I apologize. In moving forward with my big-girl-full-time job search, just as many have and will go through, there’s an overwhelming amount of things to think about. And, as you can guess, these thoughts manifest themselves in vastly different forms. Sometimes, they blindside you because you’ve never thought of them before. For me personally, things are unfolding in a different way. I have had the great fortune of being in a position where people who know have their live together surround me at all times. I’m hoping that if I stick around long enough that I’ll be able to pick up that ability through osmosis. These people are much adult-ier than me and have seen fit to bestow on me the wisdom that only seems to come when you’re over the age of “older than me.”

Don’t get me wrong, I will never turn my nose up at my dad offering to coach me through the interview process. He has put me in contact with hiring managers, friends, and colleagues that have been truly kind enough to offer me the advice of how to go about getting a job. I have put together a stellar resume for someone with no professional job experience outside of a Target. I have been sent emails with links upon links of information about how to secure a job after college. It has been drilled into me how important the interview process is. Yet, there is one thing that I cannot get over and it presents itself like this in an interview: “So, tell me about yourself!” When my dad was taking me through the steps of an interview and giving me a mock one, this question came up. Job interviews are basically about marketing yourself to whomever you’re talking to so you can convince them that they ought to give you money to do things instead of anyone else. The resume, cover letter, and references are the Key Masters, but the interview… that’s the Gate Keeper. But, when this question came up, I just open and shut my mouth a few times and hoped that would suffice as an answer. In reality, it is just like any other interview question that needs to meet the same end as mentioned above. It’s really not supposed to be personal in the heat of the moment, but holy shit. I’m only 21. Questions like that do NOT compute. So, I thought: what better topic to talk about in my blog than being ok with yourself, and ultimately, self-love? And, I thought that I’d share my approach to how to answer that question THROUGH SONG. (It’s Moana, in case you were wondering).

I have crossed the horizon to find you…

My struggle with self-discovery has been just that, and still very much ongoing. I thought I knew from a pretty young age who I was. Besides being a fangirl, which is a huge chunk of my life, there are more dimensions than that. But it wasn’t until recently that I came to a real turning point in that ongoing war: I became the person in college that studied abroad. For the spring semester of my junior year I, more or less, threw a dart at a map and decided that I was going to study wherever it landed. To this day I’ll maintain that it was, sincerely, the most selfish thing I’ve ever done. This decision was life changing and the best thing I could have ever done for myself. I was not a spontaneous person. I was still am an introvert and a creature of habit. But this was different. At the time, I was at a really weird place in my life. I was in the middle of my first fall semester at the school I transferred to and I felt caged. I was itching to see something other than the four walls of a 12-seater conference room that was supposed to hold 20 kids in it for an hour and fifteen-minute class. So, with three weeks left to the application deadline for studying abroad that next spring, I got my shit together. I will also maintain that those three weeks were the only time I ever had my life together. I didn’t just want to study abroad, I craved it. I needed it. Ireland was a revelation. I never thought that I would love it as much as I did. I was there this time last year, as I post this entry. Ireland showed me a compassion and acceptance that I had never experienced before. I became the best version of myself while I was there. I got to prove things to myself that I really didn’t realize I had to prove. I could write pages upon pages about my five months there, but I’ve already said how much it meant to me. Coming back was harder than I thought it would be as everything fell back into the old pattern. But, I had just experienced this amazing thing! I was different! I was better! Didn’t anyone want to listen? They did, but the truth was they could move on and I couldn’t. I got frustrated because things were changing so rapidly now that I was home, I had changed and it really seemed like no one had cared, and there was so much I had to do now that I was back and such a short amount of time to do it and all I wanted was for people to see me. The point of it all, I came to realize, was that Ireland and all the experiences I had there was something that I did for me. I didn’t go there just to come home with stories. I didn’t go there to show anyone I wasn’t who he or she thought I was. Ireland was my own little corner of the world that I now protect and cherish with everything in me. It helped shape me into the person I am. It wasn’t about showing that to anyone else. That’s why it is the most selfish thing I ever did. For the first time in forever I made a decision to do something for me. I came to understand that being “selfish” is the only way to help yourself sometimes. And that fact is perfectly okay. You’re allowed to splurge and adventure to figure out who you are. Your boundaries have to be pushed in order for that to happen. Even if it only makes you realize that you were happy where you were, it’s still very much worth the risk.

I know your name…

However, I am not going to sit here and yell that Ireland and “studying abroad” was the only reason I discovered who I am, because it isn’t that simple. It just helped me put everything else into perspective. When I said it was an ongoing struggle, I meant it. There is a dichotomy that has been in conflict inside me for as long as I’ve comprehended the concept of “self.” The hardest thing for me in my short 21 years of life is balancing what I thought I knew about myself versus knowing that I still have a lot of life left to live and figure out. It is naïve of me to think that where I am in my life right now is going to define me ten years from now. If my circumstances aren’t any different, I plan on making them different. Yet, throughout my life, I really only ever have been one way. I’m always the mom of the friend group, an introvert, a creature of habit, hating change, a fangirl, a loyal friend, kind-hearted, and always positive. The problem with balancing this is sometime it is so easy to get lost in the grey area of the two points-of-view. When it gets to that point, it is so easy to throw up my arms and wave them in frustration and fall into the habit of thinking I don’t know who I am. Because that is right and wrong. At this very moment, I have a pretty good handle on who I am, but the future is exciting and fucking scary as all get out. I think that it’s a healthy fear to have. I’m always going to be learning, growing, and adapting. So when I, or you, do get lost in that grey sea, we should take a moment to remember where we are in our lives. There is only ever going to be one of you and that person is just as important as any other. Do whatever you have to do to make sure you are taken care of, first and foremost. And if that means being a little selfish sometimes, like I said, that is perfectly okay too.

They have stolen the heart from inside you…

The Unlikely Candidates had this amazing song called Follow My Feet and there is one lyric that strikes me every single time I hear it (if I could put the whole song here I would because wow): “The high road’s steady and steep, and the low road’s easy and deep.” All my life, I have tried to be a positive person. I would rather lose myself in wonder than bathe myself in fear or cynicism. Don’t get me wrong, a little dose of reality is much needed every now and again, but I’ve never wanted to let that turn me into someone who sees the world through a negative lens. I have put my whole heart and soul into making sure I am optimistic and loving in a world where I feel like those two things are certainly lacking. I love to take care of others and let them know they are loved. I like being that source of light. But that, by no means, excuses me from all the other emotions out there. There are definitely some cons to being as positive as I am all the time. I think it put me on a small pedestal without me even realizing it. My family was surprised that I was bullied in high school because I never let them see how it affected me. Sometimes when I think I may feel a bit more depressed than usual, they laugh sometimes and tell me that it isn’t physically possible for me to be depressed. I feel like they think I don’t have it in me to be as sad as I am positive. And that hurts. A lot. It causes me to bottle up all those negative thoughts and feelings until one night I’m up at 3 AM, ugly crying my eyes out, while also trying to cry as silently as possible so my wails don’t wake up my neighbors. I may be defined to most by my positivity, but I am susceptible to darker emotions just like anyone else. So, while not getting lost in the grey area is something to be aware of, not everything is black and white either. Everyone is capable of being more than one thing. Don’t think you have everyone and everything figured out. Someone could be going through something you don’t even know about. That icy or happy exterior could be masking something painful. To take the high road is a lofty battle and one that is undertaken everyday. But if anyone, or I, falls down that path of hate, it gets harder and harder to remember that there is light and goodness in the world.

But this does not define you…

But it is out there, I promise. We fall into the trap of thinking we have to be defined by one thing. The world isn’t so simple and neither are you. There is so much in the world to see, hear, and taste. There is so much more out there to feel. Human beings are defined by the emotions that they feel because emotions are what make us human. I think emotions are one of the most beautiful things this world has to offer. There is something so amazing about feeling so happy you can walk amongst the stars. Or being so moved by something that tears spring to your eyes. Or being so angry you feel like you could lift 10 eighteen-wheelers if they decided to get in your way. It seems so uniquely human. I want to feel those emotions to every extent I can so I learn from them, not drown in them. Don’t stop yourself from feeling those emotions. What you do with those feelings is ultimately your decision but don’t ever stop feeling. You are a fucking human being and not weak for feeling things. There is something out there that says: “Get so angry, make people regret ever wronging you. Be happy, smile so bright, that even the sun gets jealous. Feel sad, crack, crumble, and cry until your heart is no longer heavy. The world will convince you that feelings will make you weak but fuck that. Never let this cruel world steal your spark.”

This is not who you are…

At the end of the day, I am the only person that has to look in the mirror and live with what I see. There are decisions that I have to leave on my shoulders or shrug off. There are feelings that could consume me and feelings that could overwhelm me if I let them. Sometimes, I get so caught up in what other people will think of the decisions that I make that, most of the time don’t have anything to do with what I’m worried about. That is my greatest weakness and something I battle against 24/7. Self-love and being confident are two things that are, most assuredly, not in my wheelhouse. I don’t really think it is anyone’s. I operate by a code that I have spent my whole life crafting. If I can’t live with myself at the end of the day, then it isn’t worth doing. Does that sometimes translate to self-love? Well, I’m working on it.

You know who you are…

I’m not going to sit here and say that the path to discovering all of this was easy. I’m not going to tell you that after writing this, everything suddenly became clear. I’m not going to tell you that things get easier or harder. All I know for certain is how all of this pertains to my life and my growth process. And sure, somebody who is interviewing me doesn’t need to know my whole life story and how much I hate the question they’re asking. But, that question is still important. I want to be able to answer it as honestly as I can, for myself more than anyone else. At this point in my life, I like where I’m at. That may change tomorrow if someone says something to piss me off or make me sad. That will happen. The whole point of all this is that while it is perfectly fine to know who you are, it is just as okay to not know. If you need to do something that you're scared of or want to do if it will help you have some peace of mind… DO IT. The only people anyone has to answer to at the end of the day are themselves. People can hurl insult after insult and make you feel smaller than an atom and more insignificant than a speck of dust. But here’s the thing: atoms make up our whole entire universe. There is nothing in this world that isn’t made of atoms. And that speck of dust? That could have been from a wooly mammoth from the ice age, or part of a piece of armor from one of Caesar’s soldiers in the Gallic Wars. There is nothing in this world that is insignificant, just like you are not insignificant. You can do whatever you want as long as you have the guts to do it. Don’t lie to yourself either. You’ll get that from so many people in your life as you go through it, do not lie to yourself. There is nobody in this world that can be you, so please, be a gift to the world and let it know that it is damn lucky to have you. I know I am.

A huge thank you to everyone that stuck with me to the end of this blog post. I love you more than I love Captain America. As my career as a student comes to a close and I begin a new chapter of my life, I promise there won’t be as much time in between blog posts. I love all my little birds to infinity and beyond! And remember: Here, you will always be encouraged. Here, I promise to help you in whatever way I can. Here, you are safe. And here, above all, you are seen and you are loved.

#my stuff #grey writes

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hottytoddynews · 6 years

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Being able to offer students the immersive experience of a language Flagship program is a tremendous plus for any institution. Being the best program in the country is far better, and the Chinese language Flagship program (CLFP) at the University of Mississippi has achieved that status, say its faculty and students.

The Language Flagship program began in 2002 and includes intensive programs at several U.S. colleges and universities in languages deemed critical for American government, business and military interests – including Arabic, Chinese, Korean and Russian. Ole Miss was among the first institutions to launch a Chinese Language Flagship Program.

“The Language Flagship began as a small pilot project to challenge a few U.S. universities to build programs of advanced language education,” says Donald Dyer, UM chair and professor of modern languages. “Being one of the Language Flagship’s Chinese programs means this is a program designed to take students to the superior level of Chinese, a program on steroids.”

While on a four-day trip to Beijing, UM students pose for a photo before climbing the Great Wall.

UM is among a dozen institutions offering the intensive program, and the university’s success in preparing students for careers involving Chinese language and culture attracts students from across the country.

“Ole Miss has one of the most effective Chinese programs in the country, which is why I chose to come here in the first place,” says Liana Tai, a senior international studies major from Arlington, Va.

Flagship programs are results driven. One factor used to determine the quality of a program involves examining how many students it can send to the Flagship Capstone Year in China. To participate, students must fulfill all required courses, apply, pass all qualifying tests and be accepted by the Flagship Chinese Council.

“People that are fluent in english yet can seamlessly blend into the Chinese environment are considered valuable for interaction with Chinese company clients.” -Liana Tai

From 2003 to 2013, Ole Miss sent only 12 CLFP students to the capstone, compared to 2014-16, when UM sent 20 students.

“For the past two years, the University of Mississippi has had the largest group among the 12 Chinese flagship capstone programs,” says Henrietta Yang, Croft associate professor of Chinese and co-director of the program. “During the selection process, all students were ranked based on their application packages, which included a personal statement, a Chinese writing sample, a Chinese speech sample, transcripts, three recommendation letters and a Chinese resumé. Three of the top five selected and admitted were UM students, and eight of 13 were ranked above 30.”

Cultural Focus

The Ole Miss CLFP is the only Chinese flagship program that operates an intensive domestic summer program before the freshman year and a post-freshman summer program at Shanghai University in China. This program aims to raise students’ linguistic proficiency and cultural knowledge considerably within an eight-week period.

“One of the challenges the program still faces is to significantly increase students’ Chinese cultural awareness,” Yang says. “When I arrived in 2013, the UM flagship students significantly lacked this understanding, though they were able to speak pretty fluent Chinese.”

With their Chinese roommates, UM students visit Confucius Temple in central Shanghai.

That was a serious problem that needed to be addressed, as native speakers of Chinese expect an equal amount of cultural understanding from someone who can speak fluent Chinese.

“Eastern and Western cultures are just too different, and our current teaching team infuses culture insights into their daily teaching,” Yang says. “However, their cultural progress does not come as fast as their linguistic success.”

The university’s CLFP Shanghai program is open to taking students from the other 11 flagship programs.

“Establishing our Shanghai program, which is very well-respected and replete with high standards, is another huge success that is very rewarding to me,” Yang says.

Since taking over the program in 2013, Yang has redesigned the curriculum, which has high standards, thematic courses, domain mentoring and, as mentioned, cultural preparation. Unlike some Chinese flagship programs around the country that offer only upper-level courses, the Ole Miss CLFP allows for entry at various skill levels.

The university also boasts one of the finest language teaching teams in the nation. Joining Yang are assistant professors Zhini Zeng and Amy Hsieh. All three professors have strong backgrounds in language pedagogy, second-language acquisition and proficiency training. The program has three full-time instructors: Hui Zhu, Lin Zhu and Rongrong Hao. All have several years of experience teaching at both American institutions and with study abroad programs in China.

Beyond The Campus Border

During a Chinese language study abroad trip, students check out the Bund, a waterfront area in central Shanghai.

By immersing themselves in the curriculum and with support from seasoned faculty, around 100 alumni of the program have successful careers in international business, public policy leadership, medicine and politics to name a few fields.

Instruction also extends beyond the borders of the Oxford campus.

“We have seeded Chinese instruction at Oxford, Lafayette and Holly Springs high schools,” Dyer says. “More than 10 students from OHS have matriculated into our flagship program. Students come here from all over the country to study Chinese at a high level.”

Students enrolled in the program are singing their praises of the professors’ instruction and the valuable learning opportunities received.

Last year, Tai participated in the CLFP’s capstone year, which students typically complete as a final fifth year of their Chinese studies after graduation. She had the opportunity to participate in the program early.

“I spent one semester taking both intensive Chinese classes and master’s classes in Chinese at Nanjing University for the fall semester, and one semester doing an internship at a digital marketing and branding agency in Shanghai,” Tai says. “The internship was a very fulfilling experience, as I was able to experience a modern Chinese work environment for five full months. Through the marketing work, I gained technical skills and cultural knowledge that have both been extremely helpful in my job search this year.”

Tai plans to work in U.S.-China relations as a business consultant for PriceWaterhouseCoopers, a large international accounting and consulting firm with offices in Hong Kong.

“My Chinese speaking, reading and writing skills gave me a distinct advantage in getting the job and will continue to be an asset to the company as we further develop business in the China region,” Tai says. “People that are fluent in English yet can seamlessly blend into the Chinese environment are considered valuable for interaction with Chinese company clients.”

Other experiences that directly resulted from Tai’s participation in the program include attending the annual flagship program summit at the University of Maryland and joining the 100,000 Strong campaign to promote Chinese language learning.

Prospective job opportunities in the international business arena are what drew Conner Clark, an international studies major, to the UM Chinese flagship program. The senior from Dallas also participated in the capstone year.

“During the first semester, we were direct enrolled at Nanjing University,” Clark says. “For the second semester, we applied to whichever organizations that we were interested in and completed a full-time internship for a minimum of 16 consecutive weeks. This second semester was the most fulfilling for me.”

Clark interned at a nonprofit Chinese nongovernmental organization called Yunnan Parallel, which aims to alleviate cultural misunderstanding of the LGBTQ community and educate the local population and students about safe sex.

“One reason this was such an amazing experience is because of the people I was able to meet and the context in which I was able to do so,” he says. “Because our organization was a safe place where all who came could feel free to be themselves, I was able to meet and begin to understand a hidden group in Chinese society that not many people even know exist. Meeting these people, hearing their stories, being on the front line in this fight for recognition and equal rights was an invaluable experience that I will have with me the rest of my life.”

Henrietta Yang teaches students in the Chinese Language Flagship Program.

James DeMarshall, a junior Chinese and international studies double major with a minor in mathematics, says he knew the Ole Miss program would make him proficient in the language.

“The culture of this program is infectious,” says the native of Glassboro, N.J. “Everyone is very supportive of each other, almost like a big family. When I visited campus and sat in on classes, I knew I wanted to be part of this special atmosphere the flagship program has cultivated here.”

Having studied consecutive summers in Shanghai and Harbin, DeMarshall learned he was awarded a U.S. Department of State’s Critical Language Scholarship to spend summer 2016 studying in the city of Xi’an in China’s Shaanxi province. He is the incoming president of the UM chapter of a non-profit, nonpartisan organization called Global China Connection, of which the CLFP has been supportive.

“I recently had the opportunity to travel to New York City to participate in a conference for GCC, and I was one of maybe 10 or 15 non-Chinese people in attendance,” he says. “As the event went on, I realized how far my Chinese had come in such a really short period of time spent here at Ole Miss. I was able to comfortably function in Chinese, which made it easier for me to network and connect with all the other young professionals in attendance. In essence, there was no language barrier. I can entirely thank the UM Flagship program for that capability.”

Favorite Classes

“There is something truly unique and special about studying the affairs of another country in its own native language. In a way, you garner a deeper understanding and appreciation for the complexities of the topic. it also encourages you to check any biases or preconceived notions at the door, and think more like a native speaker.” -James DeMarshall

The Domain Mentorship class, taught by Jizhe Zhang, is DeMarshall’s favorite course he’s taken so far.

“The purpose of this class is to train you to speak competently and professionally in whatever ‘domain’ you have chosen to study. For me, that is the Chinese economy, its banking sector and international trade,” DeMarshall says. “There is something truly unique and special about studying the affairs of another country in its own native language. In a way, you garner a deeper understanding and appreciation for the complexities of the topic. It also encourages you to check any biases or preconceived notions at the door, and think more like a native speaker.”

Both Tai and Clark have fond memories of their favorite Chinese courses and their professors as well.

“My favorite course was our Chinese Media Studies class,” Tai says. “During the class, we covered a broad range of topics that exposed the changing dynamics within China’s modernizing society. I believe that my Chinese language skills, as well as my understanding of socioeconomic factors in China, expanded dramatically over the course of this class.”

Classical Chinese was Clark’s favorite course.

“Zhu Hui Laoshi is probably one of the sweetest teachers you’ll ever have. On top of that, she’s good at what she does: She makes learning Classical Chinese fun and relatively easy,” he says. “If you think conversational Chinese is hard, try studying a form of Chinese that uses, say, four characters to say what normal people today would use an entire sentence – or sometimes even a few sentences – to say.”

What’s Next

Tai and Clark are already planning ways to support the program after graduation.

“I think my most valuable form of support would be as a connection for younger flagship students in their own internship or job searches, just as another older flagship student has been for me,” Tai says. “Our UM Chinese flagship community is growing in the China region, which will only benefit the younger students that seek to work there as well.”

After graduation, Clark will be commissioned as a second lieutenant in the U.S. Air Force.

“Hopefully I’ll be working in the Pentagon or at an embassy abroad, using my language skills and experience to foster better relationships with our foreign friends and adversaries,” he says. “The U.S. Air Force and military is tirelessly working to develop airmen who better understand other societies and cultures. I would like to be a part of this shift in U.S. foreign military policy.

“I will always be willing to be a resource for future undergraduate students and will look into supporting some of these programs financially as well,” he adds.

DeMarshall says he plans to live and work in China.

“I believe my familiarity with China and the ability to speak the language will absolutely make me more competitive in an increasingly globalized labor force,” he says. “But more importantly, I hope to spend a portion of my life living and working in China, which I have fallen in love with through the study of its language.”

As a result of the Chinese program’s success, the modern languages department applied for an Arabic flagship program in 2015. Although the request was not granted, the university’s Arabic program is good enough to achieve flagship status, Dyer says.

“Our Arabic program is also exceptional, modeled after Chinese, and reaching the same level of productivity and success,” he says.

Meanwhile, Yang is anticipating even greater levels of success for the Chinese program.

“We are preparing for as many as 19 students for capstone next year,” she says. “Ours has dominated among the 12 Chinese flagship programs in the past two years. I would have to agree that UM has the best Chinese flagship program in the country.”

By Edwin Smith

This story was reprinted with permission from the Ole Miss Alumni Review. The Alumni Review is published quarterly for members of the Ole Miss Alumni Association. Join or renew your membership with the Alumni Association today, and don’t miss a single issue.

For questions, email us at [email protected].

The post Ole Miss Alumni Review: Flagship University Masters Flagship Program appeared first on HottyToddy.com.

#hottytoddy #olemiss #oxfordms #oxford ms #mississippi #university of mississippi #the grove

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jimdsmith34 · 7 years

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Betches Love This College: University of Southern California

The land of beautiful people, beautiful weather, and a beautiful fucking campus, the University of Southern California is probs the most collectively beautiful school in the country. And if you dont believe that sweeping generalization, which you obvi should, trust the movies. USCs movie-like campus has been featured in , , (2, ugh), and was even Harvard in . What, like its hard?

In the heart of Los Angeles, its no surprise that USC is in a shit ton of movies and TV shows. Its also no surprise that USC is on the top of thousands of graduating seniors wish lists every year. A weirdly perfect mix of academics and partying, USC is the place that all the pretty, popular, and annoyingly smart kids from your high school wanted to go (or actually went if they could afford it).

The People

Greeks: Even though the USC administration has really fucked up with the Greek system in recent years, rushing a fraternity and joining a sorority are def the pinnacle moments of freshman year. And once you go Greek, you never go back (even if your fraternity is kicked off the row, looking at you SAE). After a record number of freshmen hospitalizations due to alcohol poisoning on the row this decade, the administration started freaking the fuck out and made the row dry. Right. Well, Los Angeles is in a fucking drought, President Nikias. Banning alcohol is not only inhumane, its fucking immoral for the environment.

USC is honestly too big of a school to claim that everyone goes Greek. But everyone you want to know is Greek, and every great party is Greek. So like, you decide.

GDIs: …but dont even get the God Damn Independents (GDIs) started on the assholes in the Greek system. Theres a super divisive shift between the non-Greeks and the Greeks, especially at the start of freshman year. Super eager freshmen girls obvi need to wear their American Apparel sorority tanks to class every day of syllabus week. Bros make it known that theyre in a fraternity with their hazing ritualsseriously, Sigma Chi? Not letting your pledges talk for the first week of classes? Fucking weird. And the geeds watch this all with amazed, nerdy, and judgmental looks. Which tbh, the judgment kind of makes sense, seeing as one fraternity manages to spend over $50,000 in one night on its Frost party every year. And that budget doesnt even count the money that its fraternity members spend on snow in the form of nose candy. So to GDIs, fraternity and sorority assholes are the worst. Got it.

Athletes: If youre an athlete at USC, youre probably from California, and youre probably the best of the best. And if you play water polo, volleyball or beach volleyball, youre probably going to win a national championship. Or maybe youll go to the Olympics one year, because USC has had more Olympians than any other school. So casual.

The athletes all hang out in the same area of campusthe John McKay center, a state-of-the-art athletic facility that is literally more like a med spa than a collegiate training facility. With a collective five percent body fat, these athletes all mingle and date and intimidate the rest of the student body.

The super fucking rich kids: Every school has rich kids, obvi. But at USC, you get the rich kids from Hollywoods elite and Silicon Valley. There is no shortage of Louis Vuitton-carrying, Range Rover-driving betches around campus. And many of these betches have private planes, too, which is like a super casual way to get to Vegas for a weekend. And since its only four hours away by car (30 minutes by jet), even the non-elite rich kids love going to Vegas and spending thousands on bottle service at a club watching Calvin Harris fantasize about Taylor Swift onstage.

Everyone else: USC is a super fucking diverse school. For a decade, it had more international students than any other collegerecently beat out by NYUand also boasts a 40 percent out-of-state rate. Its a private school with a rich alumni base, so scholarships and generous financial aid packages are a regular occurrence. But if youre paying full tuition, youre paying a lot of fucking money: roughly $70,000 in cost of attendance per year. So you better be ready to study alongside your partying, or your ass is going back to Santa Monica Community College.

Famous alumni: Even though they dont actually go to USC currently, theyre notable enough to make this list. Will Ferrell is infamous in USC folklore for flooding the basement of his fraternity at USC and making pledges row him around in a rowboat (and then yelling Mayday as he sent the pledges into the water). Sophia Bush went there. All of the Schwarzenneger kids have graduated from thereat least the legitimate ones. The guy who created the Star Wars saga, George Lucas, went there. So, yeah the alumni are kind of sick.

Where to live

Freshmen: New. North. Though the USC administration is again trying to ruin the lives of all USC students (something about academic integrity and climibing the rankings and other bullshit), the New/North dorms are still the place to be. Two dorms merged togetherNew and Northits basically a year-long party. And its completely common to wake up to a very angry email on Monday mornings from the RAs complaining about couches from the dorms being thrown out the windows, again. Dont ask. But just be prepared to pay extensive damages as an entire dorm, mostly because drunk frat boys come home and throw shit down the hallways.

Everyone else: Sophomores get merged into the upperclassmen category after freshman year. USC typically only has room for freshmen on campus, so everyone else moves off campus. Those who are Greek will likely move into their sorority and fraternity houses, and all the other fun people will move into the New Mansion, West 27th, or Gateway apartment buildings. Rent is high everywhere because its fucking Los Angeles, even if it is in the middle of south central.

What to do

Football gamedays are literally a weekly holiday at USC. Get ready to wake the fuck up to the fight song being blared through your sorority house as betches sneak mimosas into the supposed-to-be-dry house. Then, its a day full of beer pong, keg stands, and dancing on tables at frat houses as you prepare to get your heart broken by USC football. You can literally walk down Troustale Parkway (the center street on campus) chugging out of a plastic vodka bottle. No one cares or will give you a ticket.

The football team has a super proud tradition of success and national championships and Heisman winners and all of that fun stuff, but theyve kind of shit the bed recently after a certain ex-boyfriend of Kim KardashianReggie Bushgot caught illegally taking money. Whatever. It also has a super proud tradition of really fucking hot quarterbacksMark Sanchez, Matt Leinart, Matt Barkley, just to name a fewso that makes all games worth it.

The other six days of the week, youll never be bored at USC. I mean, youre in fucking Los Angeles. You can literally uber one mile to watch the Lakers play at Staples Center, or ride your bike to campus to watch James Franco get high and teach his class at the cinema school. Between classes, which are actually hard because its one of the best academic schools in the country, most students hang out at the campus center and spend $15 for a salad and a pizza from California Pizza Kitchen. Basically all students have bikes or longboards at USC, and most students see these bikes and longboards get stolen fairly regularly. Just a hazard of living in South Central Los Angeles. The campus is fenced in for a reason.

Where to drink

There are two options at USC: the row, and the 9-0. There is literally one bar on USCs campus, and the 901 Bar and Grill is that bar. Its a lovable dive. It smells like shit. Theres always a line out the door Thursday-Sunday. All drinks are $11. If you have too many Mind Erasers or AMFs, you will sleep through all of your classes the next day. As a freshman, you sneak in using your bigs ID. As a senior, you use your own ID and wear sweatpants because youre a #SWUG.

When the administration isnt ruining your party life on the row, you head to whatever mixer is being held on a Monday night at your favorite fraternity, and go drink on a Monday, because collegiates are functioning alcoholics. Duh.

Where to travel

Los Angeles is an international hub. And with the frequency of private planes around (were seriously not joking), you have every opportunity to travel. Lots of Trojans go abroad the second semester of junior year, basically anywhere in Europe.

Otherwise, the biggest travel weekend of the year is The Weekenderwhen USC football plays Cal-Berkeley or Stanford, and the entire school gets on a plane to go be arrogant and obnoxious football fans up in San Francisco.

In the spring, get your favorite wannabe-hippie outfit prepared months in advance and go to Coachella. Or if youre a country fan, go and throw on some cowboy boots, make out with a 30-year-old cowboy, and fantasize about Luke Bryan at Stagecoach.

Spring break

Cabo San fucking Lucas. Try not to lose all of your money at the Mango Deck or El Squid Roe. Youll spend your days collecting Cabo San Lucas headbands and posing for Instagrams and drinking way too much tequila, so its heaven.

Drawbacks

People in LA get a reputation for sucking, which is a completely earned reputation. The campus is in a sketchy area. People have gotten murdered and mugged in recent years. Parking sucks. Tuition is expensive.

But other than that, its the best fucking school in the world. Fight on, betches.

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source http://allofbeer.com/2017/09/08/betches-love-this-college-university-of-southern-california/ from All of Beer http://allofbeer.blogspot.com/2017/09/betches-love-this-college-university-of.html

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samanthasroberts · 7 years

Text

Betches Love This College: University of Southern California

The People

USC is honestly too big of a school to claim that everyone goes Greek. But everyone you want to know is Greek, and every great party is Greek. So like, you decide.

Where to live

What to do

Where to drink

Where to travel

Spring break

Drawbacks

But other than that, its the best fucking school in the world. Fight on, betches.

div.body_middle_part_right .bodypart:nth-child(n+2),a.prevBody{display:none;}

Source: http://allofbeer.com/2017/09/08/betches-love-this-college-university-of-southern-california/

from All of Beer https://allofbeer.wordpress.com/2017/09/08/betches-love-this-college-university-of-southern-california/

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