End of the semester

Y'all, I got overly ambitious in September and set a bunch of goals for myself that I haven't been able to reach yet. 

Because 2020 sucked. 

So I've only read 23/30 books for this year's Goodreads target which makes me really disappointed in myself but also... December isn't over yet. Maybe if I read some short books I can still make the target. I really want to set a super ambitious book target for 2021, like 100 books. The reason why is because I think as a literature major, I should really be reading a lot more. Setting a 100 book target will help me a lot in my field of study. But I don't know if it's realistic, since I normally only read about 30 books a year and this year I read even fewer than average.

When it comes to learning languages, I have been taking French lessons but I don't see any real progress. I know that the best way to learn a language is immersion. And of course cause of covid I can't travel to Quebec or something right now. So the best I can do is an intense self-immersion where I study French for like 6 hours a day with French movies, books, and conversation partners. I haven't had the time to do this. I learned a few signs in ASL but haven't made much progress in that area either. I want to gain a working proficiency in French by the end of the year (I mean by the end of the school year not the end of 2020) and reach a good beginner level in ASL, but idk if that's a realistic goal. I want to start learning Spanish next year.

Aaaaaahhhh ok I also wrote "maintain at least a 3.7 GPA" on my list of goals. Damn it. So I've finished my exams and I'm anxiously awaiting the results right now but I think I failed at least one of them lmao. So R.I.P my GPA and my dreams of going to a prestigious grad school program on a scholarship. 

The next thing I had on my masochistic list was "submit writing to at least 10 publications or writing contests." Hmm... lets see how I'm doing with that goal.

1) I wrote a poem for a poetry contest that was a runner up but it didn't win 

2) I wrote a poem for another poetry contest that I haven't heard the result for yet but I doubt I'll win because I looked at past winners and my poem is way too different from the kind that usually wins the contest

3) I submitted a draft for a novel that I got some feedback on but it was rejected. The feedback was useful though. 

4) I wrote a short story for the Youth Outlook Magazine. If you're a young writer under 21, I highly recommend submitting your stories, art or poetry to them. My submission was accepted but they are currently taking some time to edit it right now. Once it's posted, I'll let you know on this blog. In the meantime, check out some other writing or submit your own work here: https://theyouthoutlookmag.wixsite.com/website

5) I am currently working on an article for  INKspire in defense of Mi'kmaq fishing rights. INKspire mostly has articles on current events but they also have opportunities to submit other types of writing for people ages 14-29 who are located in Canada. 

6) I am writing a film analysis about the Mexican movie "Roma" for a magazine that publishes film criticism 

So you see, I haven't accomplished the goal of submitted 10 pieces yet but I am definitely making progress towards that. I have a lot of ideas planned for what to write next, including a poem for another poetry contest. I hope I have enough good content to make a portfolio of my writing by the end of the school year. This may help me become a freelance writer/editor and maybe I can even make some money from people who want me to write stuff for them? idk. 

The next goals on my list include having a good hair care routine/skin care routine/workout routine. This is going terribly. I am kind of blessed that I just have naturally nice hair because of genetics but it could be a lot nicer if I invested in some good products like leave-in conditioner. But I haven't looked into that yet. When it comes to skincare, I spent nearly a hundred dollars on skincare products only to find out that they don't work on me and make my acne even worse (despite buying from reputable brands and choosing products that had good reviews). So that really sucks. I am hoping to go to a dermatologist after covid ends and making them fix my skin. Also I never exercise. 

I haven't had time to work on my art either, aside from this one drawing I made of a candy corn mermaid. It is nice, sure, but it could be better if I regularly practiced drawing (which I don't): 

Speaking of art, please +watch me (follow me) on DeviantArt. My username is Aztecatl13.

I've also been trying out some different recipies in quarantine but I am not really satifised. I want to go vegan but I can not do this until I can have a proper appointment with a dietician and they can check my nutrient levels and stuff (so I'm going to have to wait until after covid to go vegan unfortunately). I don't want to screw up my health from going vegan. I already hate meat because it tastes disgusting and I hate milk and eggs too. But I still eat these things sometimes for the nutritional benefits even though they make me wanna puke. I'm sure I'll be much happier as a vegan if I can find a way to do it in a healthy way. 

The last item on my list of goals was "practicing the flute." I haven't practiced my flute in over a year. I've probably forgotten it by now and will have to learn it from scratch again if I ever do pick it up again, which kinda sucks because I spent a lot of money on lessons, books, and buying my own flute. I am really interested in ethnomusicology (just for fun, not really in an academic way) and chose to take up the flute because of how flutes can be found in every culture's musical tradition. 

I'm going to put out a revised list of goals to follow that are more realistic based on my past failures. Ok, so we'll stick to these 5 things to accomplish by the end of the school year:

1. Read 25 books between now and the end of the school year

2. Learn enough French that I can be certified for a 200-level French course at my university according to its placement test 

3. Submit writing to at least 10 publications or contests

4. Perform well enough at my current internship at a nonprofit organization that I am offered some kind of permanent position within the org. Also apply to 4 more internships or volunteer opportunities. 

5. Be published in an academic journal or present at an academic conference at least once 

These are ambitious but I think I've narrowed things down to stuff I actually care about. 

What are your goals for 2021?

By the way, it's okay if you just say something like "drink more water." That's completely valid and awesome. 

Happy winter everyone! Try to get a UV lamp if you have seasonal depression like me! and stay safe during covid. 

Check out my university insights blog post and video!

 Hi everyone. So there's an organization called iAscend which helps high school students transition into university. They lead a lot of exciting initiatives to support students. One of the things they do is run the university insights blog. If you're a university student in Canada, you should totally submit it a post. It doesn't take very long because you just have to fill out a Google form with a series of questions. This will really help high school students when they're looking for information about university. Check out my post here: https://www.i-ascend.com/post/linguistics-and-literature-critical-theory-at-university-of-toronto-st-george 

You can also watch this video for even more tips about U of T if you're an incoming first year:

I got an A+ on an essay I wrote about the Aztecs

Okay but like, what else were you expecting from me? Read it here: https://docs.google.com/document/d/15YOud8tSyQQIhe7VWwUuA6ReQS4krJ29V686D7EMCOY/edit?usp=sharing

I got an A+ for this U of T paper!

I know it's bad to flex, but this is my blog so I can do whatever I want here. I wanted to share an essay I wrote recently for a literature class in first year at the University of Toronto. The professor gave us an open-ended essay assignment. We were allowed to write about anything we wanted as long as it was inspired by something from the assigned reading. I took a brief quotation from Hannah Arendt's The Human Condition and put my own spin on it. I'm really proud of my paper because I did really well on it, so if any of you want to read it I'll add the link here. 

https://docs.google.com/document/d/1FSgHtjqHKKAJ7xZWsD3qY_LDCjx2eu3OYRKlIqwGXeE/edit?usp=sharing

By the way, if any of you are planning to attend the University of Toronto and want to be English majors and/or are really serious about creative writing, take some courses taught by Al Mortiz. If you sign up for the Vic One program first year which has a supplementary application and a selection process, choose the Northrop Frye stream which focuses on literature. In later years, Al Moritz teaches poetry classes where you have to submit a portfolio of poems to get accepted. I'm considering it. Hopefully if I decide to apply, I'll get in :)

In my journey to become a prolific writer, I'll be sharing lots of tips on this blog so that I can encourage other writers. Remember to seize all opportunities that come your way!

Guys, seriously... what am I doing with my life?

First of all, I'd like to apologize for not updating this blog in a while. I have a lot of ideas for new content and various topics that I'd like to cover... but I've just been so busy or exhausted that I haven't had time to write the sort of detailed and informative articles that I consider of a high enough quality to post. So it's not that I'm out of ideas. I never have writer's block or artist's block. I'm just too dead inside.

And now I'm going to do something I usually never do on this blog... talk about myself. I mean, I usually post serious articles about history or politics or at least something slightly serious like art/short stories/book reviews... but I never talk about myself. So how about I do a deep feelsy post 
E X P O S I N G myself in front of the whole world? 

I don't even really know where I'm going with all this, but we'll see...

So first of all I have to say that I've been under a lot of stress and that's mainly academic stress. I'm about to go into grade 12 in September (senior year for any Americans reading this) and it really fills me with worry and dread for the future. Basically, if I don't get good grades this year I'll kinda die. I don't want to be homeless and live in a barrel even though I admire Diogenes. And also, I have no idea what I want to do with my life. My dream is to be a writer but of course my parents aren't a fan of this idea, just like any good parent should react to a child who wants to go down the starving artist path.The highlight of my summer was going to a real archaeology field school and helping to excavate a 600 year old village built by an Iroquian speaking group who were probably the ancestors of the Wendat (I know I know, you're all probably like OMG WHAT? WHEN WILL YOU TELL US MORE? Well I promise I'll do lots of detailed posts about everything I learned there later... but for now let me rant.) All the other students there seemed so legit and had their act together. Many of them wanted to go into archaeology, history or indigenous studies at Trent University. And then there was me. I mean, I love history to death (I run a nerdy history blog, remember?) but I don't know if I'd want to pursue a career in it. I have stereotypical brown parents that want me to do the doctor/lawyer/engineer thing and all my IRL friends want to go into STEM fields. 

Also, I feel like I have a right to say this because I excel in arts and humanities related subjects... they all suck. 

Seriously who would you save? Even if you have a PHD in classics from Oxford I'm sure you'd rather save the STEM majors because they contribute so much more to society. 

But i suck at math so i guess i'll die 

Everyone who knows me well knows that there are three things that I love: history, philosophy and linguistics (including the English language and all the literature and stuff that it includes). And who are we kidding, these fields are all useless to humanity. I know someone who is doing a PHD in linguistics and is relying on food banks. No one cares about what people like that do and I don't think you can blame them for not caring. 

Have you ever heard an engineering major brag about how smart they are? well even though I hate it when they do that, I have to admit they are 100% justified in doing so. Because anyone can learn Latin, analyze literature, or understand weird ideas written by dead philosophers but it takes a special type of smart person to do whatever it is that engineers do. 

Is there any way I can study something I'm really passionate about while still satisfying my parents and societal expectations?

Maybe I might get into the University of Toronto or McMaster by some sorcery into a health science program and become a doctor and then quit at some point to become a historical fiction novelist like my dreams but that's not possible. 

WAIT A MINUTE

This might be the answer to my prayers

So recently I've come across the Arts & Science program at McMaster which seems really prestigious because they require an 88% average which includes Calculus, Advanced Functions and English as well as a great supplementary application proving that you contribute a lot to the community with volunteering or extra curricular programs. It only accepts 60-70 students a year!!!!!! I CAN DrEAM. 

I just really love the idea of it because it's like an "undecided major" program because it's great for people who have commitment issues like I do and can't imagine limiting ourselves to one field. Finally, I can take classes in both physics and philosophy. But IDK if I'll actually get in. 

They should really make more arts programs that have high admission requirements instead of just a 75% average and portfolio like most of them do. That will teach people some respect for arts majors. 

ok that's all 

#rantover