Damn, classes start tomorrow which means the quarter will be in full swing by next week! I have split feelings about the quarter starting again. On one hand I am totally excited to be starting class again because I guess I have decided that I am going in a new direction with my career (which sadly has yet to start). On the other hand, I am already getting ready to pull out my (imaginary) handkerchief to wipe away all the tears from all the goodbyes I will have to say in three months time :'(. It was sad enough saying goodbye to everyone from last year but now I've got to do it again!
Right but before we get to that, I'm going to make the most out of the last three months! Part of me just says to screw school and do as much socialising and meeting up with old and new friends this quarter. But then the slightly more responsible part of me says I should probably work hard on my project in the lab since it could potentially become a huge paper and have important applications in many areas. Uh, but lab takes up sooo much time and I'm not even trying to get it to count for my work experience! Fine, I'll just not sleep for the next 100 days. Someone start feeding me caffeine already.
I figured I'll be walking on a fine line of balance this quarter in terms of socialising. One extreme is the full on party, drinking socialisng which I have certainly not been avoiding (as much as last year anyway). Seeing as I am in America and many people tell me that this is the typical college life, I have decided that I should not pass it up. It's also a really good way to be acquainted with (a shitload) of I-Housers. I guess the flip side is that half the people you meet are rather intoxicated and won't remember you or your name the next morning when you walk past each other on I-Walk. Although, there are always exceptions. It's what Ahmed would call "putting yourself out there". Yes, sir! (I hope you know what you're doing!)
Tonight I went for the opposite extreme of bonfiring with a volunteer organisation, Circle K. Joining Circle K is probably the best thing I have done in my time in SD. It was really one simple action of showing up to a GBM and it eventually led to a series of things that I couldn't have asked for more. If I really want to trace things back (which I will because lately I've realised how important the seeds that you sow in the past could potentially become in the future), I guess it all benefited from attending a slightly more "party"-ish event in I-House where I met a good friend Ellen whom I eventually starting hanging out with quite a bit. Then somewhere along the line, I decided that I needed to up my résumé (trust me, I'm no saint and it was totally for selfish reasons) and volunteering always looks good on a résumé. Had I asked anyone else, the answer might've been different, but the answer Ellen gave me were Circle K and Rotaract. Then the props go to the web designer (which was Johnny I believe) and some enthusiastic members of Circle K which made me feel inclined to go to the Circle K GBM rather than the Rotaract one.
The first GBM was what I'd call an eye opener. (Here is the props to me since I usually would be reluctant to go to these things on my own unless it was an absolute must. Good work on deciding to go on exchange mate.) I guess UQ doesn't really have these organisations where there is so much involvement so frequently. I was drawn in by the wholesome club spirit, the unstoppable enthusiasm and the oh-so-friendly people that were there. I continued to go to subsequent meetings and events which led me to meet many great people and an insight into something completely new for me. In fact, this club is so good that it feels wrong to use it as a "marketing tool" (that's the term Wikipedia used to describe a résumé) to sell yourself to a job.
One of the important things that joining Circle K has done is landing me my lab job. If I hadn't gone to that one social event where I met Drew, I would not have known another bioengineer and found out that we were taking the same class together. If I hadn't decided to step away from the comfort zone and do the class project with other American students instead of my two other Australian friends, I wouldn't have met Aereas. If I hadn't met Aereas, it would've been an extremely fruitless three months of summer holidays since I wouldn't have had any work the whole summer. And if i hadn't worked in the lab the whole summer, I really would not have considered changing my major so seriously. So I guess this series of events eventually had a serious consequence on my life. Well, you know what they say, exchange is a life changing experience. Sounds cliché but it's so true.
Many other life lessons I have also learnt from joining Circle K and the subsequent events that it led to. One such lesson is learning to be people friendly. I can't say I'm the friendliest person you will meet. In fact, I have been described by other people as 酷 and mellow. I personally would call myself (extremely) lazy and antisocial at times. I usually don't particularly want to talk to people that much, if I do talk to you it's most likely because I want something from you whether it's your attention (because I'm bored) or your advice or your opinion or trying to ask for a favour. Then when I am done, you can go get lost and leave me alone. It's just me. It doesn't matter who you are, no special treatment. I'm a taker not a giver. However, I have learnt that being people friendly have many useful benefits. First, you will make many new (at first) acquaintances. Second, being people friendly will make people think that you are really nice and be more inclined to talk to you. Third, in some cases it will totally cover the fact that you really couldn't care less to talk to that person and you're only bothering because you don't want to turn it into a total bitch fight type scene. In fact, I had the (unfortunate) pleasure of experiencing that just today! All in all though, I feel like it pays better to be more friendly than not. Sometimes it isn't quite as an effort as I previously thought.
So back to tonight, I had a shitload of fun. I haven't laughed that much or hard for that long in a while. It was great going pit sitting and catching up with people, it was great meeting and talking to so many new people, it was great playing all those icebreakers and games and laughing til my stomach starts to hurt and it was great being to my first ever bonfire! I was also rather amused but sad during the car ride back to campus because of some personal realisations.
Signing off with "Drops of Jupiter". One of my favourite songs ever and I feel it is quite fitting for this entry.
But tell me, did you sail across the sun?
Did you make it to the Milky Way
To see all the lights faded
And that heaven is overrated?
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