おは異様ございます!
LeBron to the Sixers‼️ LeFifth inbound, I am so excited for my glorious sunshine pookie bear king. Would have been nice to see him return to Cleveland, but I think after the two seasons in Philly, he is going to pull a Lowry, sign for one day and retire with the Cavs. Majority of people think my love for Bron is fake and overblown, but I have been rocking with Bron since I started following the NBA in 2012. I was wearing Miami Heat Championship t-shirts almost daily to first and second grade. I re-quote the Game 7 speech and go back to it religiously. I think it goes LeBron speech then Rocky speech. You all can’t lie my story went hard. I miss Philly and the east coast a bit. Hopefully I’ll be back.
A lot does happen in two weeks. Week 14 should’ve been posted last week too, but I was lazy and watching the World Cup Final. So happy that Spain won and beat Argentina, but I’m happier for iShowSpeed. Only a year older than me, but accomplished so much. Comparison is the thief of joy, but when I watch Speed, it’s just inspirational and proof that the law of attraction is real. Went from barking and lighting fireworks in his house to performing at the World Cup, and getting more views than the halftime show. Anything is possible. Alright aside from the Speed glaze, Argentina is finished. Tough to see Messi go out, but he already won one and had 2 other chances. I would rather lose like Ronaldo than win like Messi. I am dead serious about that.
My body cannot differentiate between night and day anymore, and my circadian rhythm is completely ruined. I could not sleep at all after posting last week's log. Tyler Durden has basically taken control of me, and I have fully become the Narrator during the day. On top of that, I have my AI and Japanese finals coming up. I am not even anxious about them, just genuinely exhausted from all the studying and non-stop grinding.
People are starting to pack up and clear out of the dorms, and honestly, it’s hitting me with this weird, unexpected sense of sadness. It’s strange because moving on isn't new to me at all. I’ve aged out of hockey teams, packed up at the end of summer camps, and moved out of UCSD dorms. I’ve done the whole saying goodbye to a space routine a million times. But watching people pack up their rooms here feels different. What trips me out the most is seeing people move out that I literally never even had a single conversation with. We shared the same hallways for months, lived a few doors apart, and now they are just gone.
It makes me genuinely fearful for the future and this whole loneliness epidemic everyone talks about. We live in a world obsessed with removing every bit of social friction by ordering everything on apps, avoiding awkward small talk, and keeping to ourselves. We are slowly optimizing our way into total isolation. Japan feels like the absolute paradise for that kind of risk-aversion culture, but the US is turning or is the exact same thing. Everyone, including myself, is constantly trying to hyper-optimize before feeling ready to actually do anything. We get caught in complete analysis paralysis. It brings me back to that scene in Good Will Hunting.
Having all the awareness in the world does not set you free if you use it as an excuse to freeze up. All it takes is a random twenty-second decision for something completely new to happen, but we or at least I talk ourselves out of taking the leap because we think we already know the ending. I fear of losing before I can think of winning. I probably have to talk to my shrink about that 😂.
Disheartening, but glad that this semester abroad has come to an end. It is crazy how much a place can you change you in just 4 months. I will leave the reflections for the official log when I am about to leave (have not even booked a flight back home 😂). August is arriving, the heat is already unbearable, and I will be in Beijing on Wednesday. I am trying to outrun time and see everything I know I will regret later. Never going to be under 20 traveling East-Asia again, so I have to enjoy right here, right now.
August is going to be fun, aside from China, I am headed to Singapore and Korea (doing Busan this time!). Bank account is drained, but I think I still have enough money for my fantasy buy-in. Hoping I win the league this year, I am already doing mock drafts.
I think I will end here. This is a short and the last log of the Kyoto series. I am currently in Tokyo, locking in and grinding out remaining assignments, studying for finals, and spending time with my grandparents.
I am looming the "impending doom" of the next two years, but I do not have a choice, and I believe I have strength and grown into a person who will be prepared for it.
My site officially got a new domain and some trip logs are posted. Still some tweaks I want to make, but I got about a month to do it.
I will see you in the reflection log! Godspeed! Stay safe!
おしまい！