Hasn’t got a chance to do deep reflections. Today is actually April 6th, and I am in the backseat of a car on the way to Zermatt for James Bay’s concert. Outside of the windows, the always breathtaking Swiss alps fly by, rain drops knock heavily on the windshield, and I feel like it’s a good time to dump my thoughts.

  1. “It is not our abilities that show what we truly are. It is our choices.”

It is one of the most frequently cited line from Harry Potter, and I finally start to appreciate its wisdom.

Here is a question: would you choose to be super capable but a little inconsiderate, or less capable and less selfish? If you were to ask me a year ago, I’d have said the former. I want to be excellent, be outstanding, beat everyone in competitions. I’d not wait for others, and I’d not share my secrets of success.

But insisting on improving is easy, giving up for the possibility of hurting others is hard. I guess that’s what superhero movies try to say as well: “no one can be sacrificed for the greater good”

  1. Being present and grateful

I am a fan of an Irish band called Kodaline. In September 2018, I learned that they were going to perform in New York in December, so I bought two tickets immediately. Little did I knew that I would have my biochemistry final the next day.

I hesitated. I couldn’t find anyone to go with me either. Taking a 4-hour train trip to NYC the night before your important exam doesn’t seem to be prudent.

But what’s life without a little craziness? What is life without biking in knee-deep snow? What is life without being drunk, dehydrated and running a 10k with loved ones.

Unsurprisingly I didn’t do too well on that exam, but I had no regret. Life is indeed a series of present moments, and not always about planning ahead, for the next goal.

So now I hesitate less between going to the library or sitting down by the lake and enjoy the sunset. A little more spontaneity, a bit better time management.

  1. French project

Since last year, I gave myself three-month projects with well-defined goals. The first was this blog, the second was the marathon, and the third was taking the DELF B2 exam. This is in addition to my regular school work, a way to help me advance on my personal goals.

I signed up for the March DELF B2 in Lyon in late December last year, and started to prepare for it casually. I didn’t get into my usual mode of “intense exam preparation”, but spent some time everyday.

Here are the tools that I used:

  1. Anki – read, and note down the new words that you encounter, and review them according to the anki schedule, is the best way of improving vocabulary.

  2. iTalki – find a good teacher who doesn’t let go of any mistake will help. Stick with it even if you are frustrated.

  3. Conjugation app – French conjugation is tricky, but it’s quite satisfying when you get the subjonctif tense of s’asseoir correct

  4. listen to French podcasts – create an immersive environment for yourself. During the last month, I didn’t listen to any of the English podcasts that I used to like.

As with any three-month project, I get a bit tired at the end, and regret (a little) why I signed up for this to begin with. I had to take 14 hours of bus (aller-retour) to Lyon on the two days of the exam, not counting that I took the wrong train on the way back.

But I am liking this structure, something a little stressful at the end to hold yourself accountable to your goals. I am thinking about the next project to work on.