i did my confirmation yesterday.

it was suggested that i would focus more on korea rather than sacrifising depth for breadth; why don’t you focus on korea? dropping japan and china brought about ambivalent feelings. on one hand, i was rather relieved that it’s more manageably narrow, but on the other hand, i was disappointed that i wouldn’t get a chance to explore - practically - countries that i really wanted to find out more about.

the major reason why i didn’t have much hesitation in accepting this change was that they had actually thought about my possible future trajectories - something that i don’t even think about as often and seriously as i should! i was very impressed by that.

so now i will be focusing on korea, but i can surely have china and japan as comparative subjects on a non-practical level i can look at theories and empirical studies on these two countries and use them in relation to korea. but michael mentioned that if i find in the future that it’s absolutely necessary for me to go over to china or japan, i can always talk to my supervisors.

i’m happy with the result; i don’t quite remember how my presentation went - i was really overly tired and still suffering from my hurried travel to uni with a concern that i may be late for my own confirmation.

academic results, ideas that we can talk about, ambitions, iq, and what not - there are many things that matter to me as a phd student. but yesterday, i realised what matters to me as a person is not such things, but what i already had but of which importance i had not been aware: genuine feelings. i was so touched by people who came to support me - some even with presents, some with drinks post-seminar, and some who were on the way out of brisbane.

this year was such a “people’s year” for me. i learned a lot of lessons, lost a few souls who were very special to me, and met new people wonderful and genuine. for all my life, i’ve always felt that i was in a in-between state; particularly being in between two different cultures with my family in one and friends in the other never felt so simple. on a positive note, it’s great as it gives me wider/varied viewes on things, but on a not so positive note, it’s very difficult to hold things together alone in between. i think i learned how to be stronger as i am this year through experiences and people. i’m very grateful.

i should go and get ready to go to GoMA to check out APT. got up late, no yoga for me, but still GoMA awaits! very excited. i’ll end with a quote that was written on the card lovely donna gave me yesterday:

The world of reality has its limits;

the world of imagination is boundless.

– Jean-Jacques Rousseau

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