There are still things we can do to have more time to pursue our interests. Perhaps it is the way in which we complete our necessary daily tasks. Whether it be school work, office work, management, chores, errands, whatever it may be, perhaps there’s another more efficient way of doing things. For instance, here I am sitting in front of my computer typing this post on my overly outdated blog. The environment, the room in which I sit in, reflects the current attitude in which I am approaching my regular duties and assigned work. Admittedly, my room could be more perfect, but I have cleaned it up and refined the outline and forward image of the space to appear many times cleaner than it was a few weeks ago. On the other hand I am also quite surprised at how I brought myself into doing this kind of appearance-related work, as I have always known myself to be extremely insensitive about keeping my looks “right” and my room “clean”. It shows that even while living such a stressful life with a worsening schedule and agenda, I still strive to make for more time.
It’s a great thing, too, for as people who know me well understand, I have a fond interest in almost everything to the point where it’s “too much”, and I find most in the arts – writing, drawing, composing music, programming computer applications, video editing, etc. I enjoy sports – not only basketball, but tennis and golf, too, though I admit that I am not even proficient at either of the two. The most interesting things, I find, lie in creativity, creation – if it’s something about making something up, I’m in.
But it’s not easy to find a time for such hobbies when you have work to do everyday. Maybe I’m being narrow-minded, maybe I’m just one of many enrolled in my school who have such terribly harsh schedules and no free time. Perhaps the life of my good friend Jordan Zhang is even worse under the strict demands of his parents’ belief in education. Whatever be the case, however, I do know that I am quite stressed, and my daily quest is to find enjoyment in spite of all the troubles that I have to withstand.
What is my plan, then? Well, it is quite simple and stupid. I simply have to work faster and harder and finish absolutely everything in less than three hours. At this point I’m letting myself go at four hours, but that is just ridiculous. Any teacher at Mission San Jose would consider it absurd to hear students working more than three hours a day. It is true that Mission is not a normal high school, that it is a result of education beliefs held by the majority demographic of East Asians, especially the Chinese, in the Bay Area; it is false, however, that we are destined to work long hours for four years until we graduate.
I have many goals in my life, all of them based upon my own interests. With the number of interests I have so plentiful, I have found it easier to concentrate on one, just one, at a time. So today, my goal is to become an expert at drawing Japanese manga-style art, especially of character design. I will strive to be not just proficient, which most people might settle for, but incredibly skilled if not professional. It was the same two years ago, when I decided to learn the Japanese language. And hey, now it has brought me yet another interest which I can pursue; now it is time to hone my so-called “talents”.
