75 Fluent

Me at the end of the challenge

 I've decided to do a language study challenge called 75 Fluent; it was created by the influencer Logan Jaynes. Basically, you have to follow study rules for 75 days. I'm going to do Spanish as that's my minor (ᵕ⸝⸝• ᴗ •); I'll probably start next week as I will be moved into my dorm by then. Also, I need to review before my Spanish classes start on the 20th. 

These are the rules:

• 60 Minutes of Study (either in total with the others or on top of the others)
• Read 5 Pages
• 5 Minutes of Speaking
• 1 Podcast/Episode/YT Video
• Journal
• Track Your Study
• Immerse Yourself as Much as Possible 

I'm going to tell you guys what I'm going to do for each one; maybe you guys can give me more resources or tips (,, ‸ ,, )

• During the school year, I'm going to count my class and hw, which adds up to an hour, but when I don't have class, I will review vocab and notes. That's what I'm going to do next week: review my notes from last year and vocab, which I use this website for Practice & Learn Vocabulary | SpanishDictionary.com. 
• This website 20 Free Spanish Books, Novels, and Stories in PDF and Printables has free books that I'll use. I'm going to read them and try to go up in levels. 
• Probably talk to my friends/family or do a tutor session once a week and use that as the total for the week
• I'm thinking about watching American Dad, as I've seen all of it, or some other show I'veseen. I will also look on YouTube to see if any videos pique my interest. 
• I'm thinking of finding writing prompts or writing about my day. I'm going to physically write it to practice for tests. 
• I'm using the website Logan made to track and maybe even create a physical tracking sheet where I do the journaling. This is the website, btw: 75 Fluent Tracker – Official 75 Fluent Challenge App
• Definitely listening to music and cooking; this is broad, so I don't have any other ideas. 

That's it; maybe I'll keep you guys updated who knows if I actually stick with this. If you guys have any tips or other free resources. 

Hilma af Klint - The Ten Largest, No.8 Adulthood

Recently, I downloaded the app DialyArt. Basically, every day they feature a new art piece and describe the history of the artist and the piece, along with a brief analysis of the artwork. I came across this painting by Hilma af Klint and wanted to look further into this collection. 

It caught my attention because of the organic shapes that seem random but harmonious; the colors are soft but stand out enough at the same time. I just find this piece beautiful, so I wanted to research the artist and also the collection it came from. This isn't going to be a thorough post, as I am just curious and want to share it. Trust this ain't going to be good or groundbreaking. (ᵕ-ᴗ-)

Mi haircut ✄┈┈

I recently got a haircut. I wanted something very layered with side bangs that weren't too short. Like these people ↴

I feel like what I got was legit the opposite; the layers are so long, and I wish the bangs were shorter. It's not horrible, but it's deffinitely wasn't close to what I wanted. I know it's hard to see, but the left was right after and blown out, and the right is it with a little bit of mousse in it. Idk, it feels less dramatic than what I wanted ૮◞ ‸ ◟ ა 

Just a little rant 

Being a No Sabo kid #angst ( ◡̀_◡́)ᕤ

 For some background on myself, I am mixed, half white (Irish and Polish) and half Mexican. I'm a first-gen, meaning my mom was the one to immigrate from Mexico. Despite that, my mother never taught me or my siblings Spanish; my oldest sibling was able to comprehend some Spanish when he was younger because my abuelo and abuela raised him for 2 years, so he picked up a little Spanish. But my grandparents moved after I was born, so I didn't get that experience, and my mother, for some reason, didn't teach us.(¬_¬) Probably due to what she had on her plate, it just wasn't the first thing to come to her mind. Also, my father didn't really like people speaking in a different language around him, as he finds it rude. That might have something to do with it, even though he now complains rudely about my mother not teaching us.(¬`‸´¬) Along with not learning Spanish, we didn't experience much Mexican culture except when my relatives are with me, as my mother never did anything with us. For example, cooking Mexican food, I was able to learn from my abuela, though. I did take Spanish in middle school, but let's be honest, the American school system is not teaching us Spanish to the level of proficiency. I didn't take it in high school since I took Japanese instead, stupid in hindsight, but I wanted another experience; sue me. Not being able to speak the language the rest of your family speaks is very isolating, to no fault of theirs, of course. I get left out of conversations that are happening in front of me; all I can do is stare off as I listen to them since I don't want to be rude and go on my phone or do something else. (╥﹏╥) They also use it as a tool to keep conversations private from me, making it feel as if I am unwanted. I understand that's not their intent; it's just easier for them, but it's hard to ignore that feeling. It also creates uncomfortable situations where I am trying to guess what my older relatives are trying to say to me, as they don't speak English fluently. This causes me to hide or try not to be alone with them, as I don't like those uncomfortable silences and fumbling to understand each other. Which, in turn, makes me feel bad for trying to avoid them since I do love my family; I just struggle with that anxiety. I have gotten a lot better as I've taken 2 elementary Spanish courses in college and will be continuing with a minor in it. I can understand a lot more, and I'm proud of it, but still I am nowhere near fluent. I just feel I have missed opportunities for connections with my family, and I in no way blame them or my mother. I understand they have no intent of anything other than love and are just communicating the way most comfortable for them. This is going to be it, as I don't feel like turning this into a therapy session and just want it as a small look into my side. I hope to get better at Spanish and learn more about my culture and heritage. 

First Post ⋆˚꩜｡ Apothecary Diaries Season 1

This past week, I watched the whole of Apothecary Diaries season 1. Previously, I read multiple volumes of the manga on a pirated website, as they didn't have it in the library. (╥﹏╥)

I read up to somewhere in the second season !SPOILERS! when MaoMao starts suspecting Jinshi of being related to the emperor. I really fell in love with the characters and the art style. MaoMao is such a creative main character, though I don't have that much experience with anime/manga; I feel like I don't see characters like her. I wanted to read the manga because I have a hard time watching any television series and movies; I get very bad anxiety and secondhand embarrassment while watching. For instance, I never finished ATLA. (ᵕ-ᴗ-) Because when the gang gets to the Fire Nation, I have this constant feeling they are going to get brutally murdered. No matter what show or movie I finish it in a pile of sweat. The only shows I could stomach have been American Dad and Rick and Morty.

~Ricky Spanish~

But moving on to anime in specific, I don't really like the voice acting nor the fan service, which, when animated, really adds to that secondhand embarrassment. I've started a lot of anime but haven't been able to get far, as I basically get the ick. (¬_¬") So I enjoy reading manga more than watching anime. My favorite anime I have started, though, has been Soul Eater; of course I got the ick and dropped it. Definitely something I want to work on as its a uncomforablity thing. Back to Apothecary Diaries, I saw a lot of fan-made content on social media and was intrigued by MaoMao's character, so I wanted to read the manga. Read the first few on Libby, as they only had a few, and tried to pirate the rest, but lowkey it was annoying, and I didn't like the porn ad popup just wanted to read in peace. (◣ _ ◢) This was months ago, maybe like March-April; last week my friend sent me a TikTok of a MaoMao and Jinshi edit to the song Animal by Katseye, and that was the sign for me to sit down and watch the show, or at least the first season.