New Year's Resolutions

Master Rhapsody in Blue

I first met this piece in my sophomore year. I think “appalled” is the right word for my first expression. It was not the high notes that dared me. It was the key signature. Five sharps. Not only this, but the song vacillated whenever it wanted to changing key signatures here and there. When I first sight-read it, I could not catch up with the changing key signatures and difficult fingerings.  Even now, I still have trouble playing this song, although I think I improved much more than the first time. By the end of this school year, I really want to master this song to prove to myself that this song was actually doable.  I plan to spend at least three hours a week going over the fingerings I always miss and getting used to the key signature changes. I also plan to listen to the recorded version of Rhapsody in Blue to compare it with my playing and determine which parts I have to work more on.  Although it would be time-consuming, I think that it definitely would be worth it.

Lose weight

               This has been my New Year’s resolution every single year. I’m really tired of repeating this over and over again, but I think that this is necessary.  I try to lose weight for my own satisfaction. I get this feeling of satisfaction when I lose weight. I can’t fully explain where this feeling comes from because I, too, am not completely aware of it. First of all, I wanted to be in shape to play sports. Playing sports is not my thing, but I enjoy playing all kinds of them. Second, I want to wear the clothes that I like. I have a pile of clothes that I barely wore sitting in my closet. I feel like I wasted my money on them, and not to feel this way, I think that I should lose weight to actually start wearing them. The last reason is because I am the kind of person who strives to accomplish goals. When I achieve goals whether they are academic goals or other life related goals, I feel elated. Actually, I think that goals are my motivations. I have made various approaches to this goal, and I have not been successful most of the time. This time, I plan to exercise at least four times a week and keep a well-balanced meal throughout the whole school year. It’s going to be a long-term fight with my temptation to stop, but I am going to try my best to sustain my plan.

Visit Korea

               Korea is my birthplace, but I haven’t visited Korea that often after I came here in Saipan. It’s already been like three years since my last trip to Korea, and I really hope that I can visit Korea this year. I miss my families and friends in Korea, and I also don’t want to be stuck in this isolated place for my summer again. There’s really nothing to do here, and this drives me insane. I really hate the hot weather during the summer, although it’s always summer in here, and I hate the fact that there is nowhere to go. It’s very limited here unlike Korea in terms of both foods to eat and things to buy, and I’m a shopaholic and a food-lover. Sometimes I wonder why I came here, but Saipan definitely does have its own perks in a way. If I go to Korea, I think I’m going to head straight down to a shopping mall and spend like five hours in their just roaming around.