Few years ago, my friend made a cake for my birthday, inspired by the movie Harry Potter.
She made it herself and wrote my name on it, which fit perfectly since my name is similar to “Harry.” I don’t exactly recall what I prayed for at that time, but I am certain it included expressing gratitude and hoping that such happiness would endure. To this day, she remains my closest friend and one of the most considerate and caring people I know. Indeed, having a friend like her is the greatest gift one could ever wish for.
We are all living together with my parents but I am planning to get my own apartment soon. Joy will stay where he belongs, with our another cat and my parents. It could be months, or even years before I see him again depending where I get my job offer.
I hope my cat understands I am not leaving him and I will always come back for him.
What makes me feel nostalgic is the smell of freshly baked bread, a quiet signal that a new day has begun.
Over the past few months, I have developed a fondness for bread to the point that it has become a regular substitute for my usual breakfast. Each time I have it, I am reminded of my travels in Europe, where mornings often began simply, with bread and jam.
It does not have to be an artisans loaf or a carefully crafted pastry. Any bread that is freshly baked and still warm is enough to evoke that sense of comfort.
Having carried this memory to the moment, I now experience a subtle, almost foreign nostalgia whenever I have bread as my breakfast.
Since a very young age, I have been keenly attentive to reading people.
Maybe due to personal character and cultural background. I learned to read between the lines and catch nuances even before I spoke my mother tongue fluently.
This has been both a blessing and a curse, as one might imagine.
Yet it is one thing to understand a person’s character, and another to judge their behavior, for the latter is an apparent sin.
Romans 2:1
You, therefore, have no excuse, you who pass judgment on someone else, for at whatever point you judge another, you are condemning yourself, because you who pass judgment do the same things.
And it is often a sin with which I still struggle, as though I had any right to do so.
No one does.
No one is superior to another, for we are all fall short.
Only through the mercy of Jesus Christ can we overcome such sin and be free from condemnation.
However, it is certainly beneficial to understand people better, especially during the Christmas season, as it allows me to prepare more personalized gifts for my family and friends.
Had I not pursued my current career, I would have chosen to become an architect. I have always loved admiring magnificent historical structures such as the Sagrada Família in Spain and the Louvre in Paris. I find the exterior of the Louvre even more captivating than the art within its walls.
To me, architecture represents the perfect blend of creativity and purpose. It would be an incredible honor to create something that serves and inspires people for centuries. If I were fortunate, I might even design a landmark that becomes part of a city’s identity, leaving behind a legacy that endures for generations.
In short, it would not only be personally fulfilling but also a meaningful way to preserve and enrich my community.
I would pay about the same as the current highest airplane ticket to go to the moon. Landing my foot on the moon would surely be a once-in-a-lifetime memory, but I can create equally if not more meaningful memories anywhere on Earth with the right person. So the joy that time on the moon could bring would not exceed the happiness I can find here on Earth. Therefore, in terms of worth, defined as the amount I’m willing to spend, I would pay roughly the same as a round-trip flight from Asia to Europe or America.
Dream high or go home – I always thought that having the highest goal I could achieve should be a professional one, something that could be evaluated by social and financial values.
But as I grew older – although it may be a little hasty to judge the meaning of life at this age – I’ve realized that it’s the ordinary things that are actually hard to achieve.
For me, finding the right person to build a family with seems like the most unattainable goal, especially in this digital era where everything is so easily replaced.
On top of that, living an “average” life is not so average anymore, especially when the idea of “average happiness” is so exaggerated nowadays.
It is only through faith -holding on to the belief that a promise is coming, though I don’t know when or how – that I keep myself alive.
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