Well, it’s April. I haven’t been posting anything for ages because life consumed me, as usual. As a student, there are two stages in the year: university and no university. I strive for a high GPA, so I have a hard time concentrating on anything but school and my job. But, the no university stage is around the corner and I’m excited. A lot has happened in my life since I last posted but I won’t get into that right now. Wednesday is my last exam day and then I’m free…sort of. I am creating plans for what I want to accomplish in the summer. There are many more (move into a new apartment, visit family etc.) but the six I will mention below are ones I will be tracking on my blog.
Number One: Spanish
Yes, the recurring need to get back into Spanish, and the recurring failure to accomplish it. I love Spanish and hate that I used to be so good at it but no longer am. Well, I’m coming in with a plan this time around (it’s still a draft at the moment).
- 5 minutes of Drops per day (an app)
- a session of Duolingo per day
- a deck of cards on Memrise per day
- Pimsleur audio-textbook (and audiobook by Paul Noble)
- my old A-Level textbooks
I’m hoping to accomplish an hour per day (perhaps more on days that I have less work and more energy). Eventually, I might sign up for tutoring through iTalki (app) in order to get some conversation in there.
Number Two: French
I currently live in a country where French is the second language (Canada) and it will always be a useful language to have on your CV here. And I would like my kids (when I have them) to be in French Immersion. I have a similar plan for French as I do for Spanish, just on a beginner level rather than intermediate.
- 5 minutes of Drops per day
- a session of Duolingo
- a deck of cards on Memrise per day
- Pimsleur audio-textbook
Again, I’m hoping to accomplish an hour per day. I probably won’t be confident enough to sign up for iTalki in French until much later on.
Number Three: Violin
I have been neglecting my beautiful violin for a very, very long time. My university is opening up auditions for the newly created orchestra and I would love to audition (the standards aren’t too high). I found out one of the string broke so I have to get it fixed, but as soon as I do I will have to start practicing so that I am ready for the auditions in June. Even if I don’t get in, I would like to continue playing. I will try to get in an hour per day.
Number Four: Guitar
I took a guitar course a year ago and then school consumed me again, so I haven’t touched it since then. But there is a reason why I started in the first place and I want to see it through. I will attempt to do a half-hour per day (and perhaps increase it to one hour after some time).
Number Five: Novel
I “enrolled” in April Camp NaNoWriMo as usual, but didn’t expect to get much done until at 18th of April (the first day of no school/exams). I have a more detailed outline ready for “Lizard Eyes” and my creative juices are ready. I will try to write a minimum of 500 words per day (I may increase the word-count over time).
Number Six: Books
One of the courses I will be taking in the Fall has a lot of books I have to read and subsequently write papers on, which means I do actually have to read them properly. I want to get a head start on that, so I will try to read 1-2 books per month over the summer.
These are my six “challenges” for the summer. I will start a 30-day challenge for each (20-day challenge for the violin because I have to get it fixed) because I leave at the end of May, and then when I return I will create new challenges.
Travels of the Creative Mind 