reflection – The Specs

On the Right Foot

I am starting 2019 on the right foot, and to whoever is reading this, I hope you are, too. Happy New Year, and I wish you all the best.

My birthday’s in January, so naturally, every turn of a new year to me marks another year of age. I am turning twenty-two soon, and most of those twenty-two years, I have rarely ever missed a single moment of transition from one year to another, always stayed up past midnight. Last year and the year before, I was even among the crowd, counting down, bursting with joy when the Habour Bridge was lit up by fiery flowers in front of our very eyes.

This year, I’m sitting quietly in my bedroom, in a quiet house, in a quiet neighbourhood far from the excitement in the city centre. Continue reading “On the Right Foot”

Being comfortable with being uncomfortable*

*Titled borrowed from TED Talk Get comfortable with being uncomfortable by Nigerian author/speaker Luvvie Ajayi, although the talk is not completely related to this reflection.

Were I an inanimate object, I bet I’d make a great label maker. The fact that a personal hand-held label maker is on my all-time wish list certainly doesn’t alleviate the comicality.

Continue reading “Being comfortable with being uncomfortable*”

A reflection on writing reflections

Dedicated to the celebration of—finally, finally—handing in my last assignment of the semester.

Dedicated to the celebration of—finally, finally—handing in my last assignment of the semester.

Also, this post has not been through my usual religious routine of proofreading and editing, so everything is everywhere. But since it reflects (no pun intended) my current post-final-assignments state of mind, I’ll be this unruly version of me for a while.

For one of our subjects this session, the final task is to write a (compared to the usual 300-level word limits, very) short reflection that is worth 20% of our final mark—no scholarly sources were required, the only criteria were honesty and insightfulness.

That, to me, was the hardest assignment to write in this first half of my third year. It is not the academic rigour that challenges me anymore; it’s original thinking that does. Continue reading “A reflection on writing reflections”

Clicky Clickety Clack (Goes the Keyboard Under My Dancing Fingers)

How I have grown – in the past year – as a student, a researcher, and a writer.

A little more than a year ago, I started typing the very first words of my very first blog post, also the very first words of my very first (BCM111) assignment at a university 7000 kilometres away from home.

Back then, The Specs was still named (after so many attempts) The January Journal, a reference to my birth month, and an attempt at a catchy title. The header image was still a default one provided with the theme, the wording clumsy and bland, the references redundant and irrelevant, and the blog’s owner utterly confused and disoriented.

Two sessions (plus a Summer session) and three writerly subjects (BCM110, BCM212, BCM241) later, The Specs has gained certain acknowledgement by my lecturers, tutors, and my friends. I have grown so much as an independent student, researcher, and writer.

bcms@uow Bloggies — *The Specs won best BCM Blog, Autumn Session 2017*

Continue reading “Clicky Clickety Clack (Goes the Keyboard Under My Dancing Fingers)”

[BCM212] Reflection – The Rigorous Research

At last, my BCM212 research on language barriers and Vietnamese international undergraduates at UOW has officially been finished. The progress has engraved in my mind the values of good research and good researchers – particularly critical judgement, social responsibility, and flexibility – as well as brushing up on my communications strategy planning skills. Continue reading “[BCM212] Reflection – The Rigorous Research”