Teach Them How to Say Goodbye

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“It’s like they were building you a little shrine, even though you’re still alive,” my friend commented in the aftermath of my telling 2nd grade that I was leaving the school. 

And it really was – I’ve never said goodbye to so many little people at once and their reactions were so heartbreakingly touching. 2nd grade took it upon themselves to start giving me whatever precious treasures they happened to have on hand. This included half-finished bags of candy, a handful of crunchy noodles, some stickers, a piece of cardboard with a drawing on it, and a rock. 

They were just one of the eight classes I visited to tell them that I was leaving Malaysia. And then there was the aftermath of the middle schoolers finding out and forming a circle around me as they chanted “Don’t leave!” – one girl asking, “What in the summoning circle?” while another responded, “We are casting a spell so that she can’t leave!”

Have you ever said goodbye to 100+ students in one day? It is exhausting – I think I went to bed at 8:30 that night. 

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Avatar Live Action: The Bad

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It is now time for the negative portion of my review. I want to be thoughtful about it though – there’s no use in hating on a show just to hate on it, but constructive criticism can always be beneficial (like they’ll listen to me, but a girl can dream, right?) Anywho, as I said in my previous post, I think this show has good potential, but it’s not being used correctly. That failing is no more obvious than in their character development. 

There is one glaring flaw with most if not all of the younger characters: they are not allowed to have any significant failings or able to make any disastrous choices. No, those have to be saved for the adults. There’s no chance for the kids to ask for forgiveness or work through the consequences of their poor decisions and actually learn from them. And because the show refuses to let the young ones have any failures or flaws, it significantly nerfs their character development and arcs. 

Let me explain.

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Avatar Live Action: The Good

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As promised, I watched Avatar: The Last Airbender live action on Netflix and gave it a fair shot. As much as possible, I tried to keep an open mind and to look at it objectively. I know some people think it’s unfair to evaluate films and tv shows by comparing them to the originals, but if you create a show based on something else, then I think it is fair to judge accordingly. The remake wouldn’t exist without the original, so you can’t fairly say that it is wrong to compare the two. 

That being said, this post will focus on the positives of this show. (And of course, here thar be spoilers!)

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The Importance of Character Development

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“Everything changed, when Hollywood attacked….”

If you know me well, you know that I love Avatar: The Last Airbender. It is one of the few shows, regardless of whether it is animated or not, that I can watch again and again and get something new out of every time. It has layers and doesn’t shrink back from difficult themes, complex characterization, and meaningful life lessons. 

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A Not-So-Definitive and Completely Biased Ranking of Korean Shows

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So…I’ve been trying to write more. Write a little every day. And guess what? I’ve been fairly successful, hitting my goal of writing at least 200 words a day. (Not nearly what I used to write every day, but hey, I’ll take what I can get at this point). But of course, in succeeding in writing my fiction stuff, my blog dropped off the radar….so yeah. Here I am again.

This time I thought I’d just start off with something fun and easy: a totally biased ranking of Korean shows I’ve watched….’cause I do love a good Korean show. Plus, I just got back from an amazing trip to Korea, so I’m super pumped to share some of my favorites with you all. A little caveat, if you’re looking for some recommendations for Kdrama romance shows, I’m afraid I’m not going to be much help to you. I’m not a romance fan and have watched very few romantic ones. I’m also not one for “slice of life” or sitcom-y type shows. I like action and crime ones, so….here we are.

Anywho, here we go. Going from my least to most favorite (with titles linked to the trailers if you’re curious):

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The Words of Eternal Life

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St. Joseph’s Cathedral, Hanoi, Vietnam

“Lord, to whom shall we go? You have the words of eternal life, and we have believed, and have come to know, that you are the Holy One of God” (John 6:68-69).

This is one of my absolute favorite Scripture verses and one I find myself returning to again and again.

I recently returned from an amazing vacation to Vietnam (known now in my mind as “The Great Food and Coffee Tour of Vietnam”) and mixed in with all of the delicious food, beautiful sites, and grand adventures, one of the most precious memories of this trip is getting to have deep, meaningful conversations with some friends that I haven’t gotten to know very well up until this point.

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Delight 16: Introversion vs. Isolation

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Some people are surprised to find out that I’m an introvert. And granted, I’m a little surprised at how much I’ve changed too.

I used to be much more outwardly visible as an introvert – didn’t speak up much, was shy around strangers, vanished at parties after a while.

Lately, I’m much more likely to speak up and meet new people (though inwardly a lot of the time I’m still cringing about how much I don’t like doing these kinds of things). But honestly, I am getting better at it. I’m not quite the awkward turtleduck in conversation that I used to be – I even, dare I say it, enjoy it sometimes?

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