(Little Life Lessons with Ngoc): Episode 2 - Two Spices and Parmesan

Dear grasshoppers,

Hello there. Get comfy. This is going to be a short one. (I mean... all these episodes kind of are in order to not bore my lovely, lovely readers with equally lovely, lovely long paragraphs.) Let's dive into the hypothetical idea of 2 spices and parmesan, shall we now?

Okay, so I had an intense badminton match a few days ago in gym. This is how I recall it.

I just came in from the mile, tired, sweaty, icky, and ew into the middle of badminton game time. Alors, the only thing I could do was be a sub, so I subbed for the floor that had the lowest score of points. At least there, I wouldn't have to worry about being competitive or being the cause of a lost game.

Anyways, I joined in and my partner was pretty awesome. And I love badminton. So, despite the mile's icky and exhausting residue, I felt alive to actually even play.

You know, the thing about playing a game where you just believe you'd lose is that there is no animal instinct to prove yourself. Instead there's this complete beauty in acceptance. Acceptance and anticipation of loss. So while you do try and put in effort, unlike everyone else, you have the ability to play a good game for what it truly is. You play for fun. Whilst the rest of my team played in deep concentration with focus etched on their faces, my little duo over here was playing this game asking only for a good time. That's it. Whilst anticipating the result to be a loss, of course. :P

A good time. That's all we wanted.
My god. It definitely was.

So here's the surprising thing.

Imagine yourself eating out at a pizza restaurant. The thing about you is that you just love putting spices on your pizza. Your friend here is sitting beside you. You ask them politely if they can pass over two of the spices on the spices rack. You just love your pizza that way, full of spices. And so they do. At the same time that you're spicing up your pizza, a chef walks by and dumps a ton of parmesan onto your pizza. And of course you love parmesan, you just didn't expect the FREE parmesan part coming from a CHEF. (I mean, isn't that guy supposed to be in the kitchen?? Anyways...) Hey, it's FREE and you love parmesan, and the pizza tastes great. And you love it. That night you sleep happy and fulfilled in dreams of a world where you can ask for one something yet along the journey receive more than what you asked for. I mean, what a world, am I right?

Look, I'm not here to brag or anything. But... after having played that badminton match in the name of fun, of amusement, of a grand old time, my duo here got something else we didn't ask for (like that random chef who dumped tons of free parmesan). We got to win. Yeah, like woooo!!! Happy ending!! Yay!! That strays from the point a little bit, but the point is... sometimes. Not all the time.

Sometimes you can walk down a path looking for one wonderful thing, but instead, you received said-wonderful thing plus one more wonderful thing. (my god, that was bloody repetitive.) Or two more if you're really, really lucky. And who wouldn't like a lot of luck?

And so at the end of the day, that extra something you got, that you didn't ask for? It remains a pleasant surprise. Throughout your day, and it makes you think. "If something so simple, as simple as free parmesan can burgeon my heart, maybe I should do that for others. If I felt so freaking high from getting free parmesan, let's get the world high."

I'll stop there, because everything else that I want to say after this will be hellishly cheesy.

Yet I still continue...

Today, walk down the road. And believe that wonderful can happen to you. And that YOU can do wonderful. DROP SOME FREE PARMESAN ON PEOPLE, PEOPLE.


Your favorite girl,
The Hellishly Amazing Ngoc

(Little Life Lessons that Ngoc Finds in Her Day): Episode 1 - Coincidence

Dear readers, thinkers, doers, people, humans, you,



Hi you. Yes, you. Thanks for coming by. Let's dive into this short episode then!

Today, I realized a little something.
Nothing special really. Just something I'd like to rant a little about whilst giving a little life lesson.

Sometimes the one person you want to see or are trying to avoid is the exact person you end up seeing (all day in various places), always a step behind you. At first, I thought it complete coincidence, because I was taking a route that I haven't in the longest time and not only that but the amount of time that I left and gone was completely off. I was walking in a way that it'd be completely impossible to have met the person anyways. Like, no way was I gonna even run into this person, people. Yet it happened, and I was shook.

You know what this says about our lives? (You've read this far, don't stop now.)

It's a two-way street. Throughout a whole day, there will be people you do or don't want to meet, yet eventually, through coincidence, poor timing (or good timing, who knows?), you'll have to face them anyways, just like you'll have to face the many other things in your day.

Test, lunch table games, long lunch lines, powerpoints, that lunch lady. The list goes on. And life goes on. Time moves on.

Because face it, honey. You'll HAVE to face the (insert noun(s)) eventually. You can't run away forever. I mean, you can, but then you'd have to stop running at one point, am I right? And so with that said, put on a brave face and live about everyday prepared to face anything and everything that shall come at you. Do that, and your life may just be a bit more breathable. I assure you. :)

"It shall pass." - a wise human once said.

Best of wishes,
Your girl x'D

P.s. For the past 20 minutes, I've hastily decided to do a sort of episode thing where I write a short little life lesson teacher-ish thing every so days. It might be fun. I might quit halfway. This episode may even be the first and last episode, but we'll see. We'll see. O_O No one really reads them anyways, but *sigh* c'est la vie. We do these types of things to fulfill ourselves.

P.s.s. Added art by Lucy (one of my best friends and blog followers) on the 2nd of August. :D It's due time she gets the recognition she deserves.

I need a quick place to rant, so here goes.

"I'll just talk randomly here as motivation. Don't even respond to me ok. Not even this message.

I'm a Theravada Buddhist.

And I love English.

Except, I can't just take English.

I have to take everything else.

ughhh

and sometimes, it used to be rarely but

lately I feel like my life here in America isn't my life

it's lead by stupid rules

that others before have set in stone

i feel caged

especially here, at DeBakey.

I have to force myself to stay up.

To stay awake.

Why though?

Why do I even bother?

Why do you even bother?

What makes us both stay up against exhaustion.

I don't even know.

Sometimes, I wish I lived on an island.

At least, I knew that my life was mine.

People make it complicated.

People make too many rules"

...

My exact thoughts on a late night conversation with a good old friend who was willing to listen. *sigh*

(More posts to come soon. Don't worry people who actually read my stuff.) 

- That girl.

:)

To the Non-Asgardians, I forgive you.

Dear Earthlings, you non-Asgardians, you wannabes,

First off. I forgive you. I forgive all of you.

Why? Because your mindlessness is your own accidental fault. It just is. And I forgive and love you for that. I forgive you. I do. (The Gods are not unkind.)

You've all driven yourselves mad in that creation called "society." You abide by its' laws. You compare yourselves to others that are part of it. You don't stop and think of what could be different, because you just cannot imagine it being different. You are blinded by its unseen forces acting on your own choices. You don't stop and question. You go and continue as if changing this so called "society" is not your responsibility. You go on as if there is nothing wrong with it. You don't stop and question, you continue without argument. You continue without seeing. You continue because society has already taken so much from you: your time, your happiness, the act of living as a human, slowly but truly - eating your motivations, your own ideas, your real opinions of anything just to fit in, and essentially, your life.

Now let me give you some more to think about.

Why is everyone fighting for the top GPA?

What is standardized testing? And because everyone is unique in their own ways of learning and receiving information, why is testing standardized? Should it not be a test for uniqueness? By having it a standardized test, is the education system not assuming that students all learn the same and un-unique?

If Finland is only giving its students 30 minutes of homework a night and stands as one of the top 3 countries in the world in scores, then why is the United States, with its 2-3 hours of homework a night standing as number 28 in the world in terms of scores and education? Is it more than just the amount of homework a night that is causing this disparity? Is it the educational system? The standardized testing? The fact that the salaries of teachers in America is very little compared to Finland's? Or the fact that those in charge of this educational system know this yet are adamant in change?

I stop here.

Because this sickens me. It just does. But something can be done about this. And I'm not only speaking just about the poor education system here in America, I'm also talking about change everywhere and anywhere else that requires change to move towards the greater good, the more fitting, and overall improvement. Who doesn't want that? But do not, and I repeat, do not let the fear of obstacles in your way as you move to change discourage you. Do not let those obstacles stop you. These obstacles can range from people of the opposite opinion to a rainy day. Don't let it stop you.

Did Harriet Tubman stop? Did Abraham stop? Did Mr. Luther stop? Did Hamilton stop?

Did you stop? Or have you never began?

What do you want to change? What are you angry about? Let those questions seep and I wish you best of luck to you future changers, you thinkers, you people who actually stop and question, unafraid to ask why and explore and invent and challenge and fight and change society as we know it.


From a Loki-Believer in change (get it? 'cause Loki can transform??),
Ngoc

P.S. Here's a link to YouTuber that stops and questions. Scroll down to "Inspiration with Prince Ea"
https://www.youtube.com/prince%20ea

Wings were made to fly (so that later you can fall from the sky... BOOM)

Dear Earth-sized organisms of this part of the galaxy,

I write to you today to express and give you guys a peek, just a peek into my life. The life of a teenage girl who is growing wings.

I was in the car to my bus stop and my Mom (the driver of said car) told me why my Dad was unusually in a bad mood that morning. I had had a sore throat that morning and he had made me fried (haha, thank you Luce for the typo 11.13.17) eggs which had given me a headache just thinking about them so I told him, "No thank you. I'm sick, Dad. Sorry!"

"Ngoc, do you know why he suddenly got angry at you this morning when you did nothing wrong to anger him?"

I nodded no and she looked on, driving. There was a silence. A few more beats. I looked at her. Waiting.

"Remember how he went to his friend's house yesterday afternoon? Well, he heard from this friend that he [my Dad's friend] has a friend that had two daughters who both became doctors. Their father had driven them to school like your own father is doing for you and your sister everyday. And guess what they did? They left him. They hadn't visited him ever since they graduated. And that was years and years ago."

By now, I knew what she was getting at.

"Ngoc. He thinks you'll leave him once you make something of yourself and forget him completely. Never visiting him like those two girls. And forget how he has driven you both to school everyday and the love he has for you. He really does love you, Ngoc, though he shows it differently than other fathers. He does."

At that point, we've arrived at my bus stop. I didn't move to leave. I looked at my Mom. It seemed that it was not only Dad's thoughts, but also her's too.

"Mom. Of course I'll leave you and Dad."

And I actually meant it. That I wanted to leave them. But then... I just, stopped and said instead, "Haven't you both helped me grow these wings so that I can fly? I'll fly, but I'll never, ever be so cold as to forget my own parents, never visiting them. I'll fly, but I'll return. I'll make sure of it."

This little mini-story here serves to tell you, the audience, of two types of love that I've learned of in my life being a teenager and all.

One type being a love that cages the person being loved. You love someone so much that you can't have them gone. You can't give them an opportunity to leave you, because if they do, you'll just have yourself. And so you cage this person. So they can't fly away. If they can't fly away, that means they can't leave you eh? Now this kind of love is, I won't say selfish, but done in a means where only you are the person who benefits. It's one-sided. It's unseeing and blind and cold.

The other type being a love that sets the other person free if they want to be. There are no chains. There is no cage. Just sky above, because why? You would rather their happiness than your own.  You would rather their freedom than yours. And you would rather be miserable if they can live fulfilled, free, and flying. This love is one-sided, but in a different way. You don't just see yourself in this picture. You see them. You just see them. This love is brave. It's seeing and miserable and real and frightful.

At the same time, I'm also trying to carve out your appreciation for those closest to you.

I want you to ask this question. How do you love those around you? How do you want to be loved? And do you appreciate the love given to you enough?

Sincerely,
Thank you for tuning in. This was Ngoc Nguyen with not only a life update but also another lesson.
Your dearest of dears and free-flying birdie,
Ngoc


[If your opinions are differing from mine, big oof to you, but I am writing this to express my feelings so... this is what you get! Boom.]

Optimism and more Life Lessons with Ngoc.

Dear random audience and friends,

      Well, considering the title of this blog, you can tell what this one will be about...

      I'll just start on the frank side of things. Let me first ask you one question. (I think I might just start considering being a therapist. Or whatever jobs that are left over. Heh.)

      Are you happy? Which leads to more questions, such as: Do you have time to be happy? Do you try to be happy? When are you the happiest? Is happiness important to you at all? Are you too preoccupied to by happy? What the heck is happiness even?

      Now let me tell you this. And you may be a stubborn-minded person or easily misguided, but happiness is, indeed, the most important abstract feeling, thing, foundation, call-it-whatever that you must have in your life.

      Today, humans like us don't have time to really consider, really meditate on how satisfied we are with our lives. How blessed we are. How much more we can do to feel satisfied.

      We're all occupied with work, homework, deadlines, and so many other events that clash with our own happiness.

      Why is happiness important? The answer is simple. Happiness is the key to knowing who you truly are. It highlights your strengths and weaknesses. It shows are capabilities. It lets us see past hard times. It brings in the optimism and enthusiasm into everything we do. Solidly, it is the foundation to life. To all life. Sure, we all started out as crying babies, sad, and distraught, but the ultimate goal to life is happiness.

      And what I like to think of happiness is, when you die, you have no regrets. But of course, mind you, have happiness without harming anyone, of course. Don't forget that you have those who care about you and you care about them. Just, don't forget to avoid the kind of happiness that hurts others.

      But otherwise! Be happy! Breathe! And good luck to YOU, on YOUR journey to finding YOURSELF. And live with no regrets. Do it well.


Your favorite girl,
      The Over-Enthusiastic, Over-Optimistic, Amazingly Awesome Ngoc

P.S. (THIS IS NGOC FROM THE FUTURE, 4/26/21: I god I tried to push concepts on others back then. I cringe at this episode because of how much I've deviated from everything I've said here. Finding myself? More like creating myself. haha. Happiness being that important? I still agree that it is but for some reason, I'm more into peace. Hey. I won't discredit 15 year old Ngoc. She was onto something. She was just too young to see more. Beyond what she knew. She has a good heart though, smol Ngoc. A little too optimistic and hopeful but a cutie-patootie. Okay Ngoc from the future outttt)

Huh. Merci Dieu!! Life Lessons with Ngoc! (Get ready for it.)

Dear Readers, the general audience, the peoples of Earth or Jupiter or whatever...

      Haha! Hello there! I have not been up to my game lately. I was just reading my earlier, naive, over-dramatic, and quite ridiculous posts of the past. Wasn't really my cup of tea, really.

      Thing was. I could actually see my own growth, my own development as a total weirdo, come to life like a horror movie. The experience was exasperating. Amusing mostly, but I enjoyed every hellish moment of it. People change, don't they? And I guess I've changed for the better also.

      Moving into a new educational environment, at first, was tremendously scary. I expected the worst. I always do, so it doesn't count, but having really experienced this new environment, I'm one step closer to understanding who the heck I am.

      I think that when you put yourself into a scary situation, a situation where you're challenged to adapt, to sweat, and to endure, you place yourself in the forefront of battle. You know what you're getting into. You know what's coming. And you're going to go through with it. That's brave. Pure bravery. And afterwards, the only possible result of this is experience. The good kind. The kind that you'll use for the rest of your mortal life.

      I know. I know. That may sound really difficult. But once you weigh out the pros and cons, I guarantee you that the pros will win and always will when you follow this sort-a-plan. And once you do come out unscathed, you'll find those like you. People that challenged themselves too. People that you'll agree with. A lot. I'll skip all the lovey-dovey stuff, but yep. You'll earn yourself some friendship.

      But the most important thing you'll find, is yourself. (Ngoc from the future: 12/6/20 -- this is absolute bullshit and terrible advice. You can't expect to find yourself. That's assuming at birth you were borne with qualities that make you unique. Which yes, is true, but also isn't, because I certainly did not have the leadership skills that I do now. You gotta sow to be the you that you want to be.-- "find yourself" HAHAHA.... oh ngoc.) That's the most important. Because when you do, life is gonna be a smoother ride without the chicken holes and the walking dead. Life's gonna be good. And you'll be one step closer each time you challenge yourself.

      You'll find something incredible. I guarantee that too.
 

Sincerely,
      Ngoc the Therapist (Ngoc from the future: no you absolutely are NOT a good therapist at all-- god you're exasperating Ngoc from the past)