have a good lunch

as i was dropping my students off at lunch today, one of my girls looked up at me and said, "have a good lunch, ms. leung." the way she said it was so sweet, and her smile was so genuine...made me really wanna pick her up and give her a hug.

those six words completely made my day. i'd been having a cranky morning, and a lot of my other students were really out of it, but this one little girl had the ability to turn it all around. all with one little gesture of kindness.

makes you really think about how one simple gesture or even a greeting to someone can make such an impact on their outlook of life.

as a teacher, you tend to learn more from your kids than they do from you, no matter how well you teach them. i think the future generation of america will be okay after all :)

a blur of a year

i don't think i ever realize how lucky i am.

i just got home from my THIRD vacation of the year. first cancun (march), then hawaii (april), now florida this past week, and then i have a FOURTH (and final) vacation during christmas break to taiwan for a week.

many people are always asking me where i have the money for all of it. to be very honest, i don't have money at all - just the little that i was making this past year, but i guess i believe a little too much in treating myself right.

i think it was this that made this past year such an awesome year for me. after graduating from nyu, i anticipated life sucking post-college years, what with having to live at home and all that, but it worked out better than i thought. as much as i had fun and went out during my undergrad years, i did SO much more this past year. perhaps it was cos i didn't have to worry about school for the first time in 18 years. or maybe my mantra of "work hard, play hard" just turned into play all the time, but either way, i've been so blessed with what i've been given, not just material goods, but with the people in my life as well.

now i'm embarking on working full time as well as taking grad school classes full time...not sure how that will play out, but i'm hopeful that each year will be bigger and better than its predecessor :)

awesomeness

why hawaii is amazing:

- 80 degree weather with a light breeze is the perfect temperature
- wearing close to nothing everywhere is okay, even when you're at a restaurant
- homemade sushi + sashimi made by my uncle
- beautiful beaches and clear blue water
- an $800/night 2-bedroom suite @ the hilton hawaiian village for close to nothing

and so many more. oh man...this is the life :D

golden globes

i wish i was a celebrity so that i can wear pretty dresses all the time.


that's such a girly thing for me to say....-_-