Minimalizing and Introspection

Recently, I have been trying to minimalize my life. From cleaning my closet to taking away any decor that makes me feel like my room is cluttering. I used to have a lot of decor pieces on my window sill like candles, plants, books, lights, and skincare, but I got tired of it. I moved all my plants to a separate table in my room. I got a basket I didn't use and started organizing it. Now there is just a basket with a fake plant, a book, a journal, hand cream, lip balm, and all my remotes. This was a small change in my room, but for me it made my room look so much more open. I can finally open the shutters because before all my decor would block it and make it tiresome to always open the window. I have a lot of house plants, but I am going to get a shelf that displays them in a much neater.

On my dresser, I had a lot of decor items as well. I almost think I was a maximalist at this point, but I organized everything onto one side where I kept only the essentials, and one or two display items I could not display. Which was my Gucci Bloom perfume and a jewelry dish.

I guess after writing this, I am realizing rearranged many things in my room. I am much happier in it after getting rid of everything that didn't make me happy.

My next task of minimalizing is my nightstand, dresser, and closet. I have cleaned it multiple times, but somehow I am still not able to open the drawer itself without it getting blocked by something, even with how much I decluttered inside. I want to get rid of a lot of my clothes in my closet because it makes me really irritated how I can't open the closet door since there are bags and clothes blocking it from opening it all the way. I hope I am not the only one that gets irritated from small things like that.

Introspection:

After taking IS 101 for a few weeks, I feel I am much more literate in Microsoft and its' functions. I am much more comfortable with the settings and format in Microsoft Word than I was before. The assignment I have liked so far is using a table for a resume. I am not familiar with making a resume at all and I usually just use a simple template, but making my own format was much more enlightening and satisfying when I was done. I also like writing blog posts. I find them really fun because I have a lot of things to say.                                                                                                                                    

I Paid $2,000 to Play Video Games

I have been playing video games since I was 9. My first ever video game was Halo Reach on the Xbox 360 (the most amazing game and console). My dad and his friends let me play even though I would do nothing and didn't even know how to use a controller. From there, I gravitated towards first-person shooter games (FPS) and occasionally MMORPG.

On my Xbox One, I played Call of Duty Modern Warfare for a very long time until I found out about Valorant which was a PC game that was not available on Xbox. I figured it was time to make the switch since PC offered more games than on Xbox. I saved a lot of money and got all my PC specs, I put all the easy parts in the PC tower myself, and then my Dad did all the wiring.

Once my PC came together, I played League of Legends (for a very long time). Then I moved on to the original goal of buying my PC which was to play Valorant. I don't care what anyone says, Valorant has the biggest learning curve ever, from someone who is used to fast-paced FPS video games like COD and Rainbow Six Seige. The concept of not moving and firing a gun made me really frustrated, so then I would move on to playing Sims 4, Genshin Impact, or League of Legends again.

Recently, an MMORPG called Lost Ark came out and I have been playing that, but then I went back to Valorant again because I am addicted to FPS games (it's in my blood). Yesterday, I busted out $40 on Valorant for the battle pass, a skin for the operator (it's a sniper in Valorant), and a couple other things. I clipped some highlights yesterday night when I was playing with my friend. The clip below was a pretty lucky shot I had in a game. Also, most of the time I am quite lucky when I hit my shots. I am scared to start playing ranked games in Valorant because I know it is a very toxic and competitive environment, when the only thing I am good at is sniping and quick scoping. Another aggravating thing I do is playing a duelist* and staying in the back. I get yelled out most of the time for doing it, but Reyna (a duelist agent) has been my ride or die ever since I started sniping and I love her healing abilities.

I am also doing this blog post to make me feel good about my $40 purchase even though my bank is crying. My bank is crying, my heart is happy, and that's all that matters right.... ha... ha... but at what cost. :''')

*duelist: "Agents that create some of the most impacts, offering aggression to a team comp. A duelist should be expected to seek out engagements and frag."

TD04 Things I Learned

The lesson I enjoyed and learned the most about is 2.3 File Management. I enjoyed this lesson because I like to clean, so I organized my own files on my PC because my downloads folder was a bit messy, even though I am usually good at cleaning it. 2.3 helped me become more efficient and use the Recycle Bin. I honestly never used the Recycle Bin before, but now I use it a lot. Many of the other lessons in 2.3 I was familiar with since I do like organizing and cleaning whether it's digital or in person.

TD03 Someting I found useful

So far in IS101, I have enjoyed section 1.3 on digital communication. I think digital communication is very convenient. I liked learning about the different ways of communicating and the terms for communicating. For example, the need for wifi in order to communicate on email or social media. I can apply this outside of my life when I compose emails that would be for work or for personal use. Section 1.3 showed many different functions and buttons on email and I thought that was very helpful because I did not know that some of those functions existed.

This Anime Traumitized Me in A Good Way

My favorite anime is Violet Evergarden. This is a show that is only streamed on Netflix. Violet Evergarden seems to take place in the late 19th century and in the early 20th century. This anime is about a girl who is gifted to Major Gilbert Bougainvillea as a "weapon" due to her fighting capabilities and strength on the battlefield, who had no problem killing others if those were her orders. Throughout the first couple of episodes, we are able to see Violet Evergarden and Major Bougainvillea grow a close relationship, for example, he teaches her how to read, write, and see the beautiful things in life other than war, which is what she has known. During one military siege, Major Bougainvillea and Violet Evergarden are caught in a collapsing building where he is very injured and she is doing anything to save him. During his last moments in the building, he tells her "Violet I want you to be free and live happily, not as a tool, but as a regular human being, and to find a real home.... I love you".

From there, Violet wakes up in a hospital with cold metal arms instead of real human ones. Violet automatically wonders the Major Bougainvillea is and if he is okay. Slowly, the news leaks that he has died, and Violet has become devastated with the loss of her Major. Violet gets a job as an auto memories doll. An auto memories doll is a  typist who specializes in writing letters while also attuning their writing to the sender's emotions to the receiver. Violet determines that she would become an auto memories doll to understand the words her Major spoke, "I love you".

This anime emphasizes the idea of talking to your loved ones as much as possible and saying everything you want to say or you'll miss your chance. For example, Violet had to write a letter for a mother who was very ill and had a daughter. The mother wrote letters to her daughter that would be sent to her on her birthday until she was 50. I am very much an empath when watching anything anime-related and this anime has made me very emotional in every season/movie of Violet Evergarden. There were many more instances and examples are could list, but then this blog post might be too long.

This anime has made me enjoy my life more and how spending time with my boyfriend and family may not feel rare, but at some point in my life, it would feel like a distant memory. This anime also showed me the importance of getting out of your comfort zone and speaking your mind, which is what Violet did to understand what her Major said to her. This is sometimes hard for me because I am shy and sometimes timid, but I am still trying my best.