This week, I continued working toward my goal of crocheting twenty projects. So far, I have finished a lily, a cat, a bee and a small jellyfish. I gave the lily to a friend for their birthday, along with the cat. I gifted the bee to my dad, and hung the octopus from my shelf. I didn’t struggle with anything this week, but am a little behind on progress. Next week, I will be traveling, but I will continue to crochet while I am out of town. I won’t make any adjustments because it has been going well. Currently I am working on a hat, and plan to make more mini animals. I am still feeling pretty motivated, and have been steadily working toward my goal, crocheting in any free time I have. While on my flight, I will work on crocheting more things, as it would be a good opportunity to catch up on missed time.

My favourite room in my house is my bedroom. I like it for many more reasons than “it’s where I sleep”. The room in my house that I use as a bedroom is unique, sunny, and fits my style. It is rectangular-shaped with a small extrusion where the double-door to the living room is. From a birds-eye view, on the left of the room is a glass sliding door that leads to the courtyard. My room’s flooring is carpet, and it has wood paneling on the walls up to a metre high made from a rich brown wood. On the back wall, the room has a floor-to-ceiling, wall-to-wall bookshelf with a treasury desk in the middle. The desk has a roll-top. The desk also has many cabinets that can be locked via an intricate device that is sadly broken. On the shelves over and on the sides of the desk, my parents have shelved dozens of books. The books range from old photo albums to textbooks on philosophy. On the left of the entrance, next to the glass door, there is another floor-to-ceiling bookshelf that is filled with books from my childhood in Korean and English. On the other side of the sliding glass door is my bed. It is a single bed, but can be extended to be wider if need be. Next the top of the bed, there is a desk that my dad sometimes uses. It houses a monitor and various technology I rarely use. On the opposite side, I have my desk. It is normally cluttered with various projects that I am working on, and it the definition of organised chaos. Secondly, I love my room because it is sunny. In the afternoons, when I get home from school, my room is always filled with sunlight. It shines in from the double glass doors and illuminates the white walls. Lastly, my room is my favourite room in the house because it fits my personality. I love books, and it always feels so surreal to be surrounded by so many books. My room always smells like crisp pages and spine glue.

Hello! This week I started my 20% project. For my project, I set a goal of crocheting twenty different projects by the deadline. This week, at the time of writing this (Tuesday 4/15), I have completed one project, and am working on my second. For my first project, I made a small flower bouquet for a friend’s birthday.

I am currently working on a lily for another friend as my second project. I didn’t have many struggles this week besides time constraint. I was pretty busy this past weekend so I didn’t get as much done as I wanted, but I am pretty confident I will be fine. I won’t adjust anything this week, and will wait and see how next week goes before making changes. I will continue to work on my goal throughout the week whenever I have free time, and will try my best to stay on target. I currently am done with project #1, and am working on project #2.

The Odyssey is an epic poem allegedly written by Homer (I say allegedly because it is impossible to know what happened that far back without written records). It was originally recorded in Greek but has since been translated into many languages. It follows the Greek hero Odysseus’s journey home from the Trojan War. This recap will have spoilers but this epic has been around for 2,000 years now, so I don’t feel that bad about it. After Troy fell, Odysseus and his 600 men set sail back home to Ithaca where he is king. There awaits his wife Penelope and son Telemachus who was born right before he left. His second in command Eurylochus is married to Odysseus’s sister, Ctimene, therefore making him his brother-in-law. The epic bounces around narration, but I will tell the story in chronological order for the sake of cohesiveness.

First of all, some background on Odysseus. Odysseus is a Greek king of Ithaca. He is renowned for his intelligence and quick thinking. He is also a good leader and fighter. In addition his patron god (or should I say goddess) is Athena. This means she watches over him. Odysseus, uniquely, is a very loyal family man. He is in love with his wife and will do anything to get back to her and their son.

The first obstacle Odysseus and his crew face is the island of the lotus eaters. Lotus (in Greek mythology) is a fruit that makes one forget their motivations. The inhabitants of the island were all men who had eaten lotus and now wanted to stay there forever because of the lotus’s affects on their minds. Though the lotus eaters were passive, they would offer lotus to anyone naïve enough to take it. A few of Odysseus’s crew explored the island and ended up eating some lotus offered to them. Promptly upon discovering this, Odysseus dragged his men back onto the ships (a fleet of 12 ships) and ordered them to set sail. Talk about ancient Greek stranger danger.

The next challenge they encounter is a cyclops. Low on food and supplies, Odysseus decides to land on an island and see what food they can get. Luckily, or so it seemed, the island was full of sheep. Kind of makes you question why a random island in the middle of the Aegean sea filled with sheep didn’t ring at least one alarm bell in anyone’s mind but “sunt pueri pueri, pueri puerilia tractant” I guess. Anyways, this island is home to cyclopes. The one that Odysseus and his small scouting mission finds is a “baby” cyclops named Polyphemus. While Polyphemus is away tending to his crops, the scouting group sneaks into his cave to “borrow” (steal) food and supplies. Unfortunately, the cyclops returns at nightfall, bringing his flock inside with him, and closes the massive boulder that acts as a door for the cave. 6 of Odysseus’s men are eaten by Polyphemus. Odysseus offers him wine and introduces himself as “nobody”. Odysseus then manages to stab Polyphemus’s eye out. When the other cyclopes hear him bellowing in pain, they ask who hurt him. He responds with “nobody”. They respond, “If no one hurts you, you are alone” (book 9, pg. 253 Emily Wilson’s translation of the Odyssey). Eventually, Odysseus and the remaining men are able to escape by hanging onto the underside of the sheep on their way out to graze in the morning. Unable to see anything wrong, the cyclops opens the boulder and gives Odysseus and his men the path to freedom. However, of course something had to go wrong. In a fit of rage for his fallen comrades and blinded by hubris, Odysseus shouts from the retreating ships, “Cyclops, if ever mortal man inquire how you were put to shame and blinded, tell him Odysseus, raider of cities, took your eye: Laërtês’ son, whose home’s on Ithaca!” (book 9, page 160 [lines 495-555] Robert Fitzgerald’s translation of the Odyssey, spelling changed for cohesiveness). Yes, you read that right. Our boy Odysseus just doxxed himself. Might as well tell him your social security number with that at that point. Now, it might not seem that bad to tell a cyclops who lives out in the middle of the ocean your name and home city, it is bad in this case because Polyphemus has a dad. A certain powerful dad that may or may not be the god of what Odysseus will be sailing on for the rest of his journey. That’s right, Polyphemus’s dad is Poseidon. Poseidon as in the god of the sea Poseidon. Maybe not the smartest move on Odysseus’s front. In addition to that, Polyphemus and the other cyclopes hurl rocks at Odysseus’s fleet until only his ship remains, killing everyone on board of the other eleven ships. 

The crew starts feeling the effects of their captain’s slip-up right away. They experience the worst storm any of them have ever seen. Amidst the storm, however, there is a clear patch of sky. In it is the floating island of Aeolus, the god of the winds. Odysseus goes to see him and explains the situation to him. Aeolus agrees that he will contain Poseidon’s storm on one condition: he will put the winds in a bag and no one may open it because the storm would blow back with the same intensity as before and blow them far away from Ithaca. Odysseus agrees and returns to his ship. He tells the crew about the bag and its contents, however, many in the crew are not convinced and are certain it is treasure of some kind that Odysseus is hoarding to himself. Odysseus, too, does not fully trust his crew, so he stays awake and guards the bag for nine days. Talk about dedication to get back to your wife and child. Unfortunately, a mortal can only stay awake for so long. Keep in mind that at this point the crew is so close to home, they can see the shores of Ithaca. With all that, the crew still opens the bag. They open the bag. They. Open. The. Bag. Yeah, it wasn’t the brightest idea from the crew (just wait, more to come). The winds of the storm return full-force and blow them back to the island floating on the sea, undoing nine days of smooth sailing. Odysseus once again appeals to Aeolus, but this time he rejects, sure that a man this unlucky has been cast out by the gods. Hopeless, Odysseus and his crew set sail.

Because the universe hates Odysseus, the next place he arrives is a test of his faith. He finds himself on the island of Aeaea. Odysseus sends a small group of men to scout the island while he oversees repairs to the damages to the ship caused by the storm. After a while, Eurylochus returns. Alone. Odysseus inquires at the whereabouts of the rest of his group, and Eurylochus responds with bad news. This island is home to an immortal witch named Circe and she has turned his crew into pigs. Odysseus is at once seized with the urgency to go rescue his men. Eurylochus, on the contrary, begs Odysseus to leave them because it is too dangerous. Undeterred, Odysseus heads in the direction of Circe’s palace. On the way, Odysseus meets the god of messengers, Hermes. Hermes offers to help Odysseus and gives him Moly. Moly is a flower that has the power to combat Circe’s magic. Once consumed, it will not allow any of Circe’s spells to work on him. Thanking Hermes, Odysseus sets off once again to rescue his men. Once he meets Circe, she is confused as to how none of her spells work on him. She lunges to attack him, but Odysseus manages to evade and corner her. Circe determines that he must be Odysseus, as it was prophesied that he would visit her island. Though only thinking of his dear Penelope, Odysseus agrees to go to bed with Circe on the condition that she reverts his men into humans, and that she will do them no harm. After a while on Aeaea, Odysseus becomes restless to get back home. He talks with Circe and she is willing to let them go, and even offers him advice. Circe tells Odysseus to go to the underworld to consult the spirit of Tiresias, a blind Theban prophet who Circe believes can help Odysseus on his journey home. 

In the world of the Odyssey, the underworld is located at the edge of the known world. After sailing there, the crew set up the ceremony to summon the dead. While awaiting Tiresias, Odysseus meets people he knew who are now dead. He meets Achilles, now reunited with Patroclus in death, his mother, Anticleia, who died after Odysseus has left for the Trojan War, and Agamemnon, the leader of the Greek troops in the Trojan War who had been killed by his own wife promptly after returning home from the war. When Tiresias finally arrives, his one piece of advice to Odysseus is to never kill the cattle of the Sun God on the island of Thrinacia. Seems like a pretty easy thing to me. 

After a quick trip back to Circe’s palace, Odysseus sets sail once again. He meets some sirens, and is one of the first mortals to hear their deadly songs and live to tell the tale. He also encounters Scylla, a six headed sea monster that he is forced to sacrifice six men to. Finally, he is forced to dock on the island of Thrinacia. Sound familiar? Odysseus tells his crew over and over and over again not to lay a finger of the cattle that are roaming around the island. Do the crew listen? No. Driven mad by hunger, Eurylochus proposes the idea of killing and eating the cows. In doing so, they seal their fate. Helios notices at once and tells Zeus, king of the gods. Zeus comes down and strikes the ship down. Odysseus is the only one fated to survive. He survives by holding onto some boards that came from the now destroyed ship. On this makeshift raft, he meets Charybdis, a whirlpool monster. Odysseus lives by holding onto a fig tree whose roots will not allow it to be sucked into the lethal monster’s mouth. He drifts for nine days, and on the tenth is discovered.

Odysseus washes up on the shore of Ogygia. This island is home to the goddess Calypso. Calypso ends up trapping him on the island for seven years. Now, you must be wondering, where is Athena? She’s supposed to be Odysseus’s patron goddess, right? Well, she has been watching Odysseus the entire time and decides that he needs her help. Yeah Athena, after his entire crew died and he’s been stuck on an unplottable island for seven years. Athena appeals to her father Zeus, and he finally relents and sends Hermes to take Odysseus off the island. Odysseus makes it to the kingdom of Hyperia and finally makes it home. In total his journey from Troy to Ithaca took ten years, not to mention the ten years of the Trojan War itself. In total, Odysseus was gone from his kingdom for twenty years. 

At home, the young men of Ithaca are not vying for queen Penelope’s hand in marriage. They believe Ithaca has been kingless for too long, and that Odysseus is probably dead. Everyone else from the Trojan War made it home alive, so why hasn’t Odysseus returned yet? A few years before Odysseus’s return, his son, Telemachus, sets out to find answers. He visits Menelaus, the brother of Agamemnon and wife of Helen (her abduction was the cause of the Trojan War) to find details of his father’s whereabouts. Odysseus, on the other hand, has returned to Ithaca to take his place as ruler. However, his palace is taken over by rowdy suitors. He devises a plan with Athena. She disguises him as a beggar and he enters the palace to get a read on the situation. 

Penelope is as intelligent as Odysseus, and although she doesn’t know her husband has returned, she knows she must at least pretend to be looking for a suitor to appease them. She devises a challenge that whoever can string Odysseus’s bow and shoot through twelve axe-heads cleanly will be the new king. Little do the suitors know, Odysseus’s bow is so unique that only he, his son, and Penelope know how to string it. On the night the challenge is announced, Odysseus sneaks in to participate as well, still disguised as a beggar. Like predicted, none of the 108 suitors can string his bow, let alone shoot with it. However, Odysseus the beggar gives it a try and strings it easily. What the suitors don’t know is that Odysseus and Telemachus had been scheming to trap the suitors in the palace. By the end of the night, Odysseus and Telemachus had killed all of the suitors. Odysseus returns to take his rightful place as king of Ithaca and is reunited with Penelope. 

If you liked the story, here are some Odyssey-related things I recommend checking out:

Circe, a book by Madeline Miller 

Epic the Musical, a musical based on the Odyssey by Jorge Rivera-Herrans (this is my favourite musical of all time, I cannot recommend it enough)

Any translations of the Odyssey and Iliad, they’re genuinely really good reads, especially if you are into Greek mythology. For translations, I would recommend Emily Wilson if you want a simpler translation to read. Robert Fitzgerald is known for his accurate translations of Greek poetry and I would highly recommend it if you are a fan of these things

Thank you for sticking around until the end, this blog was a long one, but I hope you learned something new! <3

In the month of March, I read the book The Librarian of Auschwitz by Antonio Iturbe (translated by Lilit Žekulin Thwaites). This novel is based on the real life experiences of a Jew named Dita Kraus who was a teen during the Holocaust who contributed her experiences to the author of the book. This book is a mix of a biography and a story. In the book, Edita “Dita” Alder is in charge of the forbidden library of Block 31 in Auschwitz-Birkenau. BIIb “the family camp” has a rare gem within the horrors of the concentration camp. It is home to a school of over 500 children from the September and December transports to Auschwitz. Block 31 consists of many children, helpers, and teachers. The blockältester Fredy Hirsch, who is also a Jew, is in charge of the school. Dita is entrusted with the clandestine library consisting of eight books. She takes care of the books and the “living books” (teachers who can recite the story of a book). Her mission to keep the books hidden and safe puts her in harm’s way many times, including into the path of the infamous Josef Mengele. Up until the liquidation of the family camp, she dutifully keeps the books safe. Her experiences as the librarian of Auschwitz will affect her for the rest of her life.

This book is a great read because it has a mix of history, mystery, and adventure. The narrative mainly focuses on Dita, but also jumps to the perspective of other people. These side stories tie in together in a way you would never expect.

Fredy Hirsch is my favourite character because he is a leader in Block 31 and is a symbol of wisdom, hope, and stability for the children of the school. Fredy has a way with words that can reassure anyone. When he finds Dita to recruit her for the library, he says “Brave people are the ones who can overcome their own fear” (25). This shows that he is wise because many people think brave people don’t feel fear, but in fact, Fredy says that brave people acknowledge the fact that they are afraid, yet choose to continue. Fredy continues to encourage and lead his people until the end.

My favourite quote from the book is from the second chapter but can be applied to the rest of the story, and life. “To live is a verb that only makes sense in the present tense” (12). This quote is powerful in the context of the book because during the Holocaust, many people’s main goals was to survive, but the family camp took it a step further. The teachers wanted to let the kids have a hint of a normal life outside of the walls of Auschwitz-Birkenau. You must treasure every moment you have like it could be your last, because it could be.

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Three people I would invite to dinner would be Abraham Lincoln, Mahatma Gandhi, and Leonardo da Vinci. The reason I would invite these people is because I would like to hear their take on the current problems in the world. Lincoln, the sixteenth president of America, was most well known for having his presidency during the U.S. Civil War. An active abolitionist and advocate for equal rights, he fought against the South to end slavery. I would have him to dinner to discuss how today’s discrimination against minorities or others of a different race could be solved. I think he would have an insightful point to make about the political climate the 21st century. Another person I would invite to dinner would be Mahatma Gandhi. Gandhi was famous for his anti-violence philosophies that I think would prove valuable in the light of the current political happenings. Lastly, I would invite Leonardo da Vinci to dinner. Da Vinci was known for his brilliant mind and ideas that were centuries ahead of his time. I think he would be proud to see how much humanity has advanced since the Renaissance. He might also provide valuable insight on how today’s climate change crisis could be adverted. In conclusion, I would invite Lincoln, Gandhi, and da Vinci to dinner because their thoughts on the present would be invaluable.

My dream job is to be a physical therapist specializing in dance. I think this job  would be a good fit for me because I like helping people, I enjoy dance and know many things about it, and I like science and anatomy. I like helping people, and it was always my dream to pursue a career in the medical field as I feel I could have a positive impact on people’s lives. I feel I would be good at any physical, social, or emotional interactions I would have as a therapist, and would also like to see the results of their and my efforts. Another reason I think I would be good at physical therapy is because dance is my passion, and I would like to stay connected to it. I grew up dancing,  but never intended to become a professional dancer. This way, I can help any other dancers who truly want to go somewhere in the field. If I can help them one step of the way, then that is enough for me. Lastly, I think being a physical therapist would be a good fit for me because I enjoy and am good at science, and would like to learn more about how skeletal and muscle systems work. I feel like I could conduct research that could benefit and move the field forward. In addition to the three reasons, I would like to become a physical therapist because currently, all physical therapists in the dance area are very expensive and elite. I would like to provide more affordable and accesible therapy to any aspiring dancers that needs it.

There are many things you could do if you were invisible. If you are an agent of chaos, you could rob a bank, steal, or prank people, or if you feel generous, you could help anyone in need. If I woke up one day and was invisible, the first thing I would do is go on a walk. I like taking early morning walks, but find it awkward when people on the way to work stare at a thirteen-year-old strolling through their neighborhood. If I was invisible, I could take a walk without anyone noticing me. Another thing I would do is go to a public place like a park and watch people. I am a people-watcher, and like to see people go about their days. Again, it would be weird to have a kid staring at you while on your daily walk, so I would prefer not to be seen or noticed. Lastly, I would want to hang out with my friends. I think it would be entertaining and interesting to see someone trying to interact with a person they can’t see. It’s like a social experiment on how much people rely on body language in addition to the tone of voice in a conversation. The same goes for eye contact and hand gestures. In conclusion, I would use my invisibility to have a more peaceful day, while learning something new in the process.

In the month of February, I read the book, Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep? By popular science fiction author Phillip K. Dick. The story takes place in 2021 (keep in mind that this book was published in 1968, and 2021 was “distant future”) after a devastating world war that killed millions, and drove almost all species on Earth to extinction. Many humans moved to Mars due to the radioactive dust on Earth, while some stayed behind. The lack of life on Earth led to the cultural idea that one must have a pet animal, and take care of them. In this future, humans are also able to create extremely lifelike android animals and humans. The narrative follows two humans remaining on Earth. An android bounty hunter named Rick Deckard and a “special” (human with a sub-standard IQ level) named John R. Isidore (J.R.). Rick is tasked with hunting down six androids of eight that escaped from Mars. After his superior, Dave Holden, is injured while attempting to retire his second android of the assignment, Rick has to hunt the remaining. However, the androids are vicious, and will fight for their lives. J. R. runs into a situation with three of the androids that brings him and Rick together. This is a good book to read because it is introspective, and has many thought-provoking ideas that are as relevant now as they were thirty seven years ago. As Rick hunts these androids, he encounters a problem. He begins to empathize with the androids and even befriends an android he is not hunting named Rachel, who helps him track down her fellows.

My favorite character in the book is Rachel. I like her as a character because she is unpredictable, and pushes Rick to think through his actions. “‘No, she didn’t care,’… ‘Rachel wouldn’t give a damn if you saw her; she probably wanted you to, so I’d know who had done it.’’ (208). The quote happen after Rick finds out that Rachel killed his pet goat, which he had juts bought. This proves that Rachel is unpredictable because she knew that Rick cared for his goat, but still pushed it off the roof to prove that he had no control over what happened in his life. She wants to remind him of what he did, and that his actions have consequences, no matter how good the deed was.

The most meaningful quote in the book is “‘Everything is true,’ he said. ‘Everything anybody has ever thought.’” (209). This quote is powerful because it means that your reality can be what you make it to be. At the end of the book, Rick realizes that all androids are alive, in a sense. He had developed thoughts and attachments to androids and realized that they have thought, feelings, and lives as well. Mercerism, the religion that most humans at the time followed, is exposed as a fake, but people still believe, because it is their reality. They believe that Mercer is guiding them. This applies to life in general because everyone believes in something, and has morals they will never break. Everyone follows their own reality.

I live on an abandoned island. I’ve lived here as long as I can remember. Thinking back five, maybe ten years everything starts with me waking up on a stony beach under a hazy grey sky. Maybe I’m an amnesiac, but I remember almost everything after that point. I remember exploring my pretty, green island, building a house on a hill, and learning to hunt and fish and survive.

I take a breath as I watch the sun rise over the horizon. Quickly snatching up my fishing supplies, I skip down to my makeshift dock and set up. I don’t mind being alone. It’s nice having time to appreciate the small things in nature like the cuckoo that sits high above my house at dawn, calling out in the branches of the tallest evergreen that rises bold above all the rest. As I take a seat on the smooth wooden planks, dangling my feet into the cold but refreshing water, I gaze over my small cove that opens to the dull glass sea. The evergreen forest stretches both side of the mouth, standing out against the calm blue sky. As I sit on the edge of my dock, wrapped in a simple wool shawl against the chilly breeze, the tall pines dance and sway, bobbing to music humans could never hear. I zone out as I gaze at the never-ending horizon that stretches until it vanishes from sight.

I think of my house that I spent weeks, maybe months building. Its sturdy pine walls keeping me protected from the unforgiving blizzards my island gets during the wintertime. The chimney that I built from stones individually, painfully placed by hand. The carpets and bedsheets made from wool sheared from  wild rams. My mind flashed even further back to the first night I spent on the island. The first day, I spent the daylight collecting resources such as food in the form of berries, freshwater from a stream, and basic shelter in the form of a sturdy tree branch I could sleep on. I was wearing useful clothes and also had a rucksack filled with a sleeping bag, sherpa jacket, and a various assortment of first aid supplies, a pocket knife, a compass and an empty water bottle. At high noon, I set off to map out the island. That is how I figured out that my island is shaped like a crescent moon. It curves around the east bay I am fishing in now. In the northernmost part of the island rises a mountain. From it, freshwater rivers and tributaries flow from it, providing me with water.

Now, I glance to the left and see the mountain, which I had nicknamed Mt. Odysseus after I had a small mental breakdown and lamented that I would never get off the island, has been snowed on overnight, and that its twin peaks are now capped in brilliant white against the heavy, blue sky. In keeping with the Greek-themed names, I named the island Calypso’s moon after the goddess that held Odysseus captive for seven years on her island of Ogygia.

Over months and years, I established a working routine that I follow daily. Waking up at dawn, the first thing I do is to fetch water from the stream nearby my house. Located on an elevated ridge, a river flows down the hill, passing right by my house. Once I have enough water to last me the whole day, I have breakfast, which is usually poached fruit covered in honey from the bees I keep. After breakfast, I alternate day-by-day between fishing, hunting, and maintenance of the structures I have built on the island. After a lunch of fish or small animal with greens I gathered, I continue my long but exciting task of mapping the entire island until dinner, whereafter I weave or sew new clothes until the daylight runs its course. I have mapped three quarters of the island by now. From Mt. Odysseus, a large, evergreen forest stretches across the island’s middle curve down to the south. The southern tip of the island is filled with seaside cliffs and caves, which I tend to stay out of. I know this island was inhabited once, because I have found countless ruins and old, crumbling stone structures scattered around the forests and moors. Along the west side spans most of the ruins. They dot the marshy landscape like so many fallen warriors, and seem to have no valuable use.

I usually repeat my routine day after day after day, but today is different. I glance at the sky. It is yet to be noon, which means it’s time to go. I gather up my supplies and the meager amount of fish I caught and head uphill to my house. I set my supplies down and pick up a duffel I packed and load a crate of provisions onto a makeshift wagon. I drag my stuff down to the beach and untie something from the pole that sits in waist-deep water. I haul my stuff aboard and take a long look at my island. I unfurl my sail and push the boat off the sand bank. I was ready to move on. I stare straight ahead at the never-ending sea and finally meet the horizon I spent countless long days watching.