we’re now in the last month of the decade. my brain is still struggling to process this – i had no idea everything would pass by so quickly! i still haven’t finished writing my summer traveling diaries (they’ll be up on the blog soon… maybe next year 🙈), but winter is already upon us (it technically hasn’t begun yet but i’ve already gotten a bad cold because of the cool weather).

in november, i’ve finally gotten used to school and started feeling less stressed. it was a very eventful month for me:

i donated blood for the first time. i went in feeling scared because i heard the procedure would hurt a lot, but i went ahead with it because i knew the blood donation could be used to help three patients – that’s three lives saved! also, the process didn’t hurt as much as i expected it would, and the nurses were all so nice to me. i will definitely donate again, as soon as my body produces enough red blood cells to make up for the ones i donated. 🙂

i got a film camera! i’ve always loved the warm, muted tones of film photography, and i’ve finally decided to invest in a 35mm camera of my own. at first, i actually wanted to get a disposable and experiment with it before getting a more expensive camera, but then i saw an instagram ad for an affordable reusable camera, so i went and direct messaged the store owner. in case you all are wondering, the camera i got was the kodak m35. i hope to upgrade to a more professional film camera with more features when i get the hang of how to shoot with film!

my dog turned three. i don’t talk about my dog a lot on this platform, but i love him to bits. he’s an apricot toy poodle, and he is the absolute cutest 😍 it’s been almost three years since he came into our home, and in dog years, he’s already much older than me – i can’t believe how fast he’s grown!

school got suspended. a lot of protests have been going on recently, and to ensure our safety we were told to stay home, do revision on our own, and submit homework online instead of going to school for class. it was a boring couple of days – i originally joined a medical attachment programme at one of the universities in the city, but it got canceled when the medical facility went into lockdown after protests happened on campus grounds. some of my friends signed up for overseas volunteering and career programmes for their cas weeks, and fomo hit hard when i scrolled through their stories and saw them having fun all over the world. still, i was pleased with how much homework and math exercises i got done over this unexpected break from school.

i listened to a lot of music. (and by a lot, i mean A LOT.) in the past, my mom didn’t let me listen to music while studying because she didn’t want me to get distracted (asian moms, am i right), but now she’s started to become less strict about it and i found out listening to music actually enhances my memory and productivity. i’ve started to track my studying duration by seeing how long it takes for me to finish listening to a playlist, and i’ve become so much more motivated and productive! here’s the music i study to:

i read seven books this month, which is a lot less than the amount i usually read, but still a number i’m really proud of, because despite all the school work i had to do, i still managed to reserve some time for reading 🙂 two of my favorite reads this month are i was born for this and red, white & royal blue. (you can read my review of r,w&b here.)

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my november was pretty awesome, and i hope december will be even better. i will probably be half inactive on here until mid january, because i have to prepare for my midterm exams (who in their right mind would schedule them RIGHT after the christmas holidays? 😡). let me wish you all a merry christmas and happy new year in advance! ❤

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how was your november? did anything cool happen? what books and music did you enjoy? let me know in the comments.