Post-Graduate Aspirations

It's the start of a school year, and high school seniors throughout the country are spending countless hours at university fairs, booking guided campus tours, and surfing an uncountable number of university websites. Despite the wide variety of available resources in our quest to identify our post-graduate aspirations, many of us still feel overwhelmed and confused.

With application deadlines quickly approaching, there is not only the pressure to improve and maintain grades and demonstrate commitment to extracurricular passions, but the 'obligation' to discover one's interests (and potential careers) seems stronger than ever.

It is important to remember, however, that post-secondary studies and activities are not about setting one's life path in stone. Rather, post-secondary studies is just another stage in life where each individual as even more opportunities to delve into the areas in which he or she enjoys, be they traveling, sciences, thinking, music, research, medicine, entrepreneurship, volunteer work, and so much more.

The difficulty therefore lies in determining one's passions and identifying what areas and fields are enjoyable. What does one do when one would like to do it all?

Study Music and Exam Finals

You know it's exam week for us students when you see us retreating into our homes, sticking the CD into the CD player, creating playlists with our Youtube account or on our Windows Media Player titled 'study music,' sitting outside with our textbooks and pens and papers with headphones practically permanently glued to our ears.

Music helps me study, and I know for a lot of other people, it helps them study as well. The question is, why? There is both value in music and silence, and it would be an absolute shame to think that silence is not as important as music because it is at the very least equally important. Muisc, however, provides something that silence does not. It fills in the parts of your brain that would have gotten filled in with junk thoughts, with trash distractions, with oh-wow-it's-really-hot-this-summer and I-wonder-what's-for-dinner-tonight, which are all valuable thoughts, but not necessarily the best sort of thoughts that you want to have during focused study time. Music, to me, when it's background study music, really puts everything in focus. It keeps your mind from wandering off to trivial things, and keeps you focused. It sets you free to delve deeper and deeper into your subject without getting too far off track.

And it's a stress reliever. Which we all need during exam week, of course.

5 cm per second

Akari Shinohara: Hey... They say it's five centimeters per second.
Takaki Toono: What do you mean?
Akari Shinohara: The speed at which the sakura blossom petals fall... Five centimeters per second.

Those are the first lines of the amazing animated film "Five Centimeters per Second" directed by Makoto Shinkai. It's a heart warming story with incredible animation and beautiful music, too!

I strongly suggest that you watch the film.

Here's the trailer: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PxKn5AwOTis
Here's the YouTube link to Part 1: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mPCaAJ3BogE
And here's the sound track: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6XGpB3iPckg&feature=PlayList&p=A2F72A602FD52834&playnext_from=PL&playnext=12

Enjoy! :)