![exchange retrospective one year laterexactly one year ago, i was in my last week of classes at NTU, singapore. exchange was the most beautiful experience of my life to date. the people that i met, the meals that i shared, the films that i worked on, the solo days spent exploring nooks and crevices, here, there, and everywhere—i grew into someone i never thought i would become.on january 21st, 2025, about two weeks into my new life, i wrote this in my diary: “i haven’t updated in a while… i’m twenty now. i feel like burning stars, younger than i’ve ever been. i feel like a grown-up and a young soul, a woman with eyelids of glitter, and, still, demons to dispel. i don’t really feel scared anymore. i feel like the main character in my own story.”i cried exactly 3 times while on exchange. the first was on some saturday night in january—the only day i ever felt homesick, when i called mi mami and told her i missed her. the second was in april, while on the plane to seoul, listening to charlie brown by coldplay—tears of joy and disbelief. i could not believe that my life had become this beautiful. the third and final time was just a few days later—when i lost my wallet (lol). after the most chaotic day of my life, i ended up recovering it, and i now get asked to tell the story at every single family get-together (thank you a trillion to laur and lisa—love u sm).anyways, there’s so much to say about exchange that i could never boil it down to an insta caption. the walks around campus, the moments when i felt so pretty, crashing out over production design (but adoring the process), volcano hiking, the coldplay and j-hope concerts, the gym at north hill (my lover), the parties, going to universal, the mixue ice cream and tea jingle, my microbangs era, lunar new year, extra-ing for an episode of hacks, karaoke, biking, the ghibli exhibition, my live figure drawing class, museums, grilling... i could go on—guess that’s why it took me so long to even post about it in the first place.when i first started university, i was terrified of growing up. exchange cured me. i am finally unafraid to live.i am so incredibly excited to see what comes next.]()
exchange retrospective 𓆩✧𓆪 one year later
exactly one year ago, i was in my last week of classes at NTU, singapore. exchange was the most beautiful experience of my life to date. the people that i met, the meals that i shared, the films that i worked on, the solo days spent exploring nooks and crevices, here, there, and everywhere—i grew into someone i never thought i would become.
on january 21st, 2025, about two weeks into my new life, i wrote this in my diary: “i haven’t updated in a while… i’m twenty now. i feel like burning stars, younger than i’ve ever been. i feel like a grown-up and a young soul, a woman with eyelids of glitter, and, still, demons to dispel. i don’t really feel scared anymore. i feel like the main character in my own story.”
i cried exactly 3 times while on exchange. the first was on some saturday night in january—the only day i ever felt homesick, when i called mi mami and told her i missed her. the second was in april, while on the plane to seoul, listening to charlie brown by coldplay—tears of joy and disbelief. i could not believe that my life had become this beautiful. the third and final time was just a few days later—when i lost my wallet (lol). after the most chaotic day of my life, i ended up recovering it, and i now get asked to tell the story at every single family get-together (thank you a trillion to laur and lisa—love u sm).
anyways, there’s so much to say about exchange that i could never boil it down to an insta caption. the walks around campus, the moments when i felt so pretty, crashing out over production design (but adoring the process), volcano hiking, the coldplay and j-hope concerts, the gym at north hill (my lover), the parties, going to universal, the mixue ice cream and tea jingle, my microbangs era, lunar new year, extra-ing for an episode of hacks, karaoke, biking, the ghibli exhibition, my live figure drawing class, museums, grilling... i could go on—guess that’s why it took me so long to even post about it in the first place.
when i first started university, i was terrified of growing up. exchange cured me. i am finally unafraid to live.
i am so incredibly excited to see what comes next.
1 month ago
![oxígeno[ ◉¯] @samonella42](https://sp1.picnob.com/p/pt_6714496753381073301448_0_39412fbf60a781de08eb0eaac179c1dd.jpg?o=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&h=4759251c13afe97f6b89fc0387c565f9)
![a state of being ...[ ◉¯] @chipleii⋆｡° @yiik1_1( ᴗ͈ˬᴗ͈) @mmisssami + @laurynkapral ----⋆₊ @violetvillahermosa + @rinxim˚ ︎ @clawwwed_ @ryserjannaya + me](https://sp1.picnob.com/p/pt_6737405839353373211937_0_796abbb3f679f9e006ec8027f64aa178.jpg?o=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&h=043ba05f769eedd094eca61dbd909152)
