DayMindXPression is a writing repository by Daniel Shin. The online magazine focuses on various subjects that come to mind. As a place to publish various essays and articles, Day Mind XPression and its content are copyrighted.
© 2007 – 2008 Daniel Shin
What activities do I like?
Last week I wrote that I would be future posting my articles at this writing repository, but I could not live up to that promise. The reality was that I could not easily write more than six 500 word articles during my Thanksgiving vacation. Instead, I decided to move away from the computer for a few days and allow my mind to be clear.
Well, this week truly drained me with homework, quizzes, and upcoming final exams. The study schedule I have planned looks depressingly tough, but instead of focusing on the negatives I would like to take this time to get some positive thoughts in the air. What about listing what I like?
I love sleeping. It is one of the rarest times, when I can just let my mind get lost into the jungle of thoughts. I love the dreams that it provides, because it gives me another experience that is outside of my space-time continuum. Sleeping is also relaxing, and I can feel my body refreshed after long hours of rest. I am just happy that I can perform this activity on a daily basis, and I always look forward to it!
Reading, watching, and listening the news and opinions from various sources of media bring indirect joy to my day. Not all of the news might be positive and not all of the talk-opinions might be agreeable, but I truly enjoy consuming this information regardless of its content. I am proud by the fact that this country embraces free press, and it is critical for citizens to be informed for a democracy to work. I consume my daily dose of news and opinions to educate myself with the world’s surroundings and spark my mind with opinions with the rising issues of the day. This activity gives a nice mental exercise at the end of the day.
But even with all of these activities, I accrue large amount of stress at times, and running has been my primary discipline to combat the mental and physical fatigue. I usually run three miles a day at an indoor track and listen to some uplifting trance music through the exercise. It is sometimes exciting to run against good runners, but in other times I let my mind wonder off at an empty state. Somewhat like sleeping, running lets my mind to not think. That is bliss, because most of my school work demands a constant state of thought activity. I also build up endurance and maintain my body’s health during the process.
Finally, writing is one of my favorite activities for the day. Sometimes writing for homework assignments are enjoyable, but in other times I have more joy in free writing, especially for this repository. I do sometimes have to limit myself in going too personal with the articles, because my website is open for everyone to see. However, I feel that I am doing something important each time I publish an article. Maybe it might be the fact that I am building a writing portfolio that makes this activity beneficial in the future. Perhaps my articles will outlive me, and I could certainly make connections to readers in the future! I am not sure, but I still find it fun writing about anything. From a utility perspective, my writing skills are improving, and I get an audience for my work. At a personal level, writing gives me a meaningful time to think, reflect, and compose an idea within me. What a powerful activity it is….
I would like to quickly mention that I am feeling a lot better now after writing this article for about thirty minutes. I was feeling a little “not-happy” due to the overwhelming events that is going around in my environment, but writing this article gave a rush of fresh air to clear out negative emotions. I am feeling much happy now and hope you are too, because it is a great feeling!
