This summer was my third summer in the US, which is crazy. Where did time go? I came to this land in July 2022, starting my master study in a long and hot summer in Maryland. After a year I said goodbye to Maryland and moved to Knoxville in another long and hot summer. After 2 summers all about moving and starting a new life, this summer I finally stayed in the same place and continue to stay in the same life stage....
I can’t believe my first year of PhD is done. It is like a dream. I still remember, so clearly, the day that I got admitted and the day I finally accepted the offer from UT. It was a hard decision because I was concerned of the ranking of UT and my funding situation, but my AMAZING advisors and other faculty members made me believe that it is the right decision....
I attended 2 conferences for 2024 so far (probably that’ll be it) – NARST and AERA. Both are great gatherings in the education field, where I have met lots of great friends and colleagues, and was inspired so much by others. It was a big accomplishment for me to attend such meaningful events, I am proud of myself, and thankful for my advisors and peers who have always been so supportive....
Not much to say. This is my second Chinese New Year in the U.S., had a crazy but wonderful night with a couple of good friends. I love everyone here. Here is a photo of what we had: (Photo by Xu Wu).
Welcome to 2024! 2024 means a lot to me, in different ways. One is because it is my “本命年”, which is my animal year in Chinese zodiac. I can’t believe I’m 24 years old. I thought I would be mature, success, young, and beautiful when 24, but here I am, still childish, frenetic sometime, and messy most of the time. But generally I’m satisfied with myself now. My family are healthy, my school life has been awesome, I am still close with my friends, I still read and play around with music....
Hobbies have an appreciation period, you might get bored after a while. But there are three things that I will always love, read, travel, and music. There is a saying in Chinese, “读万卷书，行万里路，胸中脱去尘浊，自然丘壑内营，立成鄄鄂。” It means that read as much as you can and go as far as you can, so that you will let go of the dust in your heart and build your own system. Reading is another way of traveling, and traveling is another way of reading....
Not much to say, just want to mark the date, 2023/09/19, I got my driver’s license from Tennessee. It’s my first driver’s license ever, in my life. Be careful Tennessean!
Learning how to drive is absolutely a torture for me, I’m not kidding. Even in this relatively empty country, and I have the best driving instructor – my roommate, I still feel horrible. Knowledge test is ok, I prepared for weeks and took hundreds of mock tests, so I passed at once. A small episode is that, I was no sure if it was because I have not changed my glasses for a while, I could not see clearly with my left eye when I was doing the vision test....
I moved to Knoxville on 27th, and have been stuck in moving stuff until now. Before moving, I always believed that I am a minimalism. This thought disappeared when I started to pack. Even though I don’t have tens of boxes of things compared to others, still I was shocked about how much bits and bobs I own. Eventually I used two suitcases and one extra large box to pack all my stuff....
It’s been 11 month since I landed the United States, time flies. If you ask me what is the biggest challange during this year, writing and speaking in my second language is definitely No.1, especially academic writing. I couldn’t even remember how many times I didn’t know how to express myself accurately and formally, and felt like I was just a loser. It happens, and it happens a lot. I can always find the best word to express myself in my native language because I read a lot, but in English, it depends on my vocabulary....