I recently saw this, like, TikTok, and I -- m- -- okay. My new year's resolution was along the lines of, like, trying new things, being more open, stuff like that, because I'm going to college and so this is my last semester. And so I feel, like, that this is, like, the right time to really, like, I can just do whatever. So I joined my school play. I've never been in a play. Um, and, you know, stuff like this. But I recently saw a TikTok about how you should get rejected, not reject yourself.  Like -- um, I can, like, kind of relate to this, because over the summer I didn't think any professors would say yes to me. Regardless, they did not, I got my last email today from my professor saying that I can't. But over the summer, I was like, "There's no way a professor would say yes to letting me shadow with them." And so I just didn't, like, ask. And I waited months and I was like, "Okay, I'll just, like, try." And I emailed everyone, and a lot of people said no, but it wasn't -- many "no"s weren't because they wouldn't allow it, it was because of things like different things going on, stuff like that.  But I realized, like, how true that statement is, of like, you should let yourself get rejected, not, um, reject yourself, because you never know what might happen. Like I never know, if one of those professors happened to have an opening, I could be there just because I asked. And yeah, I got rejected from all of them, but I -- I don't know, that really stuck to me because a lot of times I'm like, there's no way I would ever get it or something like that, and now it's like, "Why wouldn't I get it?" I guess, if that makes sense?  Like you always think about, like, for example, like, college scholarships. Especially like Duke and stuff like that. Um, those percentages -- the percentage of kids who get those scholarships is like 1%, 2% and I'm like, "Wow, like I'll never -- there's no way." But then I was -- like, I don't know. I shouldn't limit myself because I think I can't do it.

But I think they went into one of our cousins' houses, and I wasn't paying attention at all to behind me, because I thought, "Okay. The threat is over. Threat is down. It's fine. We'll, we'll all be fine." But that was when I looked behind me, and there was a pitbull. I think it was the pitbull that hadn't chased at us, but it was the other one that went in a different direction. ‘Cause it, like, went through the alley, then went back to the front. So then I just -- I just was frozen. I was way too scared. I never met a dog like this, especially at this age. And it was pretty big, right? It's, it's a pit bull. It was a whole adult pitbull, and I honestly, like, ah, shiver me timbers, right? Um, so I just stood there frozen. And it started walk -- barking at me all of a sudden, but didn't, like, lunge at me, which was obviously good. And it could have bit me.  I'm not sure -- to be honest, I think the only reason that it chased us, or like ran towards us and chased us, was because we ran. So I thought, maybe because I was frozen at that time, [it] didn't bite me or think that I was playing with it, it didn't chase me. I think that's a really good lesson to learn.

This guy in my class who I wasn't really the biggest fan of, he's like -- he's not like a popular kid, but he's, like, edgy if you know what I mean. My friend group is more of the soft cinnamon rolls who are nice. Sometimes they can be preppy, but they're usually very nice and they're -- be like -- well, not like, popular. Like, they don't act like a popular kid. They could be a popular kid, but they don't act like popular kids. And so this guy was not at all in my like -- what's? -- radar. This dude, I've probably said, like, five minutes worth of conversation to him in the past two years. And I'm pretty sure the five minutes were probably related to school. But anyway, so he wasn't a friend. If anything I would call him a person I know from the hallway or something. But he was yelling across -- well, no. The girl next to him who was, who was my friend was talking -- was yelling across the classroom to talk to a guy who was at my table who's also a friend.  And she was like, "Do you know NewJeans?" That's a K-Pop group. He was like, "What?" And so the guy who I'm not -- who I'm not friends with yelled over the room, "NewJeans! You don't know NewJeans?" And I was like, "Oh my gosh, I know NewJeans!" And he was like, "Yeah! You know NewJeans?" I'm like, "Yeah! What other groups do you listen to?" And he was like, "No, it's just NewJeans."  But in that moment, I felt a sense of camaraderie, you know. I was like, yes, slay! 'Cause I did not think that he liked K-pop.