Let's Talk: Suicide prevention month + the courage to live

Good morning/afternoon/evening, you beautiful people!

⚠️WARNING ⚠️:  THIS EPISODE MENTIONS SUICIDE, PLEASE LOG OUT IF THIS IS TRIGGERING FOR YOU❤💜

September is suicide prevention month and as someone who has struggled immensely with suicidal.thoughts this topic is very close to my heart.

I'm not going to lie and say that I know how you feel because I don't. I am not going to say false truths and say that I understand because I don't but I do empathize. 

The feeling of hopelessness, or like living is like your own personal hell. It feels as though an endless sea of pain and sorrow covers your entire being and the worst part is the you have to pretend and be strong. I know how this all feels and it would be a lie to say that it gets better overnight. I do not know what you are personally going through and how long your journey to healing will take.  

I just want you to know that life is worth loving. Whenever thoughts come to my mind, I remind myself that Jesus loves a sinner like me and He has a beautiful purpose for me. My birth was not an accident my parents coincidental nor my pain purposeless. This gives me strength because it makes me stand up and try on those days where I feel so out of life.  Please try, remember that you were created by a beautiful Creator who never sleeps nor slumbers. 

Do not allow the darkness to win, your very birth was apart of a greater purpose, so I want you to remain strong. I know that it's not easy and life can feel so overwhelming and worthless but you have worth and you are worthy. 

Please cry, scream, take a nap,  take a break from the world but never give up on life. You are yet to experience all the joy that I'd in store for you. You have yet to meet all the people who you will love and will love you in the lifetime. 

Please seek help, help is not for the weak but rather for the strong. For those strong enough to know that they need help and those strong enough to accept it. 

We all go through bumps and pain. These thoughts and feelings may not go away overnight but slow yet surely, you can lower the volume until that voice is silenced. Keep breathing, you'll make it 💙

All my love 💜 

Ruthy

Let's Talk: My review on the The King's Affection: Part 1

Good morning/afternoon/evening, you beautiful people!

Wow! I just finished watching a Korean drama called, 'The King's Affection', and I am such a mess! I really love how it ended but at the same time,  I wish that some things had were slightly different. In today's post, I am specifically going to be talking about my favorite character from the drama and what I loved about him! 

My admiration for Lee Hyun is insane because he truly loved Dam-i. His love was pure, wanting nothing in return, other than her well-being. He loved her enough to let her go and when she did not come back, he loved her anyway. 

To be honest he was my favorite male character as he remained consistent throughout the entire drama. He was truly trustworthy and his overall love for Dam-i did not rise and fall like the tide. It was constant, it was real. I just wanted him to find his happily ever after but that can be another drama for another year🤞, hopefully. I just really appreciate that because sometimes we get used to seeing love that's conditional, love that has its moments and don't get me wrong love is not one straight, rosy path but I admire his pure love. I feel that, that was the most underrated love of the entire drama.  His love for Dam-i was not shallow, he protected her regardless because he loved her. Whether she loved him back or not was irrelevant, not that it didn't hurt that his love was not returned but her safety, her well-being mattered more to him than anything. It's one of the reasons why I am so glad that he became king. Out of everyone in line, he was the most worthy, he was the most constant. For me, that's what truly stood out for me in the drama. He was a good man and with good intentions and I wish we saw more love like that❤.

All-in-all, The King's Affection was a brilliant drama, it receives 9/10 from me🤗. I would definitely watch it again. One thing that I am so grateful for is that almost everyone from the main cast survived. One thing about Korean dramas, is that they are not afraid to kill off main characters. I am not sure how I feel about that because I really love the assurance that the main character won't die. I love knowing my favorite/ reoccurring character is a Macgyver or Jodie Foster. That's literally my only complaint about Korean dramas!

PS, the actor's real name is Nam Yoon Soo 💙

Disclaimer: Just to be clear, I am aware of the fact that they are cousins but this was back in a traditional Era. It was normal to marry close relatives, back then. 

 See ya, next week loves! 

All my love 💜 

Ruthy

Let's Talk: My Tips on how to make exam season a lot more bearable: Part 2

Good morning/afternoon/evening, you beauties 😘!

I am now going into my second week of exams and I have more tips to share!

1) Wash the night before

This may seem simple but it can save you a lot of time and stress, in case you overslept!

Prepare your outfit ahead of time to avoid  decision fatigue. The more systematic your life is around exam season, the less stress and burnout you will experience as a result. 

2) Don't try to diet during exam season, please!

Please learn from me!  You need your energy more than a smaller waist! I believe that the majority of your focus needs to be on your exams, sometimes opportunities come once in a lifetime and you need to be prepared to grab them with both hands. Weight loss, health and wellness are a journey, a life-long journey, not a week's quick fix. Do things slowly and steadily, you will eventually get there! I believe in you 🤗!

3) Don't play the comparison game, don't compete with another student

Believe me, it's really tempting to compare yourself to some else academically especially when you want to be the best. I truly believe that it's best to your best not the best, that's takes too much energy. Competition can be healthy, don't get me wrong but it can become toxic really quickly. When you are in a do or die situation, focus on yourself. Show up for yourself and do your very best, each and everyday it is so much more rewarding and practical for longevity than anything else.

4) Please do not pull all-nighters every night

If you are going to pull all nighters, don't do them constantly! Your health and safety come first, you cannot undo getting hit by a car or getting into a difficult position because of exhaustion. Your health and safety comes first, you can rebuild things from there. Please don't compromise your health for your grades.

5) Don't consume too much caffeine 

Be it coffee, energy drinks or cola. It's not good for your health in the long run because you will come crashing down and you cannot control when, so please take caffeine sparingly. Exam season can be very long!

That's it for this week's post, folks!

See ya next weekend! Study hard and make yourself proud, I know that we can get through it! 

P.S , it's almost Monday in Korea and I just wanted to take the opportunity to wish Namjoon a very happy 28th❤! Wishing you all the love, health and well-being, love. Thank you for all that you do for ARMY! SARANGHAE 💜💜💜💜!

All my love 💜 

Ruthy 

Let's Talk: My Tips on how to make exam season a lot more bearable

 Good morning/afternoon/evening,  you beautiful people! 

Exam season is upon us! A season of bottomless coffee cups, sleepless nights and time spent cramming, while this is not good for your health, desperate time call for desperate measures! As a fellow student, I am here to give some tips that have made and are still making a huge difference in my academic career. 

1) Please attend exam/test revision classes 

This can make a world of a difference, especially if the subject teacher is not difficult or lazy and she/he truly reviews the subject properly. In my case, it has made my work feel digestible, especially because the syllabus says, chapter 1-6, which the whole book! My teacher went through the book with me chapter by chapter and I feel more prepared to face my tests.

2) Be Kind to your Lecturers

Be kind! I have found that a lot of the time, students misjudge a lecturer, based on how they walk or something really small. What I have found really helpful, is to be kind. To be respectful to the lecturer, whether they are 5 years older than you or 25 years older than you. Remember that the teacher holds a lot of power regarding your academic career and it is in your best interest to get along with them as well as you can. Observe what their preferences are and steer clear of their dislikes and irritations, be it late coming, chewing gum in class or asking questions while they are still teaching. If your teacher dislikes you, it will make you academic life unnecessarily difficult so try as hard as possible to be likable and kind. Trust me when I say that you are doing yourself a huge favour. 

3) Get rid of the fear of asking questions 

Teachers are paid and compensated to be there, whether they act like it or not! It's important to gather your courage and ask teachers for help, assistance or whatever it is that you need that is academically relevant or related. 

4) Do not be afraid to go to another lecturer   who teaches the same subject for help

Initially I used to think that, that it was an insult to my own subject teacher, if I went to someone else. I used to think that this means that I am implying that they are incompetent. Which is true, if you need to go another teacher who teaches the same subject, it says a lot about the way that they manage their classroom. If they are approachable and willing to help students or not but in no way is this a bad reflection of you. Instead it says that you are a studious student who cares to know and fully understand their work it says that you care. As long as you have actually given your subject lecturer a true chance. By observing and finding the right way to approach them in a calm, respectful and kind manner, being considerent of the fact that they are human and may not always be kind and professional even if they are supposed to be. In a way teachers are like parents, you have to give them grace, otherwise you will have a really bad relationship. I'll give a personal example, I had an test, coming up and my subject lecturer did not give my class substantial scope to be able to tackle and study properly for the test. So I was able to (thankfully) get proper scope from some else in a different class, who has a different lecturer. This can apply to other students as well, there is nothing wrong with asking for help but I prefer teachers because they are less likely to be biased and will not give wrong information out of spite or jealously. 

5) Go through past question papers

This tip is life-changing because it not only tests your knowledge but teaches you the phrasing of questions. Sometimes we actually know the answer but the way and manner in which the question is asked is so confusing that we do not notice the real question because we are too busy focusing on too many elements instead of learning certain terminology and simplifying the question.

6) Be Calm!

Stressing makes you forgetful and takes you out of your lane of manifestation and progress. Be calm, regardless, whether you have been studying for three weeks or 3 days! I am typically the latter but trust me when I say stressing will make a bad situation worse. Staying calm can help you to remember what you teacher had in class or can pull your common sense and you realize that you can actually write something. Being calm can help you to pray and prayer can make you calm. I personally ask God to help me remember what I studied and what I have not studied!

7) Don't leave blank spaces 

Personally, from a young age I was taught not to leave any blank spaces. I was taught that writing something is better than writing nothing because you never know if you could be right! I really agree with this because o feel that handing in a paper with blank spaces encourages you to give up. I feel that trying is so important even if you believe that you are wrong. It's important to try, it also encourages you to study harder so that you do not encounter such difficulties in the future. 

Well, those are my 7 tips! I wish you all the best, my fellow scholars I know that we xan do this! 

Please share your own tips, in the comment section!

All my love💚💜

Ruthy