This winter, I went through two weeks of antibiotics to treat Helicobacter pylori, a bacteria that has been wrecking havoc in my stomach. Many days, especially when my stomach was very upset, I kept having to find something small and mild to snack on, carry my caddy and towels to the restroom to brush my teeth, put back in the Invisalign aligners, clean the utensils and plates, bring them all back to my room, moisturize my hands and lips (which, already dried out because of the dry winter, now got even more wilted because of the constant washing with water), and repeat everything after another while — eat, brush, wash, moisturizer, medicine, rest, repeat.

I ate a lot of plant-based yogurt and whole wheat bread in those days because it supplied the probiotics my body desperately needed because of the antibiotics, because it didn’t have the calcium that would interact with the tetracycline, and because I can rinse my mouth with water without brushing.

Gazing out of the window on a cloudy morning

When the sky cleared up in the afternoon

I had re-positioned my desk so that I could look out of the window from my desk. When I first came to Mount Holyoke, I looked out of windows because I was so amazed by the views. Later on, I looked out of windows because I was trying to follow the 20-20-20 eye protection strategy for people who look at screens a lot in their work. Nowadays, even when I’ve already gotten so used to the views and there are days I don’t look at the screen much during the break, I still gaze out of my window often. The wide space outside makes me feel more spacious and calm, and the changes in lighting as the day gets brighter and darker are still very beautiful to me.

All of the pictures below were taken from the same window, but as the sun goes down a bit more, and as the clouds come and go, it felt like I was looking at a different painting with new different colors every time.

Can you spot the moon in the daylight? Can you feel how calm Blanchard was?

I like looking at that corner of Lower Lake in the shade of the hill.

One of the magical moments here was when I stepped out of my dorm and immediately found myself under a sky with pink puffs of clouds so close to me, and orange and purple shades far out in the horizon.

When I suddenly saw myself in the reflection of the mirror, it was as if suddenly in the landscape painting I had been looking at for a long time, there appeared a figure of myself. It made me feel surprised and a bit touched too.

I used to romanticize locker rooms like these because my schools never had it where I grew up, but in all dramas and movies whether Korean or American, you would see this.

I missed playing basketball together with Rasha, Ruby, Ramisa, Kiên, and the Hungarian kids in a small backyard court in Budapest. However, it felt really free and calm having this stadium for myself, and being just with the ball, the pure thrill of honing my skills, and the pure enjoyment of exercising.

I often went to the gym in the afternoon to play basketball or lift heavier weights. But when the weather was super adverse or super nice, I would do push-ups and sit-ups in my room and, if it’s the latter case for the weather, I would head out for a sunset walk.

I would take the stairs on the further end of my dorm so that I could look out at the view of the Pratt Music Hall shining in sunset light, and at the view of the sky that would become colorful after the sun has set.

I love looking up at the branches of the trees, drenched in the very orange last sunlight of the days.