Happy last day of the year! :)

 I can't believe how fast 2012 has gone! As 2012 comes to an end, I've been reflecting on the past year of my life. As I reflect back, 2012 has been a year full of new experiences and opportunities.  

January

Since going home to Europe for Christmas was going to be very expensive, I went to CA with my awesome roommate to spend Christmas and New years there with her family. My roommate and I didn't really know each other before coming to BYU, but throughout our first semester of school, we became really close friends. Now we are like sisters! My other roommates were amazing as well! we had two girls from WA that roomed together, two girls from AR, and Michelle and I who are Asian/part Asian shared a room. haha. I was so blessed to be able to room with such awesome girls! I love them all! :)  On January 4th, the 2nd semester of my Freshman year started. By January, I got use to college life, made tons of new friends, and was just loving my new life at BYU. 

On our way to SLC before going to CA.

February

I basically went to school, did homework, went to school did homework repeat. For Valentine's day, one of my roommate and I made a ton of cake balls, chocolate, and Valentine's day cards. We had lots of fun staying up late and listening to love songs, while we made yummy treats to give to our friends. 
 

My roommate and I making Valentine's chocolate

March 

March was pretty much the same as February, but with a few more fun activities in between. :)  BYU had a winter waltz dance for the Freshman, so my roommates and I got dressed up and we went together as a group of girls. who needs boys! lol.  We also had a ward activity where we went up in the mountains to go sledding. It was freezing, but I had so much fun! 

Winter Waltz with 3 of my lovely roommates!  

Ward activity. It was super cold, but it was a blast!

April

 April was a crazy busy month! With the end of the semester, finals, packing, and saying goodbye to friends etc, it was really stressful.  But despite all the stress and craziness, April was an amazing month! 

Some of my roommates, our awesome neighbor and I had a girls weekend out.  We stayed in an awesome hotel, went shopping, and got to attend General Conference! It was so much fun! :)
It was my birthday during finals week...  even though my roommates and friends were busy studying for finals too, they took the time to make my birthday really special! I am so blessed to have such wonderful friends! 

ward musical "called to serve". I got to play the piano for the orchestra

silly face!  (After conference)

The pretty cake that my amazing roommates made for me!  

went hiking at midnight after finals! It was super fun! (some of my friends are not in this pic. :/ ) 

May 

I finally got to go home (Holland/The Netherlands) for Spring! It was so good to be with my family again and just relax. It was the best two months ever! 

my bro and sis! haha we are crazy!

my mom and I on a bike ride. 

June

My roommate Michelle and I moved into our new apartment for Summer term. We didn't know our other roommate, Angela, but by the end of Summer term, we became really good friends! :)

July 

Summer term went really slow. I basically went to school and studied for my anatomy class all summer. In July, I got a job as a Japanese translator! It was my first job at BYU, so I was really excited! It was a hard job, but I learned a lot from it and I absolutely loved it! When summer term ended, Michelle and I went to CA and had fun shopping and relaxing at her house before school started again. I also got to hang out with a good friend of mine who is also from CA that I got to know at the end of my Freshman year.

August 

Michelle and I moved into our new apartment for the new school year. It was really stressful moving in again, but with the help of many people, we moved in without much trouble.

September

school, school, school.

October 

Some of my friends and I had a girls weekend out for Conference weekend.  We stayed in a gorgeous hotel, went out to eat, went shopping, and attended both sessions of conference. With the announcement of the change in missionary age, we couldn't stop talked about how excited we were about going on missions, and our futures. 

General conference weekend

Asian hot pot party with Michelle's parents.  :) 

Michelle, Michael and I went to the farmer's market and got yummy pizza! 

November 

For thanksgiving, my roommate and my dear friend got together and made a ton of food for thanksgiving dinner! We cooked all day and were starving by the time we were finished cooking! :)  The next day, we went to SLC to go black Friday shopping! It was So fun! 

November was a crazy month! I submitted my art portfolio for the art program, finished my graduation plan from my scholarship, turned in a job application for a Japanese TA position, took finals, and packed up for winter break! 

December 

My friends and I got to go see the Christmas devotional in SLC. It was awesome! :)  After the devotional, we walked around temple square to look at the beautiful temple Christmas lights.

A few days before Christmas, I found out that I didn't get into the graphic design program, but I also got an email a few days later saying that I was accepted into the 2D studio program.  I was disappointed at first when i found out that i didn't get into the GD program, but I'm so grateful that everything worked out for the better at the end! I'm really excited to start my major as an artist! :)

Even though I couldn't go home for winter break, I had a wonderful Christmas with my friend in Michigan! 

Christmas devotional time! 

Overall it really has been a blessed year, and i hope that everyone had a great one as well. here's to 2013 and whatever life brings with it!  

Christmas time is here! :)

I can't believe it's Christmas time already! Unfortunately, I was not able to go back home for this Christmas holiday, but it has been a great Christmas break so far! This year, I am visiting my good friend in Michigan! I am so blessed to have such wonderful friends who welcome me into their homes and treat me like family. This will be my 2nd Christmas away from my family.. it's hard to be away from family some times, but I also enjoy traveling to different places and seeing the different Christmas traditions and celebrations! It's so fun! :)

I wish you all a very Merry Christmas, wherever you may be in the world!

Vrolijk Kerstfeest! ♥ 
メリークリスマス！（^^）


"Oh, there’s no place like home for the holidays,
For no matter how far away you roam -
When you long for the sunshine of a friendly gaze,
For the holidays - you can’t beat home, sweet home!" 

Art major :)

So my acceptance letter is here! Unfortunately, I didn't make it into the graphic design program, but I did get into the 2D studio arts program! :)  I am so excited! I also found out that after a year, I can transfer to the graphic design area if I want.  At first, I was a bit disappointed that I didn't get into the program of my choice, but it's funny how everything eventually worked out. :)

Art program application... Here it goes!

So here it goes! This is what I decided to put in my portfolio for the art program application. I was so nervous hitting the "Submitt" button, but I did it! :)  Now I just need to wait for a few weeks to hear back from them.  Hoping I will be one of the 15 people that get's accepted!

"memories" Collage drawn with pencil

"high heels" My favorite heels drawn in pencil

"reflectin" Oil pastel drawing of cute little rain boots

"Himawari sky" (sun flower sky). Oil pastel drawing of sun flowers 

"Water lily" Oil pastel drawing

"My world" Color-aid paper collage

"imagination" Abstract oil pastel drawing

"earth tone" Abstract charcoal drawing 

"captured" Pencil drawing 

"Japanese Geisha" Typography made with color-aid paper, water color pain, news paper, and markers. 

Gratitude

Since it was Thanksgiving and all, I've been thinking about gratitude, and how I need to be more thankful for all of my blessings in my life.  With how busy I am with school, work and life in general, I sometimes forget to take a moment and count my many blessings. I think that gratitude is really all about noticing and paying attention to the "small and simple things" in life, and acknowledging  the beauty, wonder, and love that God has for us. In paying attention to the "small and simple things" that usually go unnoticed, I found that these "small and simple things" are actually things that are a huge part of my life, and are big blessings in disguise.

This might sound really, really silly, but I've been saying "thank you" to every little thing that I'm thankful for in my life.... and I mean EVERY LITTLE thing! Like the other day, I was doing my laundry and I was like, "I am SO greatful for you: H2O, soap, and washing machine! Thank you for making my clothes fresh, clean and smell good! And thank you dryer for drying my cloths so it's nice and warm and dry!".    hahaha... yeah, I'm a bit crazy, but that's ok.  It's so silly, but I found that by doing this, doing not so fun chores and stuff actually became fun, and not as bad.  I also found my slef more happy throughout the day!  This silly little experiment helped me realize how truly blessed I am by the "small and simple things" in life.  You guys should try it too! :)  Try to say "Thank you" for EVERY LITTLE THING that you do or encounter. It may sound crazy, but I promise you, it works! ;)


"Gratitude unlocks the fullness of life. It turns what we have into enough, and more. It turns denial into acceptance, chaos to order, confusion to clarity. It can turn a meal into a feast, a house into a home, a stranger into a friend."   - Melody Beattie 

Happy Thanksgiving!

A few of my friends and I who didn't go "home" for thanksgiving decided to have our own thanksgiving dinner. We pretty much cooked ALL DAY! It was really fun cooking together tho. :)  

Green bean casserole, honey baked ham, homemade french bread, honey walnut shrimp, sweet and sour shrimp, miso butter scallop, braised tofu with ground pork and green onions, pumpkin mashed potatoes, regular mashed potatoes, chicken gravy, 

turkey, rosemary potato pot roast, raspberry sauce, korean bbq, green beans with carmelized onions and sliced almonds, cranberry salad, nikujaga, japanese fried chicken with homemade dipping sauce. 

DESSERT: pumpkin pound cake and coconut cream pie. 

DRINKS: Strawberry Brazilian Lemonade and Sparkling apple grape juice.

Except for the pie and sparkling apple grape juice, IT WAS ALL HOMEMADE!! and turned out sooo goood!! :)

I hope you all had a great thanksgiving! 

 Happy Thanksgiving to you all! :)  

Finally! It's Thanksgiving break!

YAYYY!  It's thanksgiving break! :)   I've been looking forward to this break since the beginning of this month! I love going to school and all, but I really needed a break from all the homework, stress, and sleepless nights trying to get my projects done.  I can finally relax! .... maybe.  ( I still have some hw that I have to finish).  My plan during this thanksgiving break?! cook, eat, sleep, eat some more, shop and just relax and have a fun week! What are your plans?  Hope you all have a great Thanksgiving holiday!

Friends from the same family tree

Today I got to spend time with my cousin from New Zealand! :) I hadn't seen him for over 10 years or so, so I was really excited to see him! Even though he only had a week  to visit all of his friends here, I'm really greatful that he took the time out of his busy schedule to come see me.  I LOVE AND MISS ALL OF MY COUSINS!

wish me luck! :)

As some of you may know, I am getting ready to apply to the Graphic Design Program now.  I just found out that they only except 15 students out of the 100 and something applicants! Great... I have a 15% chance of getting in...  This "15/100+" scares me a lot, but I am trying to keep positive. I can do this, I can do this, I can do this.... you can do this Emily!...  I know that no matter what happens, it will happen for the best. and if I don't get in my first time? I'll try try again!   wish me luck! :)

"Frustration, although quite painful at times, is a very positive and essential part of success." 
                                                                                       - Bo Bennett 

Snap, Cut, & Paste

For my art project, I decided to go around my apartment and snap some pictures of interesting objects, shapes, and structures. After I took some (a lot) pictures, I cut the shapes out and started making a collage. I kind of liked the collage that I made out of the original pictures, but I wanted to play around with more color, so I decided to trace the shapes onto some color-aid paper and cut that out to make another collage.

Here's the finished project:

I played around with gradation, and added some bold colored frames to capture some shapes in the composition. 

This project took a while to finish, but I had so much fun creating this! While I was taking pictures, and trying to fit all the pieces together onto the paper, I realized that the things that I don't really notice or think is interesting can be very interesting if I look at it more closely.

Explore. Dream. Discover

I recently bought a book titled How To Be An Explorer Of The World by Keri Smith.  It has lots of ideas on how to look at the world around you in a way that you've never looked at before.   Some of the exploration ideas are kind of silly, but I think it'll give me lots of interesting insights/ideas for my art work.  I also think that this will be super fun to do, and that it will help me understand/get to know the amazing world around me a little bit more.  :)

"The aspects of things that are most important for us are hidden because of their simplicity and familiarity. (one is unable to notice something-because it is always before one's eyes.)"
                                                                                 - Ludwig Wittgenstein 


How to be an explorer of the world: 

1.) Always be looking (notice the ground beneath your feet) 

2.) Consider everything alive and animate

3.) Everything is interesting! look closer!

4.) Alter your course often

5.) Observe for long durations (and short ones too) 

6.) Notice the stories going on around you

7.) Notice Patterns. Make connections.

8.) Document your findings in a variety of ways

9.) Incorporate indeterminancy

10.)Observe movement

11.) Create a personal dialogue with your environment. Talk to it. 

12.) Trace things back to their origins.

13.) Use ALL of the senses in your investigations.

14.) Have fun! :) 

Life is a scavenger hunt

 “The world is an interesting place to the imaginative mind.” – Author Unknown

Observe 

Collect

Analyze

Compare

Notice

It's fun to just go out and have an adventure! :)  

Starting from today, I am going to document and observe the world around me as if i've never seen it before.  should be fun! haha 

Finding myself

I love being half/ハーフ, because I've experienced different cultures, and can see things from different perspectives, but it's also something I struggle with. Being an American, but half Japanese and half Dutch, I've always struggled with my identity. I feel like I don't belong anywhere. In Japan, I was called a "foreigner", because I looked different from everyone else, and here i'm "Asian", because I look different here too. When I was younger, I was so confused and I never really knew what I was... but now that I've grown up a bit, I am starting to realize that i'm just me. I'm not Japanese, or Dutch. I'm Japanese, Dutch, and an American... And I'm proud to be a half /hafu/ハーフ.


http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=96SbzJX1Jlw&feature=share