It occurred to me earlier today that I very thoroughly enjoyed this past fall semester and that during that semester I didn't give the semester as much credit as it was due.
Classes such as art history which were such a drag to me because of the incessant need to write essays, but of course in hind sight I think of the class fondly and with much joy.  It was amazing learning about all of the great artists, who weren't necessarily aware of it, but were recording moments in history which otherwise wouldn't known to us.  This also led me and my class mates to ask, "when is an artist, an artist?", as I was taking Art history 1, which covers the beginning of time until the renaissance.  Up until and even after Jesus' time is still riddled with speculation.  From what we can tell it seems many of the first craftsman were making totems, tools for rituals or cave drawings which were often times purely associated with survival rather than artistic appreciation as Michelangelo's Sistine chapel is.  So for me it was an interesting journey between art history 1 and my world civ 1 class which basically followed art history 1 with the exception of when we dipped into China.
There were many opportunities for me to exam various religions like Manichaeism, for example, which I knew nothing of prior to my history classes.  Along with learning of religion through history I also gained a better perspective on religion first hand after getting into a heated skirmish with a past friend.  Although that situation never came to a positive fruition, from my perspective, I appreciated the experience and it allowed for self reflection which I couldn't have gained through other means.
As I've matured more I have learned that every experience, including school, which although seems like a barrier now, is another step on life's journey.  It's not about seeing things as individualistic but rather as a whole in which every experience is valid in complementing ways.

It's been quite a while since I last wrote.  Since then school has ended.  Winter break has begun.  And, now winter break slowly draws to an end.  There were many good times had, many a kayak raced down a snow covered hill, a fair share of photos taken that require my attention and too many good friends and moments lost to the past and their respective universities.  It's a very strange feeling to think we're in the year 2011 and that 2010 is gone, along with the world cup, the winter Olympics and all the hard work that was put into the last two semesters. 

I will return to my community college this spring.  My brother who is four years younger than me will also be there which will be cool and I have a few classes with good friends.  My grades have steadily become better as I have become more focused on school and my ultimate goal, Japan.

When I read about Japan from peoples blogs or from some of my lucky friends who reside there right now, it makes me miss it so much.  The magic I know of Japan comes back if only for a teasing moment.  Then I'm left with sadness and a renewed focus to achieve my dreams.  My last trip feels like a fleeting memory, surreal.  Almost as if it were a perfect dream, in which none of the bad things I experienced are acknowledged as negative and everything positive shows through like a warm ray of sunshine.  I know in my mind that of course there exist the negatives as well as the positives but I still can't help thinking about it... There may be a slight possibility that I'll have the chance to go this spring or early summer but I wont know until later in the new year.  I'm caught between very much enjoying school and all the information that exists for me to absorb and wanting to go to Japan where I will have much less discipline to study on my own.  I have a lot of interest in studying in Japan but as I have found it seems you need to know quite a bit of Japanese although there are classes taught in English.  However I don't think many of the art classes I would be interested in studying would be available in English.

I'm just waiting for the new year and hopefully a prosperous new year at that to bring me closer to Japan and completing my bachelors.

Hope everyone enjoyed the holidays!

Also, if anyone still reads my blog, leave a comment stating what you would most like to achieve in 2011 if you weren't restricted by anything.