I was out of the door when I checked my Whatsapp for the first time today. The first message I read was that the class had been postponed to 4 P.M. The earliest class I had was 2 P.M - Anatomy. Instead of wasting more of my time, I decided to go to our D’pulze with my mother. I helped her pick out groceries and we had lunch together. Fast forward to our Anatomy class, we learnt about the human cardiovascular system. I wouldn’t consider it boring, but the girl next to me fell asleep. After Physics, I hopped into my friend’s car and we drove back to the lodge. I helped one of my other friends - keep in mind, I only have two friends - make her incredibly crucial decision to pick which Maggi hot cup flavour she wanted for her dinner. I bought a banana muffin for myself. Now, at 8.01 PM, I’m finally ending this Padlet entry. 

This has been most of my day. 

― Anonymous

I don't know where this quote came from or who had said it, but I saw it on a picture of somebody's shirt on the internet. I thought this was relevant.

Let's say, you've gotten a bad cut on your leg. If you want it to properly heal, you shouldn't scratch it or pick on its scab. However, some wounds aren't visible to the eye. Sometimes, our pain cannot be seen. 

Many of us are caught in the past, though its fine to reminisce sometimes, ultimately, we shouldn't live in it. 

In my friend's case, she lost someone who meant a lot to her. She couldn't accept the fact that they were gone. She found herself thinking of countless 'what if's and wished for him to be by her side again. She learnt that dreams and wishes couldn't bring back the dead to life. She realised she still had an entire life ahead of her and instead of dreaming backwards, she should dream forwards.

There are, of course, many types of pain, but I believe that if we don't dwell on the past too much and think forward instead, time can truly heal us.

I don’t exactly have a five-year plan, nor do I have a clear idea of where I will be in five years. I only have a vague idea of what I want to do. 

In five years, I would be twenty-four-years-old. Hopefully by then, I would have graduated with a degree in psychology. In the meantime, I want to do things like volunteering and helping others, as well as gaining experience in my field. I hope I will be able to get a job easily too, and that my brother’s car – that he’ll pass down to me once he’s finished with flying school – survives until I can get a new one of my own. I’m saving some money from my monthly allowances for my future too.

On the less serious side, I want to learn a new language and write a novel. I don’t know what I’ll write about, but I’ve always loved books. I would like to write one. I wish to travel more often too. One of my high school best friends had to move back to Jakarta due to unforeseen circumstances. I haven’t seen her in a little more than a month now and I hope I can see her again one day.

Kiki’s Delivery Service shows the struggles of a young witch in her transition to adulthood. On the other hand, Howl’s Moving Castle, is about a young woman gaining confidence. It also shows the massive destruction caused by an ongoing war in the film.

One of my favourite films, Princess Mononoke, tells the story about a cursed prince who finds himself caught in the middle of a war between the forest spirits and a mining town. It poetically illustrates the harm humans inflict upon the environment. The people of Irontown are intent of destroying the forest to mine the mountains, but the forest spirits are determined to fight back. It shows how greed can swallow you whole, but it also captures the moral ambiguity of people and shows that the world isn’t as black-and-white as we think it to be. Lady Eboshi, the leader of Irontown, didn’t care about the consequences her actions would bring to the environment. However, she cared deeply for her people and offered jobs to lepers, despite the stigma surrounding them.

On the other hand, Grave of the Fireflies is set in a world void of magic and forest spirits. It is a heart-wrenching film that highlights the devastation of war and how it destroys everything in its path. It tells us how children lose not only their innocence, but also their lives, from the ceaseless violence and horrors of war.

In conclusion, though most are light-hearted and fun to watch, Ghibli films aren’t merely silly tales of talking cats and flying castles in the sky.