How I've been seeking novelty these days

I get extra reflective whenever we approach mid-year. Perhaps we can say it's like a check-in of sorts. How are you doing? I asked this same question from my 2021 Mid-year Reflections entry. This year, I want to share about how I've been seeking novelty nowadays and my reflections around it. 

Volleyball Anime

I watched Haikyu: Dumpster Battle in the cinema. Before that though, I binge watched the anime which had 4 seasons. It's all about volleyball, which is a sport I really do not like. I can vividly recall how I would get hit by the ball numerous times during PE classes, and the thing they advised wherein the bruises on my wrists would get better? They never did and I sought to do the bare minimum just to pass the class..... but here I am, and I've learned so much more about volleyball than I ever did back in school. I learned to like it enough to watch an anime dedicated to it, but perhaps not enough to play it. More than the sport though, the anime did a really good job with the characters. They are all so likeable and relatable in so many ways. The storyline is also wholesome and precious, I wholly believe anime is meant for all ages and we all have something to take away from it. 

The feelings I had while in the cinema was shared together with the audience and it definitely felt much like we were a crowd cheering for our favorite teams. It felt great to be in that kind of space, and the animation was superb. I was happy with my decision to binge the show even though I initially had low expectations from it. I was sleeping on this gem and would've missed out if I stuck to my prejudice.

Haikyu overall is a light, relatable, and motivating anime. I definitely recommend it and you can watch it through Netflix! :-) 

Running

As stated from my Strava profile: I walk lots, and I'm trying to run.

I very much love putting on my shoes and going on brisk walks around my village, but it's totally different to run. I've tried running before, although I was never really successful in being consistent at it. Let's be real: running is hard. But as each year passed, the desire remained to challenge myself and try it out again because who knows, I might be able to do it this time around.

And so I did, I started out with intervals. I walked for 1 minute then jogged the next minute. I did these intervals for at least 30min. I eventually jogged for more minutes as my body adjusted to the demand I was making it go through. I would do this before work, after work, at least 3x in a week. I'm slow but I complete the number of kms I want to achieve each time. I run with friends, with my dad, with my boyfriend, and by myself.  

It seems everyone's getting into running lately, which I think is a good thing. Run clubs have become popular too and I get why. I ran in the UP Diliman campus oval one time with my boyfriend and I was able to reach 5km without struggling so much. I think it was because I was with fellow runners and we were all running together. We didn't have to know each other personally, but just by being with other runners going through the same ordeal made it a lot more doable for me. 

I signed up for the Hoka Trilogy run leg 2 this coming Sunday. Let's see how it goes! 

Videogames

I've played a few videogames in my childhood, most notable would be Pokemon Yellow version on a floppy disc my sister brought home one time. Neopets, does that count as games? I never really had my own console growing up although I did belong to a friend group who loved videogames. I would always hear them rave about the characters and storylines and such but never really got to play them for myself. I've admired their passion though, there's just something about gamers and how they share their enthusiasm over a game. 

But then again, it's similar to anything we can be passionate about. I had other things I was passionate about at that time, such as books and Livejournal. Years later in 2023, I found myself reading Tomorrow, Tomorrow, and Tomorrow by Gabrielle Zevin which is a novel about two friends and their connection through videogames. The story spans decades and I read through their lives and how they grew up. One thing that grounded them was their infinite love for videogames. 

Reading makes you more emphatic. It makes you curious and gives you eyes to live multiple lives made possible through books. Tomorrow, Tomorrow, and Tomorrow, struck me as one of the books that made me curious about games and made me wonder if it was too late for me. And so I asked a dear friend how to download Steam on my laptop and how to buy games. I did a bit of research to find a game I think I would like, and lo and behold that game is Stardew Valley. It's the ultimate farming game for me and has the cutest pixel design. It's challenging enough to keep me playing for hours on end.

I took a long pause though. There came a time when a rainbow orb was in my hands although it slipped away when I passed out on the mines. It left me devasted because that orb was rare and I needed it to upgrade my weapons. <- haha talk about strategy.... I felt frustrated so I stopped for a while. Then I met my boyfriend, who is an avid gamer and he lent me his Nintendo Switch. I played his games and at the moment I am very much engrossed in the Final Fantasy world. 

Sometimes I feel a bit silly about playing games because I do admit that I lose track of time and I probably spend so much time on it. But then again, it's the same as losing myself in making oil pastel art, or reveling in another world through novels, or going for that 1 hour brisk walk... I no longer feel guilty for recharging with whichever activity I choose. 

I am back to playing Stardew Valley, but this time I'm starting all over. There are new updates so this should be even more fun, and there are things as well that I want to change for my gameplay this time around. I am also going to finish Final Fantasy 7 and I will share with you my thoughts!! 

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I guess with these experiences, I can simply say that I'm glad I tried. It would probably always linger in my mind with thoughts of what if I tried it again, would it make any difference? What if I was open to facing my initial fears? What if I went through with it and came out disappointed? 

I'm happy to share with you dear reader that trying again and being more open made all the difference. Perhaps it was my self-limiting thoughts that stopped me. If I came out disappointed, there will still be lessons learned and that just means there's now more space to move on to the next new thing. 

I hope you find the courage to keep seeking novelty, dear reader.