wouldn't it be nice...?

Wouldn't it be nice, if...

We tend to compare our oh-so-average lives to people that seem to be blessed with so much more.

I for one, am a huge victim of believing that the grass will always be greener somewhere other than where I am today.
But as my dear mom points out blatantly, 'it only looks good because people mow their lawns April,' explaining that with hard work and sweat, you will end up with a green, green lawn that suckers like me will go 'wowwww....' at.

 The Beach Boys have illustrated this natural desire in humans to always want more with their hit single back in the 70's, singing about how being older would then result in happiness.
Cadbury decided to turn this well known pop song into a frighteningly cute song about how the world should be made of chocolate.
Reality is of course, the number one bitch in the neighborhood and we all realize that it's always going to be nicer 'if', because we will never get there.

The abstract idea of something bigger and better than what you currently have will always entice and distract the human population.
This is of course one of the many reasons if not the main cause of a mid-life crisis.
In which one will realize that they either...
A: have not achieved all one wants to achieve prior to getting knocked up with four kids.
B:having a really shitty job with an even shittier income to match.
C: feels, and is completely alone.

Perhaps I'm in no right to define what a mid-life crisis actually is.
One, being I'm not at the age to actually experience a crisis such as one that would have to take place in the middle of my life.
Two, being that I'm very much the drama queen, and having one to ten crisis' a day is but the norm for yours truly.

Orientation for university begins tomorrow, and I have yet to confirm all the courses I need to take to scrape through my first year.
I find myself being unable to decide, and I wish the staff at Auckland University the best of luck in taking such a scatterbrained butt head as myself under their wing.
I had to go in for a second interview in the Arts Student Centre today regarding my desire to major/minor in Japanese, and after an hour and a half of conversing solely in the language, the head of Asian Studies has recommended me to try other subjects.

Their reasoning being that they simply do not have the course work for me to study from, because even at Stage 3/4, I would find the lessons being really tedious and boring.
Sitting for the Stage 3 test was indeed, rather monotonous and dare I say it, pointless, because it mimicked the course work in which I did on my own prior to studying for my going to Japan.
Being in Japan for a year, and coming back here, I've realized that I can actually speak Japanese.
I remember complaining on my blog, and to people abroad about how frustrated I was in learning just proficiency in a language; and the thought of majoring in Japanese at the level of a 4th grader (5th at tops), would be rather offensive.

So I find myself back at square one.
Figuring out what courses to take all by the cruel deadline of tonight (before Orientation at least), and I am as lost as a child in the candy aisle at your local supermarket.
Auckland University offers a heck of a lot to study from, and somehow just not enough.
I guess that's where a BA gets you.
You are thrown a ton of choices and you have to pick and choose your degree, major/minor, double major, whatever it may be, you do it all yourself.
Nothing is set in stone, and everything can be changed within your first year would give you the flexibility and freedom to explore other subjects but in my opinion, it just kinda sounds like high school but in a larger building and with more people.

Maybe tomorrow will be fun; although I'm going to orientation alone, it seems, I already made a couple of friends just waiting outside the Arts Centre today.
So hopefully I'll be perky and happy tomorrow and actually get some sleep after three consecutive sleepless nights.

Cathedral Cove. This is supposedly where they shot Narnia!

I went to Coromandel with my cousins and a Japanese friend for two nights and three days.
We drove for 3 hours ish, and being at the beach for the whole time was somewhat refreshing.
What did I do at the beach?
What does one do at the beach?
 My timetable for Coromandel included the very productive things left below:

very sunburnt, and sporting Beach Hair.

Swim. Get tan. Think about useless things. Over-think things. Realize that you should stop thinking about things, and then sleep in the sand. Get sunburn. Go for another swim. Get sand in places that you never knew possible. Eat watermelon. Kayak around the ocean for three hours. Dip in the pool. Eat more watermelon.

Kayaking was surprisingly a lot of fun.
Sure, your arms feel like they're about to fall off, but the view is amazing.

One thing about New Zealand?
You have your 360degrees of just breathtaking scenery.
I had the pleasure of taking photos while kayaking, and going for a nice long swim next to a beautiful cove.

The photos on my facebook are just a few that I took on this roadtrip.
It's so beautiful; and it makes me realize that I should be grateful I live in one of the most gorgeous countries of the world.
Sure, Japan has it's beauty, and so does Malaysia, Singapore, Thailand, America.
But one thing that New Zealand has that other countries do lack is just the simplicity in nature.
I love how with just the wind in your hair, and the never-ending horizon, and the vast blue, cloudless sky, your problems would seem so small.

I also had the pleasure of returning back to a theme park in which I spent a good hour running on a human-sized hamster wheel.
Accomplishments of my summer back in New Zealand speak for itself, really.
It's harder than it looks.
I now understand and sympathize with my hamsters back when I was 7. They were really chubby and used to fall off their wheel quite a bit. :/
Sounds cute, but I used to shed tears for them out of pity. (And also because I'd laugh really hard)

A great last roadtrip before I start uni.
It's become a tradition with my cousins and I, and I don't think I'd have it any other way.
I didn't realize how much I missed them when I went to Japan, but coming back has allowed me quality time with them again before I decide that I'm bored with Auckland and want something new again.

I can't believe time has flown by so fast.
It's nearly a month since I've been back.
A whole month.

...I guess it's really goodbye Japan after all then.

I still miss you everyday, and I miss the people I once was so close to.
All the time, I think of you, and all that you've done for me.

I hope that the year I spent with you will give me more confidence for my start in university tomorrow.
I hope, and hope, and yet I have become a believer in nothing other than the worst.

All my love always,

April