Mar 21, 20215 min read

Happy Spring Equinox!

It has definitely felt like spring this past week; lots of rain yielding to warm, sunny days. Fluffy cat was rather disappointed with the first half of the week--it was constant rain, which flooded the backyard. She was not keen on all the water. She opted to snuggle instead.

Here's some info on the Spring Equinox if you're interested:

Tutoring was pretty tame this week; the boys were super excited about spring break. Their last day before break was Friday. They were excited to talk about the various Mario items in Animal Crossing New Horizons and this pug video meme. I hope they enjoy their spring break! They've been working rather hard for the past year and handling all the weirdness well. In one of the virtual classes the teacher was inquiring what the kids' spring break plans were. One boy announced, "I'm going to a great place; it's called my couch." The teacher inquired, "Oh, what are you going to do? Watch TV? Play video games?" The boy retorted with a nonchalant wit, "Oh, I don't know. I was thinking about going to the beach. Maybe do some swimming." These kids! I can't! I was trying so hard not to laugh. The teacher had provided what would be typical and "logical" options for activities done via couch, but the boy preferred to exhibit his sense of humor. I love it; you gotta love a great sense of humor--I know I do!

Here are this week's Perler bead projects:

I read more fanfic and watched the latest episode of YashaHime this week. Boy, was episode 24 a doozy. It was freaking intense. I'm sincerely grateful that there will be a season 2--there were way too many loose ends to tie up in this week's episode. I'm still bummed that Shippo hasn't made an appearance (unless, of course, he used his fox magic to disguise himself as someone else we've seen in YashaHime thus far, which is distinctly possible. Maybe unlikely, but he'll have definitely have grown since the end of InuYasha, so who knows what he's been up to). Towa better be able to use the sword in Season 2, though--otherwise I'll be livid. My poor favorite character... I refuse for it to end that way. She finally was letting down some of her walls, too.... I wonder how the whole Kirinmaru/Zero/Riku relationship will play out. Zero basically said that Kirinmaru was dead to her now with Riku literally backstabbing him, soooo..... That'll be interesting to see how that progresses. Plus, there's the whole future thing with the asteroid approaching.... InuYasha and Kagome are still sealed away by the black pearl at Inu no Taisho's grave. Rin's still in the tree with her life tied to Zero's.... It's so complicated. I wonder if Miroku and Sango will end up helping Towa and Moroha with their quest. It seems like they're going to end up searching for the Rainbow Pearls in a similar fashion to how the original Inu-gang searched for the Shikon Jewel shards. I wonder if they'll be able to sense them; at least Kagome could sense the shards before. Maybe they'll be searching blindly for the pearls? I eagerly await season 2, much like I'm super hyped for the upcoming season 3 of Fruits Basket (it's practically here!). This week's fanfic includes: A Simple Legacy, A Simple Legacy II & III, A Little Faith, When Peace Falls, Escape, Bird in a Cage, Some Beach Somewhere, On the 12th Day of Christmas, Let Me, In These Arms, I'll Carry You, Sand in the Hourglass, Give Her Wings, A Mere Digression, A Latent Destiny, Snake Charmer, Funeral Flowers, Lazy Days, and Play. I know that there are some people who don't care much for YashaHime as a sequel to InuYasha and that they prefer to stick to fan fiction for a continuation for the series. I wouldn't say that I'm 100% happy with YashaHime, but I still enjoy it. I enjoy fan fiction, as well (obviously lol). I willing to consider both fan fiction and YashaHime to see what they could add to the fandom. If I enjoy it, great. If other people enjoy it, great. If it isn't what everyone prefers, that's okay, too. Everyone doesn't have to enjoy the same things. Just because one person (or multiple) don't enjoy something, that doesn't mean that whatever said thing is is bad. It just isn't meant for them, and that's okay. You can enjoy something and still acknowledge its flaws. People have imperfections, too, but that doesn't mean that they're any less valuable or worthy.

People are working through a lot still. People are coming to terms with who they are and what they want. There's a lot of self-improvement and healing taking place. Events and challenges will pop up, acting as "tests;" for instance, one of my best friends' friends started throwing shade at anime I enjoy once again, trying to "expose" how poor my tastes are. I found the whole thing humorous. They exerted quite a bit of effort to "enlighten" me (previously they said I couldn't be saved because I enjoy InuYasha and Fruits Basket), going on about how there are so few people who enjoy anime like Bleach and Black Cat compared to those that enjoy other anime (with the implied "better" being left unspoken). I had merely listed anime that I had watched from the list of anime that should have been continued from the article they shared with me (they had laughed that InuYasha wasn't on the list--I pointed out that it was already being continued with YashaHime lol). I laughed at their notion that everyone has to like the same things--all before imparting my excitement for the upcoming season 3 of Fruits Basket. Their reaction: "Ohhhhh no! Not Fruits Basket! That's even worse!" I can't say that I would have been angry by such remarks earlier on my journey or that I would have tried to retaliate, but such sentiments likely would have bothered me. It probably would have made me question my interests, second-guessing myself. There likely would have been lots of self-judgment. I'm so grateful that I can openly laugh and find such occurrences as humorous now. The extreme efforts exerted to try and "convert" me into having some sense had me laughing the entire time; I let them know that I enjoy what I like, and that won't be changing on behalf of anyone else. I suspect that there's a good chance that they will attempt to "save me" again in the future, but I do appreciate that there's no malice in their attempts. I'm not opposed to having discussions about anime, their stories, animation, messages, etc. Simply telling me that an anime is "bad" in attempt to persuade me to believe otherwise won't work, though. I'm a bit curious to see what they will attempt next. It could prove interesting, especially since everyone is continuously learning, growing, and improving. Don't let others dishearten you; you're great just the way you are. You don't have to change for anyone else. If you change, do it because you genuinely want to. There's nothing wrong with wanting to improve. Changing to become someone you're not just so others will "like" you is rather empty, though. I'd rather people enjoy my company because I'm being my authentic self rather than some forced character I could play. I don't see that as being all the fun or enjoyable. Being my true self has proved to be rather amusing, so I think I'll stick to that. Stay well, and stay blessed with love and light, everyone~