Being home

A couple of weeks ago, I came back to Chile for the summer vacations. Apart from the fact that I got a really bad cold that has lasted already exactly a week, it has been a very nice, quiet and relaxed time. At first, I must say I had mixed feelings about coming back for the vacations. I mean, there was no choice, the tickets were bought, but still I felt kind of uneasy coming back home after living alone for so long, it is always difficult to get used again to being again under your parents' roof (with all that entails) after you have had so much time making your own decisions and choices.

It was a good time, though. I have rested a lot and slept a lot, both because I have vacations and because my mom cooks (she cooks delicious also) and I also don't have to worry (too much, at least) about cleaning and stuff like that. Also, I don't share the same vacation period as my friends that study here, since here they are already beginning their second semester of classes, so I have a lot of time to myself, and time with my mom. 

This has served me to reflect upon how my previous year in The Hague was, and what can I learn from it in order to have an even better second year starting this September. 

The first thing I realized was that this previous year I was not as focused in my studies as I would have liked to be. This doesn't mean at all that I wasn't focused, just that maybe I got distracted more often than I would have liked and that I could have been more productive in my studies. For this, I need this year to be more organized with the use of my time and also be more strict with myself, not letting myself be lazy (which is one of my biggest problems). This year I will also be having violin lessons, so I need to be organized enough to have time to compose, study and practice violin. 

The second thing is that I didn't manage my living budget very well, so I sometimes spent more than I should have. This overspending was basically due to two things: food and travel. It's not that I ate lots and lots, but that I ate out more than I should (i.e. more than my budget allowed) and I travelled aproximately once every two months, This, of course, meant I spent much more money than I was meant to on a given month. To fix this, I need to travel less and cook my own meals as much as possible. By doing this I will reduce very much my expenses. On top of this, I plan to look for some sort of part-time job to also have a small income to help finance this (my study visa allows for a maximum of 10 hours a week of work, which I think is also the amount of time I will have to work anyway). 

The third thing is that I realized that, despite all my efforts, I gained weight and started developing a belly (oh the horror). This I think is also related to my eating habits, which were a bit too disorganized and also due to the fact that I was not so consistent in my gym-goings. So this year I will try to cook my own meals to eat healthier and also go to the gym at least three times a week, maybe occasionally going out biking long distances on weekends and holidays. 

So this was my little reflection about my last year, and the three points I wanted to improve for next year. I hope I can make it, but even if I make a small progress towards this ideal, I will feel accomplished. It's all about being organized in the end.