2018

A Year In Review

By Patawee Promsen

January 20^th, 2019

This year...

STUDY

I studied so hard in 2018 and it is very rewarding. I had never imagined myself reading every required books and doing every assignments like I did in 2018. In two semesters, I took six classes:

History of Folklore: The hardest class I have ever taken yet I have learned a lot from the class readings. The Voices of Modernity is the most challenging book but yes, if you're trained in folklore studies, this book is a must-read.

Survey of Folklore (Genre): The basic background of what we folklorists are studying at this moment. Another required class. I wrote my paper on Hmong story cloth and because of this paper, I know a lot more about Hmong and started to get rid of the stereotypical thoughts about them I gained since I was little.

Irish Folklore: Another fun class. My love for and interest in Irish culture grew from this class. The readings are very useful to my future research on history, memory, and commemoration. Now my idea about a dissertation is clearer as I know what direction I would like to go. I want to write something about the connection between history and memory and how they become a way of commemorating in a particular society. I can also see the parallel between what happened in urban-rural Ireland and in my home country.

Contemporary Perspectives on Mythology: I was persuaded to take this class as this might be the last time a professor who is an expert in myth would teach this class, and it might be the last class on myth we could find in the U.S. Then I took it. And I never regret I did. This is one of the best classes I have here at IU. My professor is very knowledgeable and insightful. Books that impress me: Antigone's claim, The Ancient Mythology of Modern Science, The Amazons, Traditional Literatures of the American Indian

Ethnography of Belief: Another class I enjoyed studying. An eye-opening class even though some parts of the contents are redundant to the previous class by the same professor. Because of this class, I know I would like to do a research on folk religion and vernacular religion. Sacred materiality also interests me. I have a clue now how to combine my interests in art and material culture with folk religion and folk belief.

Anthropology of Race: I decided to have a minor in Anthropology, so this is my fist class as a minor. This class is interesting at first but turns out to be a little boring at redundant later. I however appreciate the class and the readings very much as they broaden and deepen my knowledge about race. I just realize how race is socially constructed and how race is operated everywhere around the world not only in the U.S. Also, living in this predominantly White state and campus has been rough but now I know I'm not alone on this road. I know there are so many people out there who struggle and who are trying to make things better. That is why knowledge about race is critical. It's now 2019 and let us not judge and classify people by their physical appearances. An old 19th Century Western idea of race classification as Caucasian, Mongolian, American, Malayan, and Ethiopian should cease to exist too.

Work

I still work for the Modern Language Association as a bibliographer. People tend to think that this job is kind of boring and time consuming, but I would like to say how much I appreciate the work. First of all, I can make money from this job LOL Besides the money, I appreciate the working process and atmosphere. Every one of my coworkers are nice. They make the office worth staying and the work less boring. They office itself is cozy and has everything we need even though it is located in the Wells Library and so there is no windows! I also get to know very early when the new books in folklore are releasing. Working with books is always fun and reading other people's works somehow inspires me to write something of my own.

In mid July, I went back to Thailand and worked for Peace Corps Thailand. It was a great short time and I wish I will be able to work with them more in the future. Besides teaching Thai to the U.S. volunteers, this year I'm also hired to make the textbook illustrations. I really appreciate the opportunity as I can refresh my drawing skills before it's gone. Now the book is on the process and I'm really excited how it will look like as a printed version.

I earned a little amount of money by selling photos on Shutterstock. Does this count as a work? LOL I wish I could upload more photos and earn more in the future.

I have been thinking of having a small business. Like selling something online or investing in something. But it is only a dream at this moment. Hope I can figure out in the near future what I want to do and can do well.

Travel

I travel less than every other years.

Four places I'm really impressed.

San Francisco: Mission accomplished. I have always dreamed of going to San Francisco, to see the Golden Gate Bridge, to visit the Pacific Ocean, to explore the charming city, to follow the path of my favorite writer who once lived in and wrote about this place. San Francisco is now a dream comes true. Travelling alone to this city is also rewarding. I took myself there during the worst time of the year and again, travelling heals my wounds. It brought back my strength and confidence. I realized from travelling alone that I could be alone and enjoyed my life. I could go anywhere and do anything alone without waiting for someone else. I went to the Muir Woods where I was surrounded by the giant Sequoia. These tallest trees in the world made me realized how big this world is and how small I am. I can recall how peaceful I felt when I was there in the middle of the woods. My heart felt better. My mind was clearer. It seems like I could finally see a light at the end of a tunnel.

Mexico: A country I had never thought I would fall in love. Our annual trip this year is Mexico even though all of our dream trips were somewhere else, like Cuba, Patagonia, Trans-Siberian Railway. I can't recall now why we finally chose Mexico, but I will never regret our decision. A trip to Mexico becomes one of my inspiring trips after all. I have changed my mind a lot about Mexico. Those stereotypes have gone after I went there and see the it with my own eyes. We went to Mexico City and San Cristobal de las Casas. I got to know the region of Chiapas and its indigenous people. I was so interested in the ways the Mayan and other indigenous people have dealt with domination and racism since the colonial era until now. My interest in this issue lead me to write one of my final papers on Chiapas resistance. I wish I could go back there in the near future to do more research in the region.

Buffalo and Niagara Falls: This year marks my first time going to American Folklore Society. Haha I know it's a shame as I have been in this discipline for four years. But yes, it's always "better late than never" :) This year AFS is held in Buffalo, New York. I was very excited for the first time in AFS and I felt very inspired after coming back. Seeing and meeting those people I had only met on the book pages is like meeting a superstar you have watched on TV. You watch them talk. You see how they interact. You learn how to be like them one day. You dream to be a good folklorist one day. <3 Last day there, we had a chance to go to Niagara Falls. I was huge and beautiful. It was a beautiful day in fall season that I will never forget.

Rhode Island: The most beautiful place I have ever been to this year. I love Kingston, Newport, Block Island, Cliff Walk, A Chinese buffet restaurant LOL, and even a Dunkin Donuts we went for a morning espresso drink. I never thought this would become my second home this year <3

SELF-Care

Workout: Needs improvement. I went to gym even less than last year.

Sleep: Needs improvement. I usually went to bed and got up very late. Also rely too much on Melatonin.

Water: I drank a lot more water. Checked!

Coffee: This year is literally the first year I started to drink coffee. It's a whole new world to me and I started to drink darker coffee little by little. The accomplishment is: I can now drink a coffee without sugar! But half&half is still too hard to resist.

Book: I read textbooks and scholarly works a lot while I barely read literature. Needs improvement.

Social Media: Not addicted to posting on Facebook anymore. Which is great, and can be counted as the best accomplishment of this year! LOL Still active on Instagram (not good). Back on Twitter and love it.

Skincare: 2018 is the year I started to seriously take care of my skin aka. using skincare LOL Now I have quite a stable morning and night routines and I can see the improvement on my skin little by little. This year's favorites are: Paula's Choice 2% BHA, Estee Lauder Advanced Night Repair, Laneige Water Sleeping Mask, Nars Tinted Moisturizer, Burt's Bee Tinted Lip Balm.

Foods: I cooked a lot and here are some of my homemade meals I would like to share :)

Relationship

The best year for relationship. Some people came into my life. Some people left. Some people were here and are still here. And I appreciate every single moment we share in this year whether it's good or bad.

There are some people I used to called friends. Those whom I gave them heart. Those I shared my thoughts and feelings. I hope I would get the same thing back from them but it turned out that they didn't think the same way. Then I left. It is easy like that. It is easy even though it hurts. I thought when we grow older, we would hurt less from a relationship. But the truth is we will never be old enough to never be hurt from a relationship no matter what kind of relationship it is. Whether young or old, you will be hurt. But as an adult, you will never be allowed to be sad that long. You have other things in life to do. You have other people to take care of. So my lesson for this year is: when it comes a time you doubt a relationship, end it. Never waste a time caring those who don't care you.

Concluding remarks

All in all, this year has been great. It has been a year of love and success. It is also the last year before I turn 30 so it is significant and meaningful. Thank you everyone and everything for giving me love and joy. I will never forget this beautiful year of my life.