Just a thought
I apologize for my lack of updates in the past three months or so. Bogged down by schoolwork (21 units in a quarter is no fun), family drama and other nonsense, I haven’t had time to write anything here. Finally, winter break has come.
One of the classes I took this fall was History 9E: Southeast Asian Crossroads, to kill two birds with one stone (fulfill a GE requirement and Southeast Asian studies minor requirement). I think this class made me rethink a lot about my perceptions of Burma and Southeast Asia in general. To really understand Southeast Asia, one needs to understand its past. However, I felt that large swathes of Southeast Asia were completely omitted, especially Malaysia and Vietnam, but I can understand the impossible task of covering all of Southeast Asia in the matter of less than 10 weeks.
I really want to share the paper I wrote for the class, about the colonial rice economy and its impact on Burmese society. I really found it interesting because of my grandparents’ ties to the colonial rice trade and the profound ways it helped shaped the Burmese identity. I’m sure it’s far from perfect, but I will not, for the time being because I don’t want to be involved in a college plagiarism scandal. I intend not to get a scarlet letter branded on my record.
Without a doubt, this is the most interesting class I’ve taken this quarter and one of the most interesting I’ve taken in college thus far. It made me reconsider my current career plans and especially my major. I’m left wondering whether I’m truly supposed to enjoy learning the about the joys of organic chemistry and the wonders of van der Waals forces. Hmm…
I’ve made it a personal goal next year (a resolution, perhaps) to update this blog as frequently as possible for me–and to revive it. It was good to take a break from all this. But I’m back.
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