Welcome back to the Jury of Peers blog! I can’t wait to see what the spring semester has in store! But first an update on how winter break went…
Like last year, I spent my winter break enjoying the various Christmas decorations around LA, catching up and spending time with loved ones, going on food adventures, and most importantly sleeping! With everything that goes on during the semester – all the papers, exams, projects – it’s easy to forget about taking care of yourself and taking time to do something not law related. So it’s nice to just be able to spend time to reflect, relax, sleep, decompress, and do absolutely nothing in the time leading up to the spring semester.
Here’s a look at how I spent my nearly 3 weeks on winter break….
Let’s start with the least exciting (but also most beneficial health wise) activities. During break, I made sure to catch up with all my annual checkups and go to the gym as often as possible. During the semester, it’s easy to get bogged down by stress, eating poorly, being exposed to various illnesses, or succumbing to allergies. Thus, I took the time to make sure that I was well physically so I can tackle all that spring semester has in store for me. Helpful tip from a 2L: book all your medical appointments and checkups (including going to the eye doctor and the dentist) during the break that way you don’t have to skip class or stress about getting stuck in traffic on the way to school.
Now for the more exciting stuff!
The first matter of business was to take my sister to Disneyland to celebrate the commencement of our respective winter breaks. We share a mutual love of Disney, so it was nice to catch up after a long semester, seek some photo ops with some of our favorite characters (such as Minnie Mouse), and go on our favorite rides.
I was also fortunate enough to finally see Wicked at the Pantages in Hollywood, CA with my family. I’ve always loved going to the theatre to see musicals or plays, so it was nice that there was something really good that I’d never seen before running while I was on winter break!
I also fulfilled one of my teenage dreams of seeing my favorite pianist from South Korea, Yiruma. He held his concert at the Dolby Theatre also in Hollywood, CA. Not only was it cool to listen to him live after being a fan for many years, but it was amazing to sit in the same room that holds the Oscars!
So like most people, I’ve never won anything by calling the radio. But randomly and totally by chance, I won something! More specifically, it was a four pack of tickets to Holiday in the Park at Six Flags Magic Mountain. So I took some of my loved ones to share in the oohing-and-aahing at the holiday decorations and the thrills of all the coasters.
The holidays also allowed me to spend more time with my dog, which included long walks and me trying to take pictures of her while she played hard to get.
For me, winter break means catching up with friends, and of course, this always means over food. This winter I tried out new foods like Hainan chicken and taiyaki (soft serve ice cream in a cone shaped like a fish that’s filled with some kind of spread like Nutella or taro; see below) and new places like Shin-Sen-Gumi (a ramen place which is seen below), Wushiland (a popular boba place in the San Gabriel Valley), Savoy Kitchen (an Asian fusion restaurant also in the San Gabriel Valley), and Maccheroni Republic (an Italian place in Downtown LA)
Finally, my most favorite activity during winter break is checking out and admiring all the Christmas light displays and decorations. I love Christmas and the holidays, all the decorations, and the general excitement for it all. For me, searching for Christmas decorations around SoCal is a fun way to get into the holiday spirit and reflect on the year that’s just passed and prepare for the year that’s about to commence.
With winter break behind me, I’m feeling refreshed and ready for 2019. So it’s time to buckle down and get back to work! After all, there are only a few short months until I’m done with 2L, and summer break is just around the corner….
Until next time friends!