it's been a wildly long year & i can't say i'm sad to see it end. when i started this recap, i didn't even remember the beginning of this year—everything i had done before COVID-19 blew up seemed like a distant memory. but nonetheless, i did do some things this year. some firsts, some little, some big. so here we go.
-started off the year in Maryland, went to the cemetery to visit my ong ngoai
-even tho i don't really like KBBQ, a bunch of us went to eat it for my cousin's birthday
-visited Calvert where i used to live & got to eat at La Tolteca, my friend's family's restaurant
-got a haircut (probably the last time i got my haircut/trimmed)
-flew home & ran into Johnny Dang & his family (his kids are my TNTT kiddos) at the airport
-had to figure out the letterpress machine w some classmates so we could letter press our projects
-sent some emails out to some internships i heard about to see if they were still looking for an intern
-first TNTT sinh hoat of the new year (little did i know that we wouldn't get to sinh hoat for most of the year due to COVID-19)
-got a late Christmas present from one of my TNTT kiddos (which was so sweet & unexpected)
-had a day where i did both of my internship interviews since both of the ones i heard back from were internships at UH
-bought a pair of rain boots bc it rained very hard that day i had my interviews & every time it rains while i'm downtown, i get soaked
-started JR II (my second semester of the graphic design block program)
-tried veggie patties to see if i liked them enough (i just bought a box of frozen ones somewhere)
-did some freelance & started designing on retainer for Moffitt Oaks
-had to learn aftereffects for my motion graphics course (which was very hard for me to pick up & it was rough on my laptop bc the program requires so much)
-did a collaboration w UH architecture students for an environmental installation kind of project (my group had started fabrication but then it got postponed due to COVID-19)
-started my internship (oh yeah, i got one of the internships!) at UH Marketing, Creative Services
-bought my first ever pepper spray (after some encounters at the metro rail in the previous year)
-first time trying street tacos from a food truck (w my friends sam & paloma, love them)
-did some couple illustrations/drawings for "love" books for valentine's day commissions
-went to velvet taco for the first time
February
-started a catering job (which was connected to where i had been working before, Dirty Fingers)
-went to first watch for the first time & i was excited bc they had compostable to-go boxes at the time
-made little design-themed valentine days for my classmates in block
-supervised dance practices for TNTT (all i really had to do was show up though, the kiddos kinda knew what they were doing better than i did)
-my sister & i bought lauren daigle concert tickets (which would be her first concert & my first big concert but this also got postponed due to COVID-19)
-the art director at UH Marketing, Creative Services said "you're the best intern we've had as far as i'm concerned" to me (AHHH!)
-went to 88 boiling for the first time
March
-voted in the primary w my friends (we waited the longest line, took like 3 hrs, i swear)
-tried jimmy john's for the first time (i was hungry after the long line to vote)
-painted a huge fabric banner for TNTT doan camp (even though i didn't go)
-went to a free disney art show (one of the main artists was also there doing a little painting. it was pretty cool & i ended up buying 2 prints from dominic glover & he signed them)
-went to blackbear diner for the first time (i don't remember what i got but it was something w berries & it was super good)
-TNTT had a t-shirt contest to design a doan t-shirt so i submitted (haven't heard anything about that bc of COVID-19 though)
April
-had to figure out how to file for unemployment for my mother (let me tell you, it was hard to understand & i hope i never have to deal w that again)
-downloaded tik tok bc i was just THAT bored during quarantine
-my sister & i did several quarantine backyard picnics
-for TNTT, we started doing virtual lesson videos for the kiddos & for nganh nghia, we did a little The Office inspired theme song
-not only did we have to plan & record the videos but for my nganh, i edited the videos & for the doan, i edited little things & uploaded each nganh's video every saturday
-for motion graphics, i had to storyboard & animate a fictional narrative. i chose Stargirl (the book)
-i helped my sister design a resume (& i re-did mine too bc why not)
May
-we did trivia questions for TNTT at one point so throughout the days, we had to keep posting new questions on TNTT socials
-i started doing some rubber block carving/printing
-my mom found a white hair on my head (my first ever white hair)
-i did some cut paper art, some parts using my cricut, some parts by hand but all parts put together by hand
-had to start live streaming masses because it wasn't safe to go to mass in person
-i developed a new obsession w the brown sugar milk drink at Kim's
-i finally gave in to the hype & watched Avatar: the Last Airbender
-my dad gave me a succulent & i had to do a lot of research on how to care for one & learned about propagating (i swear i can't take care of plants & it was dying at first but somehow i managed to keep it alive & now it's the end of the year & it's still good!)
-started attending webinars for catholicism, design, sex education, etc. just to keep myself learning
-i did that tik tok trend where i made a google form to send to all of the guy i've thought were cute
-TNTT had office elections coming up & i was asked if i was interested in being nganh truong/treasurer/secretary (i didn't feel confident that i would be great at these but i was told that i would be which really made me happy)
-learned how to make stickers & bought the materials to do so
-took senior photos for my sister & her friends at Cy-Hope
June
-the Black Lives Matter movement got bigger & i was all over the place re-posting important things & signing petitions & trying to keep up w everything that was happening in the U.S.
-went to a chiropractor for the first time & got acupuncture & my neck/back cracked (much needed)
-helped my friend write her personal statement to get into nursing school
-helped my dad fix a leaking toilet (i didn't just sit there or anything, i actually actively helped & figured a lot of the stuff out)
-helped my sister figure out her classes & sign up for them, for her first semester of college
-did some digital commissions, kept working on stickers, & sold a painting here & there
-was voted as the new nganh truong for nghia si
-had my first COVID-19 test
-my dad had heard a cat sound coming from our driveway but we didn't see one anywhere. we found out it was stuck under my mom's car somehow so we helped get it out (it was in the spare tire under her car??)
-started making labels/menu signs for catering
-was offered a summer position for a graphic design assistant at the UH College of Education (one of the first internships that i applied to but did not get at the time but i guess i was one of the top choices so when another spot opened, they came back to me to see if i was still available)
-another trend that i had seen, my sister & i took a day to make recycled paper (though i didn't have a deckle & used a silkscreen instead which doesn't work exactly the same way)
July
-started as a graphic design assistant at the College of Education (i stilled worked at UH Marketing, i just had 2 part-time jobs now)
-sold my first sticker
-turned 23
-started making spotify glass pieces w my friend
-got a mini purple polaroid (i had bought film for my wide polaroid but the film was not wide so now i had all this mini film & so my friend bought me a mini polaroid so i could use it)
-hand painted a onesie as a commission
-had a few TNTT BTV meetings to learn my responsibilities as a nganh truong & to prepare for when we got to sinh hoat again
August
-worked on a logo for Moffitt Oaks (not sure if it will be used but i still did it)
-i had worked on something for my internship & one day, my sister got a copy of The Cougar magazine in the mail & as we looked through it, i was like wait this page looks familiar. it was the thing i had worked on, in print, in The Cougar. i got pretty excited
-planned the curriculum for NS for whenever we get back to TNTT
-i made several notebooks out of old notebooks (took the extra blank pages at the end of old school notebooks & bound those blank pages together into new notebooks)
-started SR I (the second year of block, the first semester of senior year)
September
-started a project on exhibit design & was bombarded w a lot of new information & research
-created a women's vote poster for class that we had to submit to AIGA's Get Out The Vote: Empowering the Women's Vote campaign (this year was the centennial of women's voting rights)
-attended a UH webinar called "The F Word" which was about feminism. there was a giveaway at the end & i won so i got to go pick up my prize
-the photographer at my internship needed a student to take photos of & since i'm the intern & a student, i ended up doing it & the photos were for the UH fall magazine so i was on the cover. i also got to help design a spread in the magazine
-spent a day doing my work outside in the backyard so i could get out of the house & get fresh air
-had to learn how to use sketchup, a 3D rendering program
-had to learn how to use wordpress, for my portfolio site
October
-bought myself some $4 sunflowers at kroger bc they make me happy
-my professor brought in Kendra Greene (author) to talk to us virtually since we were doing a project based off of one of her books
-designed a TNTT mask for the doan so that we could make some masks for the kiddos
-went to my first drive-in to watch hocus pocus, then the new mutants
-did early voting
-my sister & i dyed our hair w a blue & purple dye (without bleach, just wanted a little color/tint but it didn't show up much at all)
-the seniors & juniors in block held a virtual event called Cube for students that wanted to know more about the graphic design program at UH
-worked w someone that needed a designer for their product, Sparq water
-won an adobe max mask when i registered to attend the virtual adobe max event
-tried beard papa's for the first time
-tried the toasted yolk for the first time
-painted mini pumpkins for halloween
November
-had to design a personal identity for myself as a designer & re-do my resume for design-related jobs
-my class had designed voting posters & my professor got us a virtual exhibit w the Printing Museum! so all of our posters are on there in the exhibit "Empowher: Celebrating Women's Right to Vote" (https://printingmuseum.org/exhibition/empowher/)
-had another photoshoot for Marketing (though i'm not sure those photos will be used but it was still fun)
-was promoted to cap II HT (level 2 youth leader) & nganh truong for NS
-designed 2 christmas sticker sets bc my cousins wanted some christmas stickers
-got a new cricut blade, 12x24in mat, & a new carving tool so i can my projects more easily
-worked on a new portfolio site, w my personal branding & design work
-volunteered w TNTT for the church's hoi cho (even though this year we were just selling food instead of the whole festival that we usually do, bc of COVID-19)
December
-had a virtual portfolio review (at the end of every semester in block) w the seniors & the juniors
-got my 2 left wisdom teeth out finally
-had a COVID-19 scare so got tested again & luckily tested negative
-went on a few walks, which isn't much but it is for me bc i don't really do physical activity lmao (& it was kind of a nice break for my brain)
-had some holiday orders of the spotify pieces that i had put off until the semester was over so those were made & shipped out in time for the christmas
-got my ears pierced (second lobe piercing on both ears)
-designed a christmas card for TNTT & contacted a printer to get them done which is the first time i really ever contacted a printer before
-got w the HT to put together little christmas bags/gifts for the kiddos & distributed them
-got lash extensions for fun since my sister was getting them (i'm not a lash person & after a while, i got tired of them bc some started coming off & it was just uneven & i ended up trying to get them off)
-was sad bc i liked my home printer but it started messing up so we had to switch to a different printer (not important but it was to me since i really liked the one we had)
-it had been forever since i had new books to read bc i didn't buy any (to save money) & the libraries were closed. i finally bought a book which was a new one to a series that i liked so i was really excited about that
-finally gave away some of my stuffed animals bc even though i love them, i know kids would probably have a better use for them than i did (it was kind of a bittersweet moment bc i don't wanna grow up but at the same time, i needed space in my room lmao)
-had holiday meetings w both of my internships which was fun & i got little gifts from both of my bosses which was so sweet & unexpected
-drove my sister around to deliver her christmas presents for her friends
-my brother came home & we went to see christmas lights on christmas eve
-christmas happened & i didn't get to go to MD this year like i normally would but i got some nice presents & my friends & family liked the presents i got for them
-my dad had me spray paint some ugly hub caps of a car (while it's not like it takes any talent, i gotta say i made them look a lot nicer)
-changed the name of my art facebook page & instagram to be consistent w my portfolio site that i've been working on
-got into 2 virtual art exhibitions
-took some artist photos to submit for one of the exhibitions (i'm not photographer but the photos look kind of nice)
-i made it through this crazy year
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