so the other day i accidentally ran into k-pop group nct dream while at a camp out.

and yes, i promise.

this is a real story.

it was 2019 at the world scout jamboree, which is this massive international campout where scouts from all over the world come together for almost two weeks.

i was canoeing with my brother and his friend when i got a notification that a band would be performing that evening.

now i’m not really into watching concerts or performances, but since we had nothing better to do that evening, i thought, sure, let’s check it out.

so we hiked three miles out and arrived just in time.

and yo — when the group walked on stage, i’ve never seen so much aura in my life.

they were singing songs like chewing gum and fireflies and the whole crowd was going wild (mind you, this crowd was mostly teenage boys so it was quite the show).

there was also… a canoe mosh pit??

yeah, i still don’t know what was going on with that.

but that chaotic and completely random moment was actually my first exposure to k-pop.

my friends who were into k-pop were quite jealous and rightfully so — like i had no business being there lmao.

anyways, that night kinda kickstarted my k-pop phase in high school.

i even dyed my hair brown..

it was pretty bad, but oh — on a similar note.

i’ve been seeing a lot of clips from that new k-pop demon hunter movie.

i didn’t expect to like it much, but last night i finally resolved to watch it and dude like

it was a pretty good movie loll

the songs were catchy, animation style was cool, and the story was actually decent.

i’m realizing now this sounds like an ad (i promise it’s not), but just wanted to share lol.

from the garden 🌷

here’s what a few of you said about something you take for granted, but deep down, you’re grateful for:

something i’ve experienced is that sometimes, we only realize we’ve taken something for granted after it’s gone. it’s a hard lesson, but one that reminds us just how lucky we are to be where we are, and to be surrounded by the people we’re with.

for next week’s question:

“what’s a lesson you had to learn the hard way?”

if you want your response featured on this newsletter’s next issue fill out this form!

community spotlight 💬

it would have to be between dark chocolate and strawberry cheesecake.

i am not reposting the thirst trap ☺️

when i left.

jkjkjk.

it would have to be performing on stage with my brother in orchestra.

we were playing a duet together with the orchestra backing it us it was honestly an insane experience.

omori was quite traumatizing 😭

i did not know what i was getting myself into when i picked up that game last year.

it does a rrly good job of telling the story and making u piece together what happened.

one of my favorite games.

i wouldn’t be a tree, because i am a human 🧍

i like to think i spent my junior year really well. i spent the first semester on campus at duke and the second semester in la at usc.

my first semester i was able to tackle some computer science course credits and help out with the duke creator lab.

during the second semester i made many meaningful friendships in la and learned more about the entertainment industry.

i feel like i’ve been able to learn a lot throughout this past year through the experiences i’ve been able to accumulate. even if there are some things that didn’t go completely as planned, i always tell myself, i did the best with what i knew at that time.

i got one more year left at duke so i’ll be making sure to make the most out of it.

p.s. if you want your question featured in next week’s newsletter, fill out this form!!

YOOOOOO

thank you thank you for making it this far like dude this already the 10th issue. i’ve been doing this shi for like over 10 weeks that’s crazzyyy. i’ve also realized i tend to only answer “deep” questions in the community spotlight section so i decided to switch things up this time lol. it’s been quite refreshing.

wishing you all the best,

tulio sasaya