February 21 ー February 23
Time for another brief update. My schedule has finally taken a big hit due to a little decline of my mental health lately. I was hoping to keep reading even if a short article everyday, but I was not in the mood at all and decided to take a rest altogether that I might prolong until the end of the challenge at this point; it’s undecided yet. But yeah, I was starting to feel guilty and very strained after reading very, very late at night before bed, for the sake of keeping the streak going, but it wasn’t sustainable and didn’t take long until it backfired, naturally. So that’s when I decided to drop the pressure and take a little break until I get a little better, so I can come back with more energy to keep learning 
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In these two weeks I’ve accumulated a backlog of 400 SRS reviews, so that’s what I’ll hopefully be doing these next few days. I’m also thinking that I’ll probably start a video game soon, though I’m not sure which one yet, but I’m considering either Final Fantasy VII or Zelda: Breath of the Wild. I’ve played both already, but a long time ago, and never in Japanese other than a bit of BotW. We’ll see!
I think personally I’ve started to see these threads as a “study log” of sorts, a place where I meet up with other people reading their things and creating a small corner together. So it doesn’t bother me any more that I miss days towards the challenge, which is a big milestone for me considering the mentality I started with last year, when missing a day was highly demotivating. But at the same time, I still need to keep a healthy balance, because if I stop seeing it as something to work towards, I know that I will start feeling much more complacent and comfortable with missing days, and that won’t get me anywhere. Well, it would, but to a spot where I’m not content with my pace, like I was before the Winter challenge. Going too slow is highly demotivating for me, and I was really happy with my pace this time, reading for an hour each day. I felt it was achievable and I was learning a lot of vocabulary. So balance is key, I feel; achieving that sweet spot between taking care of yourself to not overexert and burn out, and push yourself where you can still work diligently and consistently. That balance fluctuates on a daily or weekly basis so it’s definitely hard for me to know where it’s at at all times.
So there’s that! I’ll be back soon, regardless of the challenge being over :3
Until then I’ll be lurking and slapping you all with my likes in the shadows.
