~ My Favorite Stills From Episode 1, Traveler (S2). I Am Only One Done With A Single Episode And I Am

~ Hwang In Yeop a.k.a Han Seo Jun appreciation post ~

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GIF Credits: GIF 2:  nicoledrg, Pinterest | GIF 3, 5: Tumbex | GIF 4: pinterest.co.kr | GIF 8, 11: We Heart It | GIF 9: Tumbral | GIF 10: @princesshibanaa​ 

~ Sometimes, we need to be carried. We need to experience care other than our own. During such moments, I hope you find hands that carry your heart softly, with ease and comfort. I hope you they let your being rest. ~

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~ notes from everyday ~

~ He Buzui and Lu Weixun from ‘Instead of Tipsy Why Not Get Drunk’ (2019) ~

~ Iburagurashi ~ Ep.2: Favorite Moments (Part 1)~

~ Watching Meguru and Yori enjoy simple moments of daily living makes me want to have someone special to share them with too ~ 

* There’s so much I learn from J-dramas. So many beautiful, positive things that help me live life more fully, with fresh perspectives to look at things. That’s my favorite part---most, most favorite. 🌸

* I love this rule Meguru and Yori have--- to say one good thing for each time you share your complaints. How simple but how powerful. Often, I am so absorbed in all that’s ‘not supposed to be this way’ that I forget to count the innumerable blessings I’m surrounded with. :) 🌸

* I think having someone who loves food and eating as much as you do, and to share everyday meals with them is one of the biggest blessings in life. The first picture of Yori and Meguru quietly working in the kitchen warms my heart. 🌸

“I was born to join in love, not hate --- that is my nature.” - Robert Fagles

‘True Beauty’ Taught Me That You Have A Right To Be Seen & Cherished As You Are

Well, well. For starters, this was such a well-made show. Also, post gazillion discussions with my friend, we've concluded that K-dramas from 2019 have become more progressive, liberal and busters of their own stereotypes.

‘True Beauty’ was all of the above along with being funny, cute and addressing social issues head-on. Speaking of the last one, this show really puts into perspective the pressure of being conventionally 'pretty' and the nature of school bullying that leads to traumatic experiences in the life of young Korean adults. For this, I really applaud the show.

The story is about 'ugly' looking 18-year-old Lim Joo Gyung who is bullied by her high-school classmates for her looks and appearance. It is rather devastating to watch the first two episodes because man, they really open your eyes to the gruesome shit people do to other people.

Tired of being bullied and unloved, Joo Gyung decides to switch schools. In the process, she discovers make-up and its unruly power to help her transform her appearance from zero to hero(ine).

As she learns to master make-up skills, she is shocked by how she can manipulate and hide what she really looks like. Plot-twist: she's already met our hero Lee Su Hoo by now, who's seen her 'non-pretty' avatar and since her transfer happens to be in his school, he's already dubious about her made-up self.

This is where the fun begins. Joo Gyung slowly discovers that with the help of beauty products, she can finally be a ‘normal teenager’ who has friends. Lee So Hu confronts her with his suspicions and upon them being confirmed, helps her keep her secret.

What follows is how Joo Gyung battles her own insecurities about herself, how the story displays with beautiful delicacy what it means to be truly beautiful and how, the people who love you will always be there, because they can see who you are, bone-deep.

Rather than using make-up as a crutch to keep running away from her lack of self-worth, we see how our heroine comes to terms with this and how she strives to be beautiful in her own might.

I cannot proceed without proclaiming my indefinite love for Lim Hee Gyung, Joo Gyung's older sister and a powerhouse of a woman. What's not there to love about her? NOTHING. 

I love how she's 'manly' enough to chase the person she's fallen for and I love her relationship with homeroom teacher Han Jun Woo, which is a complete power reversal than what is usually shown in K-dramas. She's the man here, she wears the damn pants and looks hot in them while she's at it. He, on the other hand, has no shame in being completely vulnerable and letting her take the lead.

Lim Hee Gyung is everything I want to see in female drama leads. She's funny, digs intense video-gaming, smart, independent and a boss of a career woman. On the other hand, Han Jun Woo is kind, makes for a thorough poet through and through, is calm, composed and very sure of himself.

There is no denying how much I love Hwang In Yeop in Han Seo Jun's avatar. Man, little did I know that the swordsman from 'Tale of Nokdu' was going to be a stellar second lead.

Seo Jun is everything Lee Su Ho is not: funny, understands and respects boundaries, isn't an asshole on purpose, loves Joo Gyung, respects her secret, respects her choice to love someone other than him rather than 'fight' for her by forcefully getting in her way, doesn't proclaim his feelings until he's sure she's not seeing anyone and is in general, SO MUCH MORE FUN than our boring, boring first lead. Sigh.

Women (heroines) of dramas, please wake-up. I'm kind of tired of looking at y'all throw away the most beautiful of men because you think being with a stuck-up-arrogant-cold male lead is 'true love'.

It isn't. Really.

Also, I want to highlight how the show has women running the entire storyline on the forefront.

Be it Lim Hee Gyung, her mother Hong Hyun Suk who's the primary bread earner of the family, or Soo-Ah or Kang Soo Jin. 

I loved how adorable, funny and cute Hyun Suk’s husband --- insert *one of my favorite K-actors* --- Lim Jae Pil is. Damn, I love gender-role reversals and what a success this drama has been with them. *happy tears and cheers*

Lastly, let's get on to my favorite learnings from the show:

1. Your healing is your responsibility. 

Something we see so beautifully through the characters of Joo Gyung and Su Ho. With their own respective healing journeys, we see them own their self-discovery versus piling it on each other in the name of love.

2. Stop hiding your light.

After losing his closest friend, we see Han Seo Jun shut his heart to music despite it being his first love. But with time, Lim Hee Gyung and Su Ho convince him that it is a loss to the world to keep his musical gifts to himself and we see Seo Jun share his light once again.

3. Your heart is what is the most beautiful thing about you.

Not your clothes, not your talents and not your face. Who you are, how you treat others and how you love is what determines how beautiful or ugly you are.

My last thoughts thoughts, “... the ultimate dumpling war.” 

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GIF Credits: GIF 1: @cafe330 | GIF 2, 4, 5, 18: Aghasewatchtv | GIF 3, 14: Soompi  | GIF 6: @youthofmay​ | GIF 7: Bitches Over Dramas | GIF 8: Xenews.net | GIF 12: @ohh!kdrama! | GIF 13: Unbothered Unnies | GIF 15: @allnightontum-blr-blog​ | 

~ Doing ordinary things with care fills you with soft warmth and joy.~ 

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Yesterday, as I cleaned and organized my stationery folder, I realized I was happy doing this seemingly banal thing because I was doing it with care. May be the little moments of life, which means almost every moment we spend, are not really that little if we pour care into them. 🌞

~ Sometimes courage is listening to that quiet, inner voice rather than the hundred loud ones surrounding you. ~ 🌼

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©anvidoshi

" 'It seems to me that you're getting anxious, thinking that you have to discover quickly what you enjoy or do well.' 'Is it so? Hmm... that's true.' Mincheol averted his gaze as he mumbled. He turned back to Seungwoo. 'It feels like I have to find it quickly.'

'Why are you in a rush? You don't have to hurry. If coming here isn't boring, just come over more often. Be who you are right now, and you will be fine.'"

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~ Page 221, Welcome to the Hyunam-dong Bookshop, Hwang Bo-Reum~

Image Credits: @spongecake on Tumblr

~ Do you feel nourished, restful and calm with the people you surround yourself with? Or do you feel depleted, tired and often find yourself as a human soundboard for their thoughts and feelings? ~🐏  . Does your close circle uplift you, push to towards growth, or does it thwart your progress by belittling your ideas and work through constant negative judgment? 🐏  . Do you feel loved, seen and cherished for your heart, your mind? Or do you find yourself hiding your quirks and true feelings because there is no room for honest heart talk? 🐏 . May you choose those who choose you because we are conscious partakers of the energy we allow in our lives. 🐏 . And this beautiful little life, this sweet, fleeting existence requires you to choose people who are good to you + for you. 🐏 . . Love always, Anvi