Winter in the US as a Filipino international student just hits different, and this vlog is basically a little snapshot of my “trying to be productive but also wanting to hibernate” season. I start off heading to a scholar visit meet-and-greet where we act as graduate ambassadors (aka we’re kind of “selling” the university to a visiting scholar who’s like a prospective grad student). I was genuinely looking forward to it… while also hoping my introvert self could survive socializing. After that, it was full-on poster presentation mode. I had my poster printed, but I still needed to run through my flow, and of course it started snowing hard again at night—pretty, yes, but also terrifying when you have to wake up early. The next morning I was up at 5 a.m., did my makeup, and got to my office by 7:39 a.m. and honestly… I was reminded how nice early mornings can be. The daylight felt so beautiful, and I felt weirdly lightheaded and happy, like I could actually read papers and eat my egg in peace before setting up. To balance out the academic chaos, I also show little life things—Costco groceries after two weeks, and me attempting Indian curry (third attempt!) using my friend’s recipe. It’s cozy, realistic, and very much my winter days: conferences, campus life, food, and tiny moments that keep me grounded.