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64 Write about a happy childhood memory. (04/24/2023)

Every Nepali New Year's and almost every birthday, my family used to celebrate it at the beach in Hong Kong. There was the beach with the sand if you wanted to swim, make sandcastles, or play volleyball. Almost every beach had a park section with designated grill spots where you can bring your own charcoal and own metal nets and grill whatever you want ranging from sausages, corn, pork ribs, chicken wings and legs (It's forbidden for Nepali people to eat beef). Other people also grilled fish, oysters, octopuses, and squid. There would also be one or two shops where they sold ice cream and beach toys. In case you forgot yours, they also sell beach attire, grilling equipment, and surfboards.
Everyone would arrive at the beach in the afternoon and start setting up the grill. While the food is getting ready, the kids would usually play on the beach and swim. By evening, everyone is eating and dancing with the radio playing traditional Nepali songs. While everyone was having a good time, I would often sneak away and walk on the trail alongside the beach. We often went to the same beach so I always kept walking for about 20 minutes until I reached the end of the trail. At the end was the golden dolphin park.
It is small area with a giant double or triple dolphin statue that is the size of a 5 story house. I think it was my dad or one of my uncles that led me there for my first time and I started going there on my own after. At night, it looked beautiful with the spotlights shining directly at it. I would also fix the moving puzzle. It consists of 16 squares with 15 puzzle pieces. Using the empty square, you would move around the puzzle pieces one by one until you fixed the picture of a dolphin.
Maybe it was the dolphin statue or the puzzle at the end that made me so happy. It could also be the 20 minutes of me walking by myself freely with no worries with the beach on my right and the forest on my left. I would rest my arms on the metal barrier as I lean forward slightly and look at the rocks below and the ocean in front of me. It's soothing to watch the waves move back and forth, slapping against the rock over and over again. I stare at it for a good 5-10 minutes, think about life, and look up at the sky before walking back to the party.
One of my goals is to visit Hong Kong again and see the Golden Dolphin statue once more. I want to take a polaroid of it and keep it as a safekeep. I also want to visit the Hong Kong Heritage Museum because they had a Pixar exhibit for their 25th anniversary. Outside the museum, there is a large lake where you can ride bikes around. I need to see the HK Public Library once more and the Science museum as well. There is a lot I want to do there, again.

65 Write about a sad childhood memory. (04/24/2023)

I was not happy about graduating primary school. All of my friends were going to different secondary schools and I was the only one going to Po Leung Kok Ngan Po Ling College. I felt the same way when I was 8 years old and was leaving Nepal. I wouldn't be able to hang out with my schoolmates nor my friends in the neighborhood. Gone were the days of tag and red light green light outside my aunt's house. No more BW or Jenny (family dog) to play with. I had to start from scratch again.
During my last year of primary school, we had a 3 night field trip in a summer camp. It was during the last month of our class. Almost all of my classmates I have been studying together and playing with for almost 4 years from grade 3 to 6. In the field trip, we skated, did barbecue, and treasure hunt throughout the giant park. At night, we all went into a room and did karaoke together. I still remember that one of the songs we sang was "Beat It" by Michael Jackson. For each karaoke song, there was a music video as well with the lyrics. For our song, it showed a detective chasing a thief in a museum. Halfway through the song, it showed a scene of them in lingerie kissing each other with money showering over them. Our class teacher panicked as the girls were screaming and we guys got super excited over a sexy lady making out. Within 10 seconds, our teacher found the remote and pressed the power button. Even though I have been studying and hanging out with them for almost 4 years. That school trip took our friendship to a different level when we slept in the same room, walked around the lake and played video games together, and showered in the same large bathroom.
When we got back from the trip, I felt sad and that sadness lasted even after graduating. The trip made it worse because it improved our friendship which was already ending. For our graduation ceremony, we had to sing together Auld Lang Syne to celebrate all the fun memories we made and the new journey ahead of us. I cried while singing it. As each of us were hugging one another for the last time, I cried even more. After that, I have only seen three or four out of the 30 classmates after graduating. Part of me back then wished that I didn't put much effort into my studies so that my secondary school would reject me and I could join my friends. In the new secondary school I went to, everyone was smart except me. I became the class clown and the idiot and it went downhill from there. Graduating primary school still remains a very sad memory for me.