Dogs - the friends who help me overcome stressful days

 

        Hi there,

        This post is about my good friends, who have been helping me (emotionally) since the early stage of my research career path. I actually spent half of a page in the acknowledgment of my master's thesis to thank those friends of mine. Let me introduce you to two of them, who are with me in the photo below: ChiaoChiao is the yellow-haired girl and Niupai is the black and white handsome boy (the human in the middle is me). 

        

         Like most Asian countries, Taiwan has many stray dogs. Most of them were abandoned by owners who did not want to raise them after some time, or after they found out that the dogs had health issues. Taiwan has a policy to fine people who abandon their dogs, but that can not stop some people from trying to refuse their responsibilities for taking care of the creatures that they used to like. To deal with that, many government and non-government societies/groups/clubs have been established to take care of stray dogs. There is one at National Tsing Hua University (where I did my master's study in Taiwan): NTHU Carelife.  

        I knew about the club in my first winter in Taiwan, in 2020. I was preparing for the final exams these days and found that I really needed a furry friend to 'talk' to (sometimes we just need someone to listen to us, and dogs seem like good listeners, or at least they never judge you). So I decided to join the club. As a volunteer, my job there is taking care of dogs: feeding, cleaning their houses, playing with them, and taking them out for a walk around the campus. I usually come a few times per week, which takes me not so much time, but what I received is very much more than I expected.

        This is my certificate of volunteering for taking care of stray dogs at the National Tsing Hua University campus. The dog in that certificate is Chiao Chiao, she is my favorite one! Of course, what I wanted to mention is not about the certificate, but about what I (spiritually) got from taking care of dogs. I found that even though sometimes it was a bit tiring, walking with dogs around the campus gave me chances to 'refresh' my mind. I got stuck in my research for a few days, and could not figure out what was wrong with my code. And instead of spending more time looking at the computer and trying many tests, I decided to go out for a walk with dogs. It really helped! After walking, I came back to my office, sat down, and looked at the program again: I found the wrong logic in my code! 

        From that time, and many times after, I eventually recognized that having a 'space' between your study/work and your personal time really helps to improve your study. Even at the time when you think 'I am busy preparing for (blabla), there is no time to do such a thing as walking or volunteering', always remember to give yourself some time for rest. It no need to be walking a dog (if you are not a dog person) but you can try to stay away from your screen, walk out of your office, and take a deep breath. Let your mind wander around while you are looking at the scenery around your neighborhood/office. I believe it will help!

        The importance of rest is mentioned in my note about Focus and Diffuse thinking and how good sleep helps you to study/work better in the note on Procrastination, Memory, and Sleep taken from the course 'Learning How To Learn' by Prof. Barbara Oakley and Prof. Terrence Sejnoski on Coursera. 

        Thank you for reading, I wish you a good day!

        Be Brave.