These past two days, I was able to dedicate time to going through imported lessons in my LingQ language learning app. I focused on intensive reading by slowly working through the transcript of the video Weltberühmt und depressiv: Sisi, Adenauer & Co. | Terra X History in LingQ.

I also practiced my listening comprehension by simply listening to So will die EU bei Whatsapp mitlesen: Chatkontrolle erklärt without looking at the screen or the closed captioning. I estimate I understood about 50% of the content, which is encouraging. To grasp what I missed, I still need to import the video into LingQ for a full review.

My mind is currently preoccupied with delusional worries that I know rationally to abandon, but which I unfortunately lack the wisdom and clarity to dismiss. Learning to simply sit still and stay with my thoughts without letting them take control is a profoundly difficult practice.

Funnily enough, studying German has become a way to exert control over my own mind. The act of reading, focusing on one word at a time, sounding out every syllable, and appreciating the language forces my concentration onto that single, productive task. It becomes a reliable anchor for my mind.