Saturday 8 August 2015

Reflections...

While answering a question on the best year (or in my case, years) on Ask.fm, I felt compelled to include 2013. Ever since I hit rock bottom disguised as a severe quarter life crisis upon returning from NZ, I felt that adulthood was nothing but bitterness - to the point that I stopped caring whether said bitterness would ever end. However, 2013 - the year I hit big 3-0 - did more than show that adulthood wasn't something that's automatically granted to anyone finishing university. Adulthood is indeed earned. To recap, in 2013...
- After a lot of job-hopping and a postgraduate degree which I partially funded myself, I embarked on a short vacation to Singapore. It was the first time I went out of the country in 4.5 years since leaving NZ. Nothing feels better than a much deserved holiday.

- I turned 30, as already said...with no fear. Congratulations and good luck to all those who hit that milestone this year and beyond! You can kiss those turbulent 20s goodbye as 30s are much more stable...unless you make no effort whatsoever to grow up.

- I got a wonderful belated 30th birthday present in terms of career, but I wish not to discuss that in detail.

- My long comatose boyband phase was revived - yes I'm talking about Infinite - which led to my first ever K-pop concert which was held on August 31 2013.

- I had my first taste of speaking at a conference, and this first conference of mine was held at Andalas University in Padang. Later after the conference I got to admire the beauty of my maternal ancestral home of Bukittinggi, also for the first time.

- I started making friends with Starbucks baristas again since coming home from NZ. Back in Auckland, I had a knack for befriending Starbucks baristas to the point of knowing at least one barista at each of the five Starbucks stores in Auckland CBD. I'm in touch with the majority of them.

The year 2013 actually had a slightly bitter end, but it didn't affect my 30s so far. Here's to better times ahead!