So finally, we've reached the last day of the year. A new one awaits and about to unfold in just a matter of hours. Feeling excited?
I know you do.
If you ask me, well, I don't know why I can't help but feel a bit jittery. Maybe the euphoria will kick in later at midnight. Haha!
Anyway, aside from the Favorites post, this one has also been a thing here on le blog. Truth is, I do this recap for my future-self because I want to have something that I can look back to say 5 or 10 years from now. Kind of a reminder saying like "hey, you've had an awesome year".
I also encourage you to do it! It doesn't have to be posted somewhere and it doesn't have to all fancy or anything like that. Maybe you can start by compiling photos that will help you remember an important event that happened in the past 12 months and put 'em in a folder.
You can think about it later. For now, here's mine.
Click on the link below the photos to get directed to the blog post.
I know you do.
If you ask me, well, I don't know why I can't help but feel a bit jittery. Maybe the euphoria will kick in later at midnight. Haha!
Anyway, aside from the Favorites post, this one has also been a thing here on le blog. Truth is, I do this recap for my future-self because I want to have something that I can look back to say 5 or 10 years from now. Kind of a reminder saying like "hey, you've had an awesome year".
You can think about it later. For now, here's mine.
Click on the link below the photos to get directed to the blog post.
A growing and maturing blog...
Even though my blog is 4 years old already, I'm fully aware that it's still at the don't-know-if-I-have-more-than-5-readers stage. That's not a complaint though. To be honest, I don't really care about the numbers. However, I also do know that it's something that can help big-time if I want to build a name and attract opportunities (if opportunities can indeed be attracted haha).
GC's and planner from The Spa
goodie bag from Dermax Skin Station
But then again, I'm truly happy about how le blog has matured and grown over just a few years. I'm so thankful to the brands that entrusted me and of course, to you my readers. I won't lie and say that it's not a validation and I don't need it. In fact, I do appreciate it and it kind of somehow measures all the good work and effort I've put in.
spa kit from Caronia + Bioessence GC's
So once again, thank you so much! Every bag of freebies had me feeling all ecstatic and special.
Alongside those brand collabs, I also feel very humbled knowing that I got to attend not one, not two but four blogger events.
It's a unique kind of experience for me because I thought it would never happen and it would just stay as a dream.
Hopefully, I would get invited to more events next year! #crossingfingers
One amazing thing also happened recently. I got to know that le blog has a regular reader! So flattered!
Thank you!
Another blog-related milestone are my haul videos.
Yep, I know I'm so bad at speaking in front of camera (or just speaking) but I realized, if that's the only thing that scares me and keeps me from doing what I want to do, then that's not a valid reason at all.
I'll try my best to create better videos for you guys.
So I guess I lot of things happened for le blog and I couldn't be any happier.
My career life...
If my life was an amusement park, this part would be the Vikings. A pendulum ride of some sort.
It brought a lot of stress and frustration, to the point that I got so confused and I felt lost. A lot of should-I-leave-or-wait-I-will-not-leave-just-yet moments occurred. #careercrisis
Staying in the same company for 5 years is indeed a milestone but at some point I felt that there were "some wasted times". Don't get me wrong. I love my job. It's just that, I don't know. Maybe I'm talking this way because of a painful thing that happened.
My career has been a bittersweet thing this year. That's it. Let's leave it at that.
Nevertheless, I'm still grateful I have a job and a second family, my team.
And oh, I passed two certification exams this year! Yea!
Best nights ever...
I will never ever forget the night I saw my bad boys! I love them so much!
And also, the night Sam Smith gave us all the "feels".
My wanderlust...
I had 3 trips this year.
Looking forward to cross out more places in my to-go list in the coming years.
first time surfing!
All for the future...
Actually, I have no plans in sharing this news but I'm doing it now anyways. I should include this because it's kind of a big step for me.
Even though it's giving me a lot of stress financially, I'm still telling myself that I can do it. Getting my own place and property in my 20's is one of my goals actually.
Whenever I think about it, it makes me want to fast-forward to 2017 already. Haha!
Bigger and bigger fambam...
Meet our new bears, Adie and Caleb.
My bestfriend also gave birth to her second princess early this year.
Vanessa
New look?
You have probably noticed this. No? Come on guys! My teeth are now free! Haha!
Back to my first love...
I got to participate in a dance competition. A chance to dance on stage again after 3 years!
Last year, I've prayed for a better year and now, I can't believe all of these things happened.
To everyone who has been a part of my 2015, let me say a big fat THANK YOU!
And of course, this post won't be complete without sharing the lessons 2015 taught me.
Contentment brings peace of mind. Have you heard of the saying, "comparison is the thief of joy"? I couldn't agree more. No matter how small things seem to be, no matter how long it took for you to get something, be thankful. Comparing what you have with what other people have won't do any good. It's not worth the stress.
#notetoself
Stop being a people-pleaser online and offline. Likes and followers don't mean anything. They are just numbers. I know people nowadays are too obsessed about the count of likes their selfie would get. I mean, come on. Posting your photos on social media is totally not a bad thing but it's not a good validation of whatever you're trying to validate either.
Spend wisely. An increasing expense is a part of growing up. It just means that you now have more and bigger responsibilities. Well, I needed to adjust my spending drastically because of the condo unit but more than that, I think at this age, it's just right to spend money more on experiences rather on material things. It's also better to buy the things that you can actually afford and not to splurge often. I realized the value of delayed gratification as well.
Mother Nature needs more care. Okay. I know this might sound weird but really guys, this is serious. This thing has been a lesson since grade-school but apparently, most of us don't give a damn. I bet you know for a fact that we only have one life-sustaining planet well, until we can discover another one out there and until we can transfer every human being there as well. Anyway, what I'm trying to say is that, every action, big or small that can help the environment matters.
I said to Kris that I want to be give planet earth some TLC and start doing things like:
1) bringing a spoon and fork so we don't need to use plastic ones
2) not using straws if we can properly drink directly from the cup
3) bringing shopping bags
4) avoiding multiple plastic/paper bags from fast food restaurants and other shops
5) bringing a water tumbler so we don't need to buy and waste a new bottle every time (saves us money too)
Manage time better. Yep, I need this one. Juggling different things all at once can be a pain in the ass. I remember all the cramming I did back then and how annoyed I was about not being able to finish a blog post before midnight. Crazy. Haha!
Now, I plan to do all of the things I want and need to do in chunks of time. For example, I'll commit to 1-hour blogging, 1 episode/3 Youtube videos at one sitting, 1-hour work backlogs, 1-hour photo/video editing and the likes.
Hopefully, this would work.
That's it!
The next day marks a fresh start for most of us. Have you created plans for 2016 already? Don't worry about that bucket list of yours because I know that with just commitment and a sprinkle of hope, you can make it happen.
Bring it on, 2016!
Cheers, good luck and dream on!
your sweetest drug,
