Ending 2013

Can't believe it's the end of the year already. I know for sure I created this account before the starting of 2013 but right now, I feel as though it's a one year anniversary for this blog. I didn't really take this blogging seriously until the very beginning of January. Even now, considering the frequency of my entries, I think I still don't take it as seriously as I thought I would but that is okay. I'm still learning how to blog and hope that I will improve this new year. Right now, I like to review back my progress of my 2013.

2013 is (and will always be) one of my life changing years. It is the year I graduated out of college and began my adulthood. It is the year when I started this blog. It is the year I learn about my faults and my strengths. It is definitely a time when I learn I am an individual who can't live under my parents anymore. [Warning: summary of many previous entries ahead]

In the beginning of the year, I thought I would graduate out of college and begin my pharmacy school (or any grad school) application. Not wanting to lose many friends similar to my high school graduation, I tried planning ways to stay in contact with my college friends. I thought everything was planned out beautifully. However, I learned many of my limits. My GPA was not exactly beautiful. As for meeting up with friends, a two-hour drive to meet them was not a very good idea, especially when I am jobless and wish to not spend too much money. I still keep in contact with them via Facebook and texting. Still one can't just wander in life and free load off one's parents. A plan needs to be made. My parents took advantage of my "free time" by taking me to visit my old relatives outside the US. It was an interesting experience to learn about your relatives from an adult's perspective, compared to my previous experience as just a student. Now I returned to my home. I began taking online classes for another license exam. I even started signing up for volunteer hours. And to my luck, my job application was still under reviewing after two weeks (better than having a rejection notice). Through out all that personal drama, I was trying out blogging, forcing myself to think of other stuff besides my current worries. With that said, this is how my 2013 will be ending.

It was a tough year personally. I am pretty sure there are people out there who might think I was useless or I could have done better planning. Honestly, I agree with them. My poor planning has led me to this result and I am still a little upset with it. However, no matter who we are or what troubles we have, we all have to keep moving forward. Why keep crying over spilled milk?  I am thankful that I have parents that are willing to support me even though I am an adult physically and still mentally dependent. They are always slowly teaching me many life lessons. I am thankful I have this blog to force me to think of previous work and remind me to not give up. I am thankful of my friends who supported me even when I changed my career path. I am really a lucky girl.

Is there anything I currently wish for? Well, besides the obvious (getting employed and actually finding a good career), I do wish I can tell the next generation many things.

#1. No matter what we plan for our future, there will always be some failures. That is okay. We learn from them and change accordingly. I believe people become successful not from accomplishing every planned milestone but from adapting one's plan to any situation and obstacle. As we all know, some of the most successful people were college drop-outs.

#2. Understand your priorities. I meant this personally, not priorities thrust upon by seniors (aka parents, teachers, etc.). One always have certain priorities and might need time to learn them. One might think it is a hobby, a certain person, or even a career. How do you know if they really are your priorities? Best way I can think of to answer that is to ask oneself comparison questions. Would you go to a big party with friends or to a family reunion? Would you prefer working longer hours for more money or having more personal time and learning to save? Would you rather work for long hours for only 5 days a week or work for shorter hours for 7 days? Everyone has different priorities, none better than others. Knowing them will help greatly in planning for one's future.

#3. Take a task that ends with learning a new personal skill. (I thank my dad's colleague for this advice) When taking upon a task, it is best to gain a personal skill from it. Whether we like the task or not (ex. an education class when studying to be a doctor, or working in a fast food place when wanting to work in an office), there are always skills to be learned. Some are nice to put on a resume but at the end of the day, those skills are what helps in finishing any jobs.

Okay. I think I said [typed?] enough. That's one long essay to read. Thank you very much if you managed to read all that. Now it is the time to take out a drink (coffee, hot chocolate, beer, wine, soda, etc) and cheers to a new year.

Here is to 2014! Happy New Year!

Holiday #6: No Christmas?

It seems awkward to think of a family who doesn't celebrate Christmas. On the other hand, it shouldn't be awkward since my family don't celebrate other holidays like Easter or July 4th so in a way, I have no right to call anyone who doesn't celebrate Christmas awkward. Either way, my family often celebrates Christmas (to a certain extent).  However, due to multiple members' catching the flu, my family had to set out on Christmas this year. No Christmas tree. No decorations. No family dinner. Everyone is too sick to get out of bed. Still, how can one forget Christmas if there are reminders everywhere? Stuck indoors with cough medicine beside, I imagine what I will be missing this Christmas.

As a child, I always look forward to Christmas. There was the long winter break, the festive decorations, the festive music, and, last but not least, the presents. When I was a kid, Christmas time was the only time when I can get anything I want (besides birthdays but that always occurs on either STAR testing days or AP testing days :( ). My parents would spoil me, allowing me to get any one gift within budget. Usually the gifts were toys but soon it transformed into video games (because toys are a hassle to clean up). Those were fun times. As a grew older, Christmas time reminds me more of family gatherings - the awful times when one meets with other relatives and they ask constant questions regarding school grades, boyfriends, and (just recently) employment. Who doesn't love family gatherings? I was not looking forward to such gatherings this year. However, now that I [miraculously] avoided it, I tend to miss it. Without the decorations, music, and events, Christmas end up like... any other boring day.

Christmas is a special event whether it is a day for religious people to celebrate their religion or a time for people to spoil themselves with not rational excuse. It is a holiday to cheer people up. And if one does not celebrate Christmas for reasons mentioned above, at least it is a time for breaking boring daily routines, exhilarating one's life [momentarily], and counting one's earnings for the year. A wonderful holiday even for Mr. Scrooge.

Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year everybody!