2021 IN WORDS .

Another year has past, and it's time for the yearly reflection post again. I haven't been posting a lot this year but this yearly reflection is something I have to do every year - it's like a wrap to the year to lookback on the things I have done and grown as a person and it's always nice to celebrate the little successes or reflect on the down sides. 

This year, the pandemic situation still persisted, with vaccinations, new variants and all - somehow getting used to mask wearing but it seemed like everyone is probably just tired of the everchanging measures and pandemic situation. Here's to hoping that a well-controlled and safe endemic situation will be feasible in the coming year. 

Looking back, most part of the year is trying to survive in university, with the never ending deadlines while getting used to a hybrid learning environments on both online and offline platforms. Honestly, because of the online learning, the semester felt especially short and months seemed to pass by like a week. I would say 2021 seemed to have past by in a flash, spending most of my time at home. 

Last year, I mentioned in my post that 2020 was a "me-year" where I got to spend plenty of time alone to learn more about myself to be a person I am proud to be. I mentioned that one of my resolution in 2021 is to take a step out of my comfort zone, to slowly figure out how I want to live my life and what I want to do and how can I be a better person. This 2021, I would say it has been an extension of a "me-year", and I have indeed took on more active roles to step out of my zone to figure out life, in general. 

One of the main highlights this year was finding an internship over the summer break - something I'm pretty proud of myself for doing. Initially, I have set sort of like a vision for myself, to work in something that I believe in, for a good cause, for instance, working with children or youths that are at risk, or orphaned. I have tried applying internship positions to over twenty organizations but probably because they did not have openings or I applied rather late, there weren't many suitable opportunities which aligned with my goals. Yes, there has been rejections, but there were also new opportunities. I was more than thankful to have been accepted to an organization that was dealing with seniors, though not my original target, but I felt that I have learnt much more about the social work industry and have also gain several practical skills which would be useful. This has also been an eye-opener for me, to expand my choices of work and being able to adapt and fit in to various situations. 

However, as we know, life always do not go smoothly. There were many times throughout the year were I felt that I was lacking, or still growing. Many times I tried being more confident in myself, pushing and leading for things I believe in, but always end up having to take a backseat and to listen to what others feel and think. I see myself being way too mindful of what others think or feel about me and become very self-conscious of my thoughts in a way I start questioning myself, and my value as a person eventually. Still learning, still growing - this is life! There is no right or wrong answers to how to live life, but to me, just to live as someone you would be proud of in the future, leaving no regrets. 

This year, it has been a rather healing year too, taking active steps to take care of my own mental health, and efforts to cater to more "me-time" each week to care for myself. The past negative memories still remain but I see them as a learning experience and something to grow from. 

2021 has been a year filled with ups and downs, and here's to wishing that 2022 will be a fulfilling year of hopes and dreams! 

happy new year x