2016 In A Nutshell

2016 was a major roller coaster for me!

So much had happened and I can't believe how much one year could change one's life, well at least that's true for me!

On the 2nd of January, the night before I went back to work officially, I couldn't sleep despite being in bed since 11pm. I rolled around until 12am and decided that I should do a little recap on my 2016 since I had nothing better to do than kicking my blanket in frustration. 

So here it is, a quick glance of my 2016:

1. Getting over the past toxic relationship

It took a lot of tears, frustration, anger, grief and stress for me to finally let go off what's killing. The process hurt a lot but it's much better than being in the self-destructive cycle that goes on forever. Thanks to all of my friends who listened to my ramblings and dealt with my nonsense patiently all the time despite me being a repetitive whiner in life. I wouldn't have done it without you guys ♥  

2. Got my first job out of university

Never had I imagined how stressful the job search process would be in my entire life. I had to be a joy-killer but the saying that the time you become a fresh grad is the time you become officially unemployed. Especially for us international students struggling to secure a job in Australia with no PR, it just seemed SO impossible. With majority of the friends leaving the Australia and heading back home for good, I couldn't stop doubting myself. "Am I choosing the right path?", "Why do I have to put myself into such difficult situation and will it be worthy eventually?", "Will I be forever unemployed and unwanted by anyone?" My confidence and self-esteem were at the lowest of their lowest!

Thank goodness I met a lot of helpful people along the way who tried to help me with everything and I finally landed myself a job in a bank! Colleagues and managers are incredibly nice people too who make me feel accepted and belonged. I'm ultimately thankful for that ♥ They taught me so much and I've learnt to deal with things through trial and error or just braving myself up in handling different types of customers etc.

This was the BEST thing that had ever happened to me in 2015!


3. Started and developed my gym rituals 

I started hitting the gym with Erica somewhere around March or April just for the sake of escaping the reality. The job search process was killing me and with the constant pressure that my mom put on me, I really didn't know how to release my stress. In amidst of denial, I fell in love with the idea of leaving my phone and going to the gym with my iPod only so I'd be cut off from the outside world. Erica was in denial of studying for her exams and doing her assignments thus we became gym buddies for quite some time.

It wasn't until she went to New Zealand for her graduation trip, she quit our gym rituals. From that time onwards, I signed a gym membership, which is definitely something that I have never ever thought I would do because I never liked exercising let alone spending so much money on gym.

Growing up I always hated exercising because I hate sweating (I still do though) but now if I don't go to the gym I would feel shitty. Thanks to this new developed habit I have finally achieved something that I didn't even dare to dream of: a 22-inch waist! ♥☺ That's the biggest pay off that I'm really proud of myself and I'm still working hard to maintain this!

4. Passed my PTE test with all band 8

5. First time being able to afford splurging on luxury possessions for myself - new handbags AND a camera!!!! Now I know why people say the best feeling is spending the money you earn yourself on the things you love without depending on anyone. Am I getting nearer to the legit adult life?! hmmmm....

6. Getting out of my comfort zone / Trying new things

I've been much more opened to meeting friends of friends although I would be mentally afraid of any sort of potential awkwardness; offering to help out for free at my favourite florist; making conversations with random people; going to a club with a Michael Jackson theme. 

Another thing was...dancing solo at company parties in front of my colleagues, even those who I don't know at all. Gangnam Style was the dance that my mom loves to see me do whenever we go to karaokes together and all the while it's something that I do exclusively for her. Somehow...I had the guts to do it in front of a bunch of people and it has now become my signature dance in the company LOLZ!

7. Went to concerts - I will always have this on my yearly recap I suppose! :P

Saw some of the singers that I really love in Melbourne, namely: Sam Tsui & Kurt, Tiffany Alvord and Mike Tompkins. 

On top of that, I also saw Orianthi for the second time in my life in Melbourne with her partner Richie Sambora (read here)

8. First time planning and travelling with a friend (blog post coming soon)

Had been talking about doing a trip to Ballarat for quite some time but never had a chance to do it. When I was having a really stressful time in November, I told Chern that we should just not overthink and overplan it and just GO! So, we went for a 2 days and 1 night trip over the weekend for a mini getaway!!

9. Visited Gold Coast (blog post coming soon)

Mommy flew over from Malaysia to Gold Coast and I met her there. Ever since I graduated from university in 2015, I had never asked for a penny from my mom while I stayed in Australia and this time around, I actually could give her some money for shopping. Although it's not a significant sum of money, I believe as I work hard down the road I will be able to provide more and more to her and the rest of the family! AJA AJA HWAITING! 

10. Enrolled in CFA level 1 

No matter how much I hate studying especially now that I am out of university, the idea of studying is much more a pain in the ass than it was previously. Yet, life's about "you gotta do what you gotta do", Fingers crossed that I'd pass!!!

11. First time experiencing the death of someone I love (read here)

When the news first broke out, I had a really really hard time accepting and dealing with the passing of Christina Grimmie. I cried my eyes out day and night and didn't know what to do...I guess, time truly heals everything. Although whenever I see her Youtube videos I will feel a pierce in my heart, I have stopped crying and started to appreciate and be thankful for all the legacy she had left behind for us.

12. Started to enjoy and be appreciative towards the small little things in life

As much as I love some occasional extravagant stuffs in my life, I have grown to enjoy the limited downtime that I have nowadays seeing my life is either at work or at the gym. Small little things like a lavender essential oil that makes my room smell heavenly, fairy lights, the cup of coffee which brings me alive etc are also the things that I realise that happiness doesn't have to come with a big price tag all the time (though I still love shopping).

Wonder what 2017 will have for me?!

I don't know what the future has for me but I do know that there are a couple of big tasks that I just HAVE TO complete by this year. I'll keep that to myself for now and work hard on it! Wish me luck~

ALL THE BEST in 2017 to YOU who's currently reading this blog post!