Last Year...
2019 has been another year full of surprises, unexpected blessings, self-finding moments, and triumph.
Reflecting back the past 12 months, I realized how much I have grown emotionally & spiritually, persevered through many unexpected changes & challenges, committed to things I normally wouldn’t do, held on to my 2019 resolution, learned so much more about myself, done random acts of kindness to other people, tried my best to always be genuine in what I say or do, and expressed out what’s in my mind.
“…I committed myself to register for a half marathon for the first time ever… I was so damn proud.”
Just like any other years, I started my 2019 by turning 1 year older on January 18. I am officially in my mid-twenty this year.
The same month, I committed myself to register for a half marathon for the first time ever, here in San Francisco. I could barely run 2 miles back in January — I pushed myself more than I thought I could ever achieve, all the way to my 13.1 miles race day in mid-July. Being the unathletic person I have always been growing up, I was SO DAMN PROUD.
Training for this race has helped me to stay healthy, to think more clearly, and to be happier even on gloomy days — that day early July when I learned my job is not getting extended and I had to run 10-miles in the afternoon 3 weeks before race day. It was definitely quite a roller coaster heck of a day!
Read my experience training for the race! “Should I Do a Half Marathon?”
“I went back to church…”
I went back to church this year. I found a community of God that I dearly loved. We hung out, drank countless boba drinks, talked heart-to-heart till 3am, played board games, cooked for each other, celebrated each others’ birthdays, offered honest advice about love, friendships, family, and how we each navigate through this maze we all call life. We spoke words of peace & consolation for one another, we discussed taboo topics after our Friday night bible studies, and most importantly, we tried to be present — to listen to each others’ needs, prayed for one another, and really cherished each other’s presence of just being there.
So much blessing & overflowing joy from this group, I offered myself to get re-baptized on April 14. For the first time, I committed myself to trust in God willingly. It was such a beautiful moment, surrounded by some of the people I loved the most here in Bay Area.
“I became a Citizen of the United States of America after a 21-year journey.”
After a total of 21 years, I FINALLY became a U.S. Citizen as of March 21, 2019.
Even to this day, looking back, I still couldn’t believe how blessed I am to have this incredible once-in-a-lifetime opportunity. And NONE of this would happen if it’s not for the COUNTLESS sacrifices my parents had made, and for my uncle who kindly sponsored us back in 1998, guided us along the process, and welcomed us with the widest open arms to this free land of America.
During the swearing ceremony, I was so honored & proud to be hand-picked to go on stage and led hundreds of people, as we all announced our Pledge of Allegiance to the flag of the United States. It’s just the sweetest icing on the cake to all the struggles my family had to go through the past 21 years.
And frankly, the struggle is not over yet (more details in my other article “21 Years to My American Dream”)
Most of all, I am so excited to exercise my right to vote in the upcoming 2020 presidential election!
“Travel, travel, and travel!”
I got to spend a week of blissful vacation time with my sister to the island of Kauai, Hawaii. We hiked through the lush mountainous tracks and windy coastal trails, we consumed fresh seafood as we hopped from one fish market to another, we put out snorkeling gear on and got choked by sea water multiple times, we biked our afternoon as we took in the beauty the island has to offer, and we spent much needed quality time together which we’ve never had a chance to do in our lives.
I went to Chicago & Portland for a few days of business trips. Though short, it’s refreshing to be in unfamiliar surroundings from time to time.
I went to Brisbane, Australia for a week of conference, which I was extremely grateful of. I got to spend lots of quality time with my coworkers outside of work, learned about each other, and met some amazing people from all over the world. On the last day, I went to a koala sanctuary & fed kangaroos as well! Though I’ve been to Australia twice before this trip, this beautiful country still amazes me, and I can’t wait to go back.
“Self-pity is toxic, jealousy is evil. Chill down! Life is NOT a race.”
I got laid off at my previous contract job with Google in August, and I was extremely disappointed for a while. I kept comparing myself to my peers who constantly have full-time jobs at big companies, who just keep climbing up the ladder, who receive amazing benefits, stocks, and bonuses, who seem to have the job stability that I am so jealous of. But why me, a well-skilled person who have worked tirelessly and fought constantly to have a stable full-time job, never seem to get the “reward” that I thought I deserve?
There’s a lot of self-finding & self-introspection in 2019, especially during this layoff & job-hunting period before I landed my new contract job at Instagram in September.
In the end, what I learned about myself and what I am still striving to do is to never measure my success on other people’s achievement. Self-pity is toxic, and jealousy is evil. Each person has their OWN journey, their own experience, their own path in life. No one person is the same with another.
In other words, “Chill down dude!”.
I realized that I need to stop overthinking everything, that I need to relax, do my best, do the RIGHT THING, be compassionate, by myself, and let God takes care of the rest.
I keep reminding myself that LIFE IS NOT A RACE.
“Bring it on!”
My parents & grandma visited from Indonesia for 1.5 months towards the end of 2019. We celebrated Christmas & Lunar New Year together, which was just irreplaceable. I gained weight, but who cares when I got to eat an abundant amount of delicious food cooked by Mom!
Through ups and downs, 2019 proved to be ANOTHER year full of blessings… And I thanked God for all the people that were in my life, that I had the privilege of building relationships with either big or small, and who accepted my imperfection.
