Entering Into The New Decade: My Resolutions

Happy 2020 everyone! 2019 has been an eventful year for me, and I'm sure it was for everyone else as well! I had a lot of joy and sadness, and all of these moments shaped me into who I am today. There's so many valuable lessons I learnt that I want to bring with me as I enter the second decade of my life! Resolutions are usually difficult to maintain, so I'm just going to make three main ones that I want to focus on.

1. Open up conversation

This year, I realized how interesting conversations are when talking to people completely different from you. I met so many diverse people with different experiences and values, which allowed me to be more open-minded about how different people can think. So in 2020, I'll try talking and meeting more people who I did not think of talking with. I'll try to join more events and ask more people to chat over lunch. It's exciting to have more insights and make new friends!

2. Be vulnerable

I have to take it easier on myself if I face painful and sad moments. I always thought being upset made me weak, and that it gave out negative energy to the people around me. But I have to try and stop beating myself up if I have these episodes, and just be honest with my feelings. And I shouldn't hate myself for doing that. Instead, I should appreciate how I can be brave to share my emotions. But as I do that, I need to also learn how to create solutions in handling issues that make me stressed. As one of my former bosses quoted, be a solutions person, not a problem person.

3. Take care of myself

This, of course, applies both physically and mentally. I'll make sure to balance my time in order to be fulfilled in different aspects of my life. I'll continue exercising, getting more rest, taking care of my social life, and of course, studying hard and focusing on my career development. And most importantly, I'll do my best to manage my stress better when the next semester starts!

This year was honestly an emotional roller-coaster. It was kind of downhill during the first half of the year, where I faced a lot of stress, low self-esteem and emotional pain. But I still got to say this has been one of the best years of my life (and THE best year of my decade). The last half of this year granted me so much life lessons, and it helped me become confident, self-loving and braver when facing stressful situations. I am proud that this is the version of myself that I'm bringing into the beginning of this brand new decade.

Let's make 2020 a wonderful chapter with more amazing memories! Happy new year once again!