My 2023 Annual Review

Dec 31

I am currently writing this review sick with COVID quarantined in my room. I actually haven’t had COVID before, and I was hoping I might be lucky enough to not ever catch it in my life since I had held out this long, but nope. Fortunately, this gives me some more time to rest and reflect on my year!

Like last year, the questions I’ll be answering in this review are:

What went well this year?
What didn’t go so well this year?
What did I learn this year?

I’ll also be adding some moments to the highlight reel- despite some lows, this year was an absolutely amazing one in so many ways!

1. What went well this year?

Volunteerism. I’m really grateful that I got the chance to volunteer with a lot more groups this year! I did a couple meal packing events (one with work, another with friends). I also did a few card making volunteer events, both virtually and in-person for those who need encouragement. Serving the community this way in 2023 was really special to me.

MixxedFit. I wouldn’t have guessed that my year would have gone this way, because all of this happened through baby steps! I attended a MixxedFit “concert” (more like a dance party) in April and got certified as an instructor in August. In December, I got hired by my gym to substitute classes! A scary leap for sure, but I’ve been so happy about it! I was also asked to kick-off a MixxedFit performance with drums at the Asian Chamber Night Market which was fun.

Traveling. I took a lot of interesting trips this year! I took a Disneyland road trip with a group of friends, Nate and I traveled to Universal Studios for his birthday trip, I had a Walnut Creek business trip for work, and I did my (now annual?) Tennessee trip. I also visited my old hometown in Canada with my dad and sister over the summer. There were also memorable road trips, like Tucson, Flagstaff, and Bull Pen Canyon (an off-roading adventure with a friend).

Career. I got promoted this year which I was really excited about, and the confidence boost really helped me get a grasp on more concrete career goals (specifically based on my hard skills like coding) and building tangible steps to reach them. I’m part of a great team and have met so many great people, both virtually and in-person!

New Experiences. There were a lot of new events and experiences this year (a couple Star Wars themed parties, Top Golf, Renaissance Festival, Rage Room, Korean BBQ, Gravity Ropes, my first “swing boat” theme park ride that I will never, ever do again, Museum of Illusions, and Universal Studios). I’m not a huge movie or show person but I watched a lot of new media thanks to movie nights with friends/family/Nate. One of my favorites is the Netflix show Physical 100 that really inspired me to continue building muscle and staying in shape. Oh yeah, and Nate and I went to a Hippo Campus concert!

Personal Fitness. I ran a 5K this year (woah) and hit a bunch of PRs in my weight lifting routine. I was hired at the gym this year which I think is another great opportunity to try new classes and fitness formats at the gym. There were a lot of goals I didn’t quite hit, but several that I did, and I’m excited to continue on this trajectory.

2. What didn’t go so well this year?

Handling Change. I changed a LOT this year- probably at a faster rate than I’ve changed in recent years. Some of these changes were gradual and some were sudden (immediate causation and effect). Observing these changes as they took place and then determining how they would affect my everyday life was… tricky. I had to overcome a lot of mental barriers for this, and a lot of these realizations resulted in some of the lowest lows of 2023.

Social Anxiety. This has been a general theme post-COVID but my social anxiety in groups has always been a central piece of an area I’d like to improve in. I won’t lie, this one was really difficult, especially as I’ve made many new friends and had to continuously overcome social anxieties and insecurities. It’s definitely paid off though! I have a lot of work to do but I am proud of how far I’ve come.

Personal Projects. I think I only posted one YouTube video this year… oops. I mean, I’ve been putting a lot more time into other things that I felt have been worth it, but I do miss creating content. I’d like to at least do a little bit better next year, even if it’s only a few videos that I know I did my very best with.

French. I think I paid for a French program that I never used. Oops.

3. What did I learn this year?

Self Affirmations aren’t as cheesy as they sound. I mean, I’m not really the kind of person to tell myself, “you’re doing great sweetie, no matter what!” It’s a nice sentiment but it’s just not me- it doesn’t motivate me or make me feel better. But, I have learned to use slightly more forgiving self-talk when things go wrong, and it doesn’t necessarily have to be Hobby-Lobby poster style cheerleading.

People don’t always have the best intentions. I always assume the best in people! Unfortunately, some people truthfully are a bit more self-centered, or don’t care for you in the same way you care for them. It hurts but it’s helped me set boundaries and for the future, I’ve learned to prioritize understanding how someone views friendship and selflessness before developing a closer bond.

Formulas and visuals based off of data make sense to me. I mean, it’s kind of why I have the job that I have. However, I didn’t realize how much this translated over to my personal life. The way I think and the way I talk to people is something I would love to draw out in Microsoft Excel because it just makes sense to me. The way things are determined, how probability and likelihood works, how personality traits are measured, how conversational tone fits into musicality- all these things are rapidly forming diagrams in my head that I wish I could put on paper instead of having to put them into words (which is a bit harder for me). Which leads to the next thing…

Empathy is a very important skill. I think it’s the human experience to realize that people don’t think the way you think, and to try and translate your perspective in a way they would understand. I’ve been told that people observe my train of thought as more “logical” or “mathematical”, so it’s become increasingly more important to be able to communicate my perspective with empathy and understanding. It adds more color. On the flip side, it’s also equally as (no, probably more) important to be able to receive other people’s perspectives with empathy and understanding.