When it comes to year ender posts, this has got to be one of the last that will come out. However, I still wanted to do it for reasons that are quite sentimental.
The past year was indeed something a lot of people would like to forget. I admit that there were some things that did leave me feel gutted despite being physically (and somehow even figuratively) detached from them. Like the deaths of Carrie Fisher and Alan Rickman as well as news of violence all over the world and of course, there’s politics – but I wouldn’t go into that anymore.
Despite all of those things, 2016 ended up being good year for me personally. It was a year that brought me a lot of good things. From my career to my relationships, it’s been pretty great and I’m nothing short of thankful.
My closest friends and I started The Binge. I started writing for Forbes and some other magazine titles that I never even dreamed of getting my byline into. I got to interview Dame Zandra Rhodes and my story on Vivy Yusof became one of the most popular stories on Forbes for 2016. And those are just some of the things I can remember off the top of my head.
Oh, and I worked with the United Nations for a month, determining the cost of living in Malaysia. Truth be told, I don’t have something that’s purely regular when it comes to work. However, I now believe that freelancing is definitely something that suits my career, personality, and the actual time I have in my hands. I came to terms with that in 2016 after being so used to having an office and a boss. Turns out, I love being my own. 🙂
My husband and I got to travel again to several places. It’s practically our only vice after all so I really don’t feel guilty going on our getaways. Admittedly, some were sponsored either by family (lol) or partially by companies for my writing so some had work on the side. But still, we always have so much fun. We’re still living like boyfriend and girlfriend which I find pretty cute.
Since we’ve both been so busy with work, plans to grow our family have been put on hold once again. Although to be honest, I’m not complaining since we’re not in a hurry and I’m still quite terrified of the whole process of bringing another human into the world. Guess I shouldn’t have watched birthing videos.
This blog grew as well, which makes me very happy. As The Binge got partnerships, so did carolific.com. 🙂 I’ve worked with great brands this year and truly enjoyed doing so. To you, reading this post, I wish to thank you as well for clicking on my articles as well as links and keeping this blog’s doors open. I truly appreciate you taking the time of day to read my random brain farts.
Something I wish to endeavour this 2017 though is to bring this blog back to being a more personal space. I wish to write more musings on diplomatic life. Something I promised to give you guys a peek of. I know it has become quite beauty-centric for a while. Not that I plan to stop that completely but there may be less (and more carefully selected) advertorials in this space from now on and even more of me. I hope that’s alright. 😉
Last year was also a year of me nurturing my friendships with real people who bring me the happiest of vibes available in this planet. God knows I’ve had enough of individuals who are just plain toxic. I’m proud to say I was able to cut some of them off. Some, quite brutally but it was the only way to do it. My secret resolution last year to keep only true friends and slowly weed out the fake ones worked wonders. Funny thing was I’ve always known which ones are fake but I guess I’ve been too polite to tell them to eff off. For the sake of keeping the peace around me, I was getting so tired and drained just by having these sorts of people in my life.
If you find yourself surrounded by toxic people you wish to get rid of but a bit anxious on how to do it, let me tell you that the best way is to either tell them straight or just stop replying – before they even take more of your time and keep occupying precious space in your life. You only live once and you don’t need negativity. 😉
Oh, and 2016 was also the year that I was the most fit in my entire life. All it took was determination and commitment. I found myself enjoying various workouts all year! I can’t wait to try new ones in the future. So do watch out for that!
So here’s to 2017 and all the good things it will bring. May everyone have an amazing adventure ahead and I hope you’ve started it well since we’re already two weeks in! Alvin and I currently have family over so it’s quite busy in our home but our hearts are obviously full.
Hugs to you for reading this. For being with me last year. And for sticking around this 2017, I hope! 🙂
Love,
Carol
