Hello, Hivers! Here I am again for another blog. How's your Christmas break so far? I hope you all had time to enjoy it with your loved ones or had recuperated well before hitting the ground running this 2024. As we venture into another year, allow me to share to you all some lessons I learned in the year 2023 and hopefully, you can also relate to.
1. DON'T RUSH.
As cliche as it may sound, it's tiring to keep rushing things to happen. As per assessment, I realized that it stems from the pressure I felt because people in my age group are already ahead of me and I feel like I'm lagging behind. I feel like I should have done more given that I'm already in my early twenties. I made decisions that I regret, I did actions that I was not supposed to do and pressed myself too much to the point of exploding. In the midst of quietness, it dawned on me how much weight these pressures I put on myself. I had to slow down and allow things to happen because I have my own timeline to follow, not a society to conform or get jealous of. These days, I always remind myself to do things one step at a time as there's no true joy and fulfillment in rushing.
2. YOU BECOME STRONGER BY DOING THINGS THAT SCARES YOU.
I can attest to this. I did a lot of things I'm afraid of this year. Firstly was when I decided to have my two molar teeth extracted. Thinking about tooth extraction really scares me knowing that I had low pain tolerance. But still I did it! Yes, there's pain but the total relief you're going to feel after was so worth it. Secondly was when I decided to ride a ferris wheel. I was way too afraid because I had motion sickness. I was even shaking but good thing My Mom and Sister were there with me and offered comforting words I badly needed. I did recover after and there's no regret after all. Lastly was when I needed to undergo Complete Blood Count (CBC) because of the medical requirements for school. I kid you not, I'm scared of needles. Fortunately, the nurse was so gentle and of course I made it. All of these things I'm scared to do turned out to be not scary at all. I realized that the fear was just in my mind. And as I leave 2023, I'm no longer afraid that at some time in the future I might encounter these things again. Props to myself!
3. LIVE EACH DAY AS IF IT'S YOUR LAST.
I have learned to embrace this mindset when I realized how finite time is. Everything is just so uncertain on earth and we don't even know when it will be our last day. I've heard sad stories about a loved one's untimely passing, it may be on the news or someone I'm close with. It really opens my mind to pay attention to the power of the present as life never fails to throw us unexpected heartbreaks. In every moment of my day, I made sure to display the best version of myself. It may be when I'm at school, in front of my family members or if I'm together with my friends. There's really an unwavering strength when you decide to live each day as your best self.
4. BE UNAPOLOGETICALLY AUTHENTIC.
I'm just done with showing my unreal self. I'm done with faking how I feel, how I should act and how I would live my life. I realized that I become bolder and more powerful if I learn to control my own narrative and just present myself as who really I am without the fear of being judged. My imperfections, my failures turned into lessons and my own physical features—all represent the real me. This year, I instil the value of appreciating my authenticity because it's where I will truly shine.
5. FAMILY IS EVERYTHING.
I think I can agree with what others say that no matter what happens, you'll always have your family. Year 2023 has been somehow an explosive year for me but my little family really plays an important role in becoming my cornerstone. When everything gets heavy, they are there visibly comforting me that it's going to be okay. This gives me an assurance that no matter how bumpy the road is or how heavy everything is—I'll always have them to turn to.
6. NOT ALL THINGS GO ACCORDING TO PLAN.
I had many set plans before I started the year 2023 but most of them did not happen according to what I expected it to be. At some point, it broke my heart, it crushed me but then I realized that there must be some underlying reasons why it did not went according to my favor. It might be that I'm not fully ready to have those things or God might be preparing something better for me. Either way, I'm happy with my current place right now and in that regard, I'm still grateful.
That would be all for today my dear, Hivers! There's actually more than six lessons I learned this year but I only picked the highlights to share with all of you. You all can also list or write down the lessons you've learned this 2023 before you'll have a fresh start in the year 2024. Anyway, I hope you enjoy reading this blog of mine. Advance Happy New Year! See you on my next blog!