Ya’ll, 2019 was a REALLY GOOD year.
If I’m being completely honest, it’s been a while since I’ve been able to say I’ve had a good year. I know a lot of my photos and social media show my travels and friends and all the good going on in my life, but more often than not I spend the day to day overthinking and struggling with a lot of internal battles. But this year, this year was GOOD. REALLY good.
It was fun, it was full of adventure and love and laughter and all the things I hope to have every day. There were happy tears and sad tears, late nights and early mornings. I learned a lot about communicating myself better to and with others. I learned more about taking up space and valuing my own accomplishments. I learned to go towards things that scare me or I feel insecure about, and discovered an appreciation for the process of deconstructing and reconstructing of myself. This year allowed me to let go, embrace life in the present, pursue the unknown, be silly, gain confidence, learn to communicate better, and make moves towards the woman I want to become. And for that 2019, I am so truly grateful.
A few 2019 highlights
Went to Florida with my parents to visit my uncle
Hosted a stranger party (honestly iconic moment that would shape the rest of the year)
Started a podcast about said party
Got promoted at The Riveter to General Manager of Fremont, expanded location to 2x the size, and won Geekwire Startup of the Year
Went to New York Times Travel Show (where I met my amazing friend Jeff of Chubby Diaries ) and Austin Food & Wine Festival as press
First paid trip as a travel blogger to Greece
First published article in SAVEUR
Hosted multiple epic parties such as Galentine’s Day, Chip & Dip, Wine Wednesdays
Camped on Washington coast and in Zion National Park
Explored more of my identity as an Asian American
Backpacked for the first time in the Cascades and crossed off more to-do hikes in Washington
Attended/was part of my best friend Jackie’s wedding and also my brother’s wedding
Hosted second stranger party
Did a ridiculous 24 hour scavenger hunt with four incredible guys and actually won the whole thing out of 200 teams
Started teaching ice skating
Picked up rollerblading as a fun hobby
Saw Maggie Rogers, Jesse McCartney, Khalid, Normani, and Chainsmokers in concert
Made new friends, visited old, and lost some good
Adventured to multiple major Seattle islands for the first time including Whidbey, Vashon, Bainbridge, and San Juans
Spent two week showing Amber, my friend from the Netherlands, around Seattle and Victoria including Canada Day in Canada and 4th of July in America
Watched Fremont Solstice Parade aka naked bikers everywhere
Went axe throwing for the first time and wasn’t half bad
Took a seaplane tour of Seattle
Enjoyed hammocking, sailing Lake Union, tennis Tuesdays, and sunsets in Seattle
Dated for the first time and had such a blast!
Tried to go skydiving 3 times and failed each time
Had the best summer going on adventures daily with my Seattle favorites (hi Keith & Greta)
Traveled to Ireland, Spain, Italy, Greece, Switzerland, and England
Ate incredible food at previously mentioned countries
Visited new domestic cities like New Orleans, Detroit, and Dallas
Reunited with Italian host mom and study abroad friends after 3 years
Moved to Austin and had Jackie road trip with me down through Zion and Bryce Canyon
Went to Forbes 30 under 30 and met my favorite celebrities, Antoni Porowski and Adam Rippon
Met the first two top travel bloggers, Adventurous Kate and Nomadic Matt, that inspired me to write a blog
Attended my high school best friend Derek’s graduation and helped him plan his recent proposal to his new fiancé (so much love this year!)
Documented some good moments on film and experienced even more great moments in real life
And I’m sure there’s much more where that came from. To everyone that I’ve got to spend 10 minutes with to 10 months with, I am so grateful to have you in my life in this year and hopefully many more.
Suffice to say, this year has been a blessing in clear sight. As a new decade is around the corner, I’m promising to myself to live this next year, decade, era, with an ever-increasing amount of adventure, excitement, vitality, passion, silliness, love and fearlessness as the last. End with a bang, start with a bigger one.
Here’s to 2020 being the best year yet!
(side note I hate that I recorded so many videos in portrait- things to improve on next year!)
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