A Life-Changing 2021

With my kids both off to school, I finally have some quiet me to pen my 2021 reflections.

"Life-Changing" was my theme song for 2021.

January - I rented an apartment and for the first time in my life. I lived on my own. I am discounting the year in university where I had a studio to myself opposite a boho-hippie (another story for another time ??). This time I have to pay my own rent and utilities, buy and assemble my own furniture and make sure I never lock myself out.

February - Picked up wakeboarding again after more than a decade. The first time I tried it, I had a terrible instructor who commented I don't have the talent for it. Got deflated and never did it again. SUCCESS! After the first try! With that, I picked up a new (expensive) sport and reminded myself never to let someone get to my this way again. I also embarked on my first ever fitness challenge - F45 Challenge 30 - a hard one to do over Chinese New Year festivities.

March - With a 2pt improvement in SMM to 45% and a 3% decrease in PBF to 18.5%, I concluded my F45 challenge. 1 year of working out and healthier choices, I have finally ingrained fitness into my lifestyle. And with that, I bade farewell to F45 and moved to a new gym program where I discovered and fell in love with the world of spin.

April - A new road bike! Cannondale SuperSix EVO. I am a proud Covid cyclist. With travel border down - what's a girl gonna do?

May - Officially divorced. I'm sure if society still sees this marital status as a taboo or if anyone will judge me for it. To receive the final judgement papers officiating this was life changing. No movie moments. No hoorays nor meltdowns. Just a quiet surreal moment to take it all in. No time to mope. My kids need their mom.

Started a work break. Officially unemployed. For the first time in my adult life, I woke up with absolutely nothing to do. But school was out and so a lot of pool time, play time, wakeboard time, cycling time with my boys. Loads of laughter and fun.

June - Taught my littlest to ride a bike. Can it be more jubilant than this? That smile on a little boy's face when he finally got it. Priceless.

July - Murph Challenge Completed! 1mile run. 300 squats. 200 push ups. 100 pull up (fine, I did ring rolls). 1 mile run. 8kg weighted vest. 54mins.

In the same month, my 102 year old grandma passed away. She was a woman ahead of her times but a discontented person who was never happy. And in the past decade, her lucid mind was trapped in an ailing body and I felt a sense of release for her to finally be able to be free. And it made me wonder the number of women who could have been but lived in an era that didn't give them the opportunity. Reminded myself never to squander my opportunities.

August - A new job! I couldn't be happier joining CrowdStrike's marketing team. This has been a company Ive been following the last few years and was so excited for the opportunity. And within the first month, I knew I was in the right place. A supportive team, inspiring leaders and a great work culture. I see so much potential for this to be the next tech titan... and I am honoured to be part of the journey.

September - My birthday month and I bought my first home! I was scared and nervous and excited and anxious and nausea and happy and and and....so many feelings.

My new home (to be completed 2023) will be on the same street as my childhood home. Wonder if this is considered full circle. I started my life on Amber Road. I am back on Amber Road with my new life.

October - November - Super busy at work and I loved getting into the grind of things. Coordinating my speakers schedule because of all the different events, bossing my executives around (secret thrill) and going behind the scenes meant I see everything. It's never about having a big or small team, its about having a team who will run up the hill with you and trudge through the mud with you then pop the champagne bottle and celebrate with you. Thank you CrowdStrike, for making my first quarter fly by and so much fun.

December - I took a plane! First time in almost 2 years to Melbourne to see my sister! Again, no movie moments. No teary reunion. Just a prolonged hug with my sister and a mumbling grunt from my 14 year nephew "hey how you doing". 10 days of family bonding. Not sure when I will see them again. This pandemic. Nuff said.

My biggest takeaway from 2021 is loving myself. As an Asian, I was brought up with values of "not be selfish - put others first" but I've learnt that when I took care of myself, I was able to be there for my kids, my family and my friends. I was mentally in a better state to help them like they have helped me. It's not selfish.

I am going into 2022 with no expectations. The world will hopefully come to terms with Covid and we regain some semblance of normalcy and be able to see and feel our love ones again without mask and sanitisers.

And my resolution this year? Dedicating 30mins everyday to learning something. Even if listening to a podcast...this is the year I want to improve myself.

Happy New year everyone!