2018 is the best year so far. This is a year of filled with wonderful surprises, magnificent progress and new discoveries. I have always been more private about my personal life compared to my fitness journey. However, something incredible happened in our family this year (which officially made this year the best year EVER).
#1
My brother successfully proposed to N early this year during a family trip to Taiwan. We scoured high and low for the most perfect spot in Sun Moon Lake, and managed to plan the entire surprise under her nose (we gotcha, N!). And finally, we found a secluded spot, right before sunset. I could not stop grinning as I remembered the way N looked at my brother; her expression filled with both surprise and delight as she finally found her happy beginning.
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#2
I finally put my calligraphy into use by patiently designing and handwriting each of my brother’s wedding invitation card. It was my first major calligraphy project and I loved every second of it.
I loved having a reason to buy all the things I wanted to, especially the wax seal. I remembered when I was about 11 at a book store, wishing that one day I could justify investing in a wax seal. And a decade and half later, has finally come! I finally experimented with wax seal and I loved how personalised each card became.
#3
My brother’s wedding was beautiful. It was the first time I saw my brother so choked with emotion when he saw his beautiful bride walked down the aisle. Oddly enough, I don’t have a photo of me and both the bride and groom, so here’s a photo of my brother and I on his wedding day.
I gained new siblings as N has two younger brothers, N1 and N2. Somehow the five of us are quirky on our own, we can totally be crazy together.
#4
As the wedding is at Perth, we planned a family trip and stayed at a 6-bedroom AirBnB house. There are some things you didn’t realise you miss until you experience it all over again. It has been two decades since I woke up to the laughters and voices of my parents, aunts and uncles, all trying to talk over one another.
It was also during this family trip that my cousin (who got engaged earlier this year) dropped the bombshell during one of our midnight conversations that I would be one of her bridesmaid. Thank you, M. I feel very honoured.
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#5
I see my nephew (my cousin’s son) for the first time. He took a while to warm up to us and then he was cute and bubbly. I find that it doesn’t take a lot for a child to be happy; a wild imagination and someone to be part of it. And for adults, the sound of a child’s bubbly laughter echoing throughout the room.
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#6
I pushed my fitness boundaries, consciously yet cautiously. I took a leap of faith and completed a 12-week programme at The Playground Fitness. It catapulted my fitness in both strength and yoga. For the first time, I managed to do push-ups with proper form continuously, deadlift my body weight and squat more than half my body weight. I successfully held a crow pose far longer than what I could in the past, did headstand poses without wall assist, did standing splits and learnt to drop back into wheel pose (assisted).
Thank you Coach(es).
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#7
I experienced my first Yoga Retreat, organised by both Fitness First (FF) and Celebrity Fitness (CF), at Tanjung Jara Resort. It was a well-needed break away from the city and laptop.
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#8
Travelled back home.
Travelled to Taiwan, Pattaya, Singapore, Melbourne and Perth.
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#9
Spent time with friends and family.
#10
And lastly in 2018… I am finally braces free!
While this may be a smooth-sailing year for me, unfortunately for some people I know personally, this is a year of loss. This is their year of turmoil and confusion. This is the year they lost their footing. Two news that broke my heart: a friend lost her cousin to leukaemia, another lost her cousin to liver cancer. It is a reminder that life is ephemeral and that a person will continue living in other people’s memories, even many years after they passed. I pray that their journey of healing and rediscovering life can be as smooth as it can be.
Wherever we are, whether it is at our peak or our lowest, may we continue to keep an open mind of the possibilities of tomorrow. It is in our actions and not our circumstances that define us.For those who made my journey interesting thus far, thank you for being here, through rain, growth and change.
