Roundup of My Life in 2020

This is a pretty long overdue post now that we're closing the first (or is it the second) week of January 2021. Let's just say that throughout last year, it was mostly me trying to figure out what day it was. No joke, the number of times people had to correct me is mind-boggling. Time moved either super fast on some days or dreadfully slow. You simply can't choose... it's like controlling the weather.

Of course, despite how things went on in 2020, I collected some good and not-so-good things over the year and this is a post to summarise the main things that I can remember from the top of my head. I hope you'll enjoy it!

• Made my room more habitable as I was rarely home when the semester opened. I can't for the life of me decorate my room because I unfortunately don't have the knack for it. Instead, I chose to make it as cosy, tidy and practical as my skills allowed me to.

• I set up a snug workspace in one corner of my room. I'm so proud of it!

• Cooking new recipes. Although I've temporarily returned to my sluggish mood to cook now, I'm quite proud of some of the dishes I made during mid of MCO last year. In fact, I thought they were so good that I even created a "Cooking Series" in my blog! You can check my one lone recipe that I posted here - [Cooking Series] 🍳Simple Fried Rice With a Twist and a couple of pictures that I took in 10 Things that Make Me Happy at Home

Presenting to you... tom yam carbonara inspired by Shazzaidun from YT

• Stayed cooped indoors which to be honest, I'm not proud of. Since MCO started, I honestly have not been outside very much. Not even to chill out in our garden which my parents tend to carefully every day.

• I was going through my final and fourth semester of master degree in 2020. I had online classes once a week on top of balancing my studies with my final research report. It was really, really tough because at the time, that was our first full exposure to online distant learning and then coping emotionally with being indoors.

• When ODL started, my mum, sister and myself modified the main living room to become one workspace area. We pushed the coffee table aside and had our desks organised like an open office thing. It was sooo cool and honestly, it felt good that we were working while still had each other's company.

• I graduated! The feeling was and still is AMAZING because it made all the hardships, the good times and bad worth it.

• We couldn't go on with our convocation. It was during that small sweet gap when MCO was lifted and things looked like it would become better and events and ceremonies were happening everywhere. Cases were going down, everybody was complying to the SOPs. Our convocation was merely one or two weeks away before we were informed that it was postponed till next year (2021) when things are more stable.

• Had amazing groupmates who were all super smart in whatever they do. Really grateful that we worked so well as a team. I had lesser things to worry about because of their support.

• I was going through a breakup so my mind wasn't in the best place. Somehow, as fate had it, I had the rare opportunity to rekindle my friendship with two amazing friends and we supported each other through thick and thin. We were apart for a couple of years and when we finally got back together, I realised that we've changed. A lot of things have happened but it didn't change our friendship. Really thankful to have these gems in my life.

• Built an amazing circle of friends who talked of books, girly things and anime!

• And talking about relationships and friendships, I got so teared up seeing my batchmates and friends getting hitched!! Look at our 1995 & 1996 babies all grown up! Others have climbed up the ladder in their career, got their master's degree scroll like me, doing their PhD and so many other amazing things. Despite the pandemic and how much I know it affected us all, I'm proud of us.

• Our home would not be a home without our two floofy goofballs - Dessi and Leo. I've talked about Leo quite frequently in the past because he's the new addition to our family. They made the pandemic and staying indoors a lot bearable. You just can't stay miserable for long when they're around!

• Just before I was done with my studies, I was kindly offered a research assistant contract job at my faculty. I was thrilled and a little nervous if I could meet the expectations placed on me. This would be my first official job that comes with a pay slip and I really wanted to do it well. I've learned so much from my team, sharpened my research writing skills, liaising with people related to our study etc. It's an unforgettable, valuable experience.

• My proofreading and translation business sort of skyrocketed during MCO. There was always the occasional projects coming in and I was arms deep in work. I liked how busy my schedule was because I felt like I was progressing, constantly doing something to keep myself occupied. 

• I had the best engagements ever with those of you who followed my blog in 2020. Nothing can honestly beat the feeling when I received comments from you to any of my posts, be it a feedback for what I wrote, sharing personal experience or stories, or even a hello! It felt great that my posts could somehow cheer someone up or are relatable to others.

• I received attention from amazing sponsors towards the end of last year. When I first started blogging, I never once thought in my head that what I post could make me that noticeable, especially to gain the trust of brands to collaborate with me. I'm really thankful to them for putting their trust in me, I truly had a fun experience reviewing all the products that I received. 

• Revamped my blog look. It was SO worth it. I spent a couple of hours that one night going through Etsy and seeing these super adorable, aesthetic and breath-taking blog templates and themes. I particularly poured a lot of my time in the discounted area (gurl was broke) and then I found this theme! I really, really love it. It gives my whole content a fresh look, a little on the girly side which I like and most importantly, it's simple.

Thank you to everyone for being a huge part of my 2020! I couldn't have experienced all this without all of your continuous support, love and prayers for me. I hope to do better, to give more back this year. See you in my next post!