It just dawned on me that this blog is 5 years old! I started it 5 years ago when I was at my first quarter life crisis, jobless, depressed (mad crying type), and I needed an outlet to let out all my grievances which I was too ashamed of repeating in person (because that meant I would just cry again).
Fast forward 5 years later... while I wouldn't say I am most successful, I have evolved my personality and achievements in many ways, so much that if I were to meet ME at age 24, I would be mildy disgusted.
Here are 5 things which I have changed most in the 5 years.
1. CONFIDENCE
It's a cliche but 自信是最好的化妆品。Confidence does come with age and life experiences. With every birthday I get this sense of self elevation, an uplifting spirit and I remind myself that I'm now a year older and will therefore be a year wiser. As I get older, I have less patience for other people's crap about what they THINK of me. I decide what I want to think about myself. If I want to feel happy, that's what I'll be. So long as I'm doing my job, being a good person, doing myself justice, it'll do.
2. WRITING
When I was young I didn't think writing was a talent. I just felt it was a necessity in life. I got my share of praises and sometimes accolades for blogging, scriptwriting, songwriting, became a published writer on Mypaper, but it didn't do much to my confidence cos it always felt accidental. It was only when I entered the working world that I realised the numbers of degree holders who couldn't write well, including ACADEMICS! It made me a tee bit proud and annoyed that people would pass me stuff to edit whenever they had chunkloads of written crap they couldn't make sense of. In the past year I've lost my steam for writing regularly. Guess I'm less disciplined. $50 per chinese article isn't good money at all really. Mypaper should review their rates for writers. Come on, it's original work!
3. HAIR
I chopped off my long locks in Jan this year. I can't believe I had long hair for 10 FULL years. I kept it cos I had a stupid friend who claimed I look nicer with long hair. But it was a hassle. It takes painfully long to dry, and I admit that I have really FLAT hair. It's fine, soft, shiny, yes.... but along with all these traits come FLATNESS cos the hair is too limp. And so, the longer it is, the heavier it is, and the flatter it becomes. Flat hair does make one look bald, cos it clings so faithfully to your scalp. Thank god I have a nicely shaped head, or I'm screwed. I do like my short hair, and whilst many have asked if I'll keep it long again, I think I'll stick to it for a year or so cos I really appreciate the less obvious flatness and its ability to dry SO MUCH FASTER.
4. BLOGSHOP
I'm really proud of my blogshop, Beauty Personified, which is a well-kept secret from my closest friends. I spend a lot of time on it, so much so that I admit that I'm a bona fide 宅女. I love updating the blog, sourcing the most suitable clothing to market on it, and interacting with my plus-sized clients via email (I have to say that 90% of fat girls are really polite, awesome and appreciative people). The blogshop was accidental. I saw something nice online in XL and thought it was cheap and I should buy it. But cos there was a min. no. to order from the supplier, I posted ads on the now-defunct Yahoo Auctions, selling some of the items which I found on the supplier's site, and suddenly I was getting replies. Gradually I had more and more clients, about 80% are regulars. It was a blow when Yahoo Auctions closed as I not only was successful in selling my pre-order stuff but also managed to sell so many pieces of my 2nd Hand clothes. At the encouragement of my clients, I started the blogshop and have never looked back. I'm still learning how to spot trends to maximise my revenue, but for now I earned respectable pocket money from the blogshop based on the amt of time I put into it. And not ignoring the fact that it truely is a hobby too. My all time high was earning over $1.2k in Sep this year. All these without any paid advertising. SWWEEETTTT!
5. STUDENTS
I never expected that I would end up in education. I can't say I love my job (it's a job afterall), but I do enjoy it -- far more that I was in marketing. I like the learning aspect... now that I work more with people, I'm really honing my EQ skills and patience and GRACE (most used word by my boss KEN). Many of my closest friends in recent years are or were in fact my students. Mixing with them make me feel young (Facebook helps). I get a lot of satisfaction seeing how they have evolved and matured from the first day I knew them. I don't expect them to say thanks cos when I was their age, I didn't! But hey I'm paid to help them so it's a bonus if they appreciate me back.
So there it is... my first blog in 2 months. And my most heartfelt entry in AGES.
Happy 5th birthday blog! I hope to visit you more often to complain, bitch, and to record my life's greatest moments... :)))
