On A Personal Note: WTF Am I Doing With My Life?! AKA The Best Of 2016

I realized this is late in admission. But I don’t care. I’m doin’ it anyway.

There are some gems to be recognized.

At the end of the year, I tend to lament over not having accomplished much of anything, and slip into a what-the-fuck-am-I-doing-with-my-life syndrome for a stretch. (This is also a moment that washes over me once a day.) I can’t help but compare myself, my work, my career, and my personal life to that of my much more accomplished, successful peers.

But I’m giving it a rest this time.

Even those accomplishments that seem so small, I consider to be a genuine triumph. Every day I have a goal, every step is something to be proud of, every mistake made and lesson learned – a new achievement. There were some truly amazing things that happened in 2016. (Let’s take a quick break from discussing the things that weren’t so great, shall we?)

I wrote, directed, and produced my first short film.

I (finally) posted some vlogs.

I reconnected with an old friend. Like, old. Oldest of the oldest friends.

I finished my prereqs for grad school.

I found a job that will help me apply to grad school.

I interviewed an up-and-coming director and actor.

I started freelancing for a new, amazing publication.

I started writing every day on my blog (for a whole month!) – and decided to still keep going strong!

I interviewed a Korean pop star.

I got approved to cover a major event in 2017 that I’ve never attended before.

I watched a lot of kdramas. I mean, a lot.

I took a free MOOC class online and completed it.

So don’t lament, y’all. Don’t say you didn’t do anything last year. Take a retrospective look at the work you’ve accomplished. Sometimes a single day alone is a battle won. A battle lost, is still probably a battle won. Gotta win and lose all of them to get to the victory lap, right?

Don’t dwell on the hey-why-am-I-not-where-I-want-to-be-yet. Set new goals. Learn new things. We all do things on our own, original, unique timelines because life throws things at you the way they do. They are different from that of your peers. Your peers are different from you.

So take care of yourself. And truly be yourself, because there is no one person in the world like you. With your strengths and weaknesses, your flaws and quirkiness, your perspective and your dreams and your passions; you are truly a limited edition.