I have this tradition on Careful Confessions, wherein on the last day of each year, mere hours before the instantaneous transition into a new year, I post a blogpost here summarizing the entire year before I leap headfirst into a new one. This year, I’m going to do this last-post-of-the-year thing with a questionnaire I found on Tumblr, in the hopes that it would be comprehensive enough for this very eventful year of 2013.
1: What did you do in 2013 that you’d never done before?
Let’s see: I worked as a cashier for two months, went travelling to a foreign country for a month without my parents, went to college, went on a proper road trip with classmates, and went parasailing for the first time.
2: Did you keep your new year’s resolutions, and will you make more for next year?
I didn’t have any specific resolutions for this year, except to be braver, stronger and happier. In a way, yes I’ve kept them, and my resolutions will remain the same for next year.
Also, coercion into exercising more next year, because blood test results came back not as pretty as I’d like it to be.
3: Did anyone close to you give birth?
A cousin sister of mine did when I was in UK!
4: Did anyone close to you die?
A senior friend of mine, and Golden, my dog that I’ve had for about 10 years.
5: What countries did you visit?
The Netherlands (Amsterdam), England and Thailand (though I think the last one doesn’t really count).
6: What would you like to have in 2014 that you lacked in 2013?
Um more positivity, I think, more tolerance, lower expectations of people and situations so I don’t get disappointed easily. More friends would also be cool. More concert tickets, too.
7: What dates from 2013 will remain etched upon your memory, and why?
23rd March- I got my SPM results.
26th April- Flew to London on my own (technically).
26th May- Met Jack & Dean, Tomska, JennyBee, Bing, Tim and Alex at VidFest UK aka best day of my life.
3rd July- Went to college.
23rd & 24th November- Went to Urbanscapes with Taliza and Bellyn.
22nd December
8: What was your biggest achievement of the year?
I would say getting straight A pluses in SPM (because that is the generic thing to do and was my initial answer) but being defined by grades is such a sad thing so I’d say choosing to be more extroverted and less antisocial in a wholly new environment and making friends!!!
I also hit 100,000 views on this blog so I think that’s pretty cool.
9: What was your biggest failure?
Again, was about to churn out a generic answer concerning studies and grades but…overthinking and making terrible assumptions about people without knowing better, hence repelling people and making me lose friends (I hope I didn’t…but I wouldn’t be surprised if I did).
10: Did you suffer illness or injury?
Nope not really, thank goodness.
11: What was the best thing you bought?
I BOUGHT HARRY POTTER’S WAND FROM HARRY POTTER STUDIOS
12: Whose behaviour merited celebration?
You know what, I’m gonna say Mei, because I know this year has been an exceptionally good year for her, and I just want to say how proud I am of her and how amazing a person she is, for being one of the few people who have helped me get through my darker times.
Also shoutout to Rachel, for always being there for me literally whenever, which is such an amazing feat in itself and I’m always so, so proud of her and grateful for her existence.
13: Whose behaviour made you appalled?
I’d rather not name names for this.
14: Where did most of your money go?
Uh, shopping in England and KL during college days.
15: What did you get really, really, really excited about?
England trip, Urbanscapes, road trip and everytime I get to go home.
16: What song will always remind you of 2013?
Will I sound pretentious if I say Get Lucky by Daft Punk
17: Compared to this time last year, are you: (a) happier or sadder? (b) thinner or fatter? (c) richer or poorer?
(a) Happier, definitely.
(b) Thinner, definitely.
(c) I’m not sure, but I’d say poorer since last year I didn’t really have to worry about finances and handling my own money.
18: What do you wish you’d done more of?
Losing my self-consciousness and doing more…bizarre and extraordinary things.
19: What do you wish you’d done less of?
Assuming the worse of people, wallowing in my own self-pity and sorrow, lazing around and procrastinating.
20: How did you spend Christmas?
Dinner at my uncle’s! See previous post.
22: What was your favourite TV program?
Pretty Little Liars was my tv show of the year.
23: Do you hate anyone now that you didn’t hate this time last year?
I do.
24: What was the best book you read?
Allegiant by Veronica Roth isn’t exactly the best but it was the most impactful.
25: What was your greatest musical discovery?
HAIM (!!!)
26: What did you want and get?
Straight A+ for SPM and trip to England.
27: What did you want and not get?
Soooo many things I’ve lost count.
28: What was your favourite film of this year?
Catching Fire, definitely.
29: What one thing made your year immeasurably more satisfying?
Knowing that I’ve taken many of the chances that were thrown my way. Feels amazing.
30: How would you describe your personal fashion concept in 2013?
YAASSSS I became braver and more confident to wear whatever I liked, even wearing makeup willingly, a huge leap from previously wearing pajamas to tuition classes last year (so to those who criticise my current clothing choices, aren’t you glad now huh)
31: What kept you sane?
My parents and admittedly, my classmates.
32: Which celebrity/public figure did you fancy the most?
Dan and Phil.
33: What political issue stirred you the most?
May 5th, Malaysian 13th general election.
34: Who did you miss?
My parents, man, you never know what you miss until you only get to see them sporadically once every few months. 😦 And also Heart, my dog.
35: Tell us a valuable life lesson you learned in 2013.
Life’s too short to worry about life being too short and all those little things that make you scared.
36: Quote a song lyric that sums up your year.
“Sometimes before it gets better, the darkness gets bigger, the person that you’d take a bullet for is behind the trigger” – Miss Missing You by Fall Out Boy
Ultimately, 2013 was not the best year I’ve had, and it was certainly the most challenging (much so than last year, I might add), but I’d say it was also the most productive, change-inducing, eye-opening and freshest year I’ve had so far. So many new things that I never thought I’d had the ability or capability to do lined the paths of 2013, yet I managed to stubbornly bulldozed them down, giving me huge bouts of confidence and self-esteem I never thought I’d had in me. I like to think that challenges such as getting lost in London alone and being thrown into college (rather unwillingly) have built up my character and made me a better person that I was last year, or the years before that.
Have a good 2014, everyone! In the wise words of Hannah Montana, “life’s what you make it, so let’s make it right (background echo) let’s make it right”
michelle teoh 