So far, the last day of 2015 has seen me reverting to my habit of waking up at 12 noon again for the first time since Christmas and then watching One Punch Man OVAs in the dark before I fell asleep again. Not exactly the most exciting and productive New Years Eve out there, but if I had to summarise the whole of 2015 in one day, today would be as accurate a representation I could ask for.
It’s still approximately seven hours to 2016 in my current timezone, the first time I am experiencing a new year transition in a timezone different from my parents, but I thought I’d just write this annual traditional year round-up blogpost now since we’ll probably be watching fireworks while counting down later and it’s already the new year in the timezone back home anyway.
Before that, a lot of things happened between my previous post and this one, all in just a mere span of a week. I was at Wiltshire spending Christmas with Sa Pek and Auntie Sue and – Ellie! whom the last time I met was back in Malaysia, and despite being away from home, this year’s Christmas spent in the company of family and friends was really nice and warm and I was extremely reluctant to leave to go back to Manchester. And then a day after I got back, a fire broke out in Weston Hall, rendering an entire block void of electricity (mine included) so me and a bunch of other residents were offered temporary places to stay in hotel rooms in Pendulum Hotel next door. I stayed there for two nights and even celebrated Yee Lin’s birthday there before the electricity came back on and I moved back in yesterday.
Everything happened one after another and before I knew it, all events pushed towards the end of the year and now we are teetering at the edge of 2015, about to fall into crevices of 2016 at any moment (I’m kidding, it’s fixed in seven hours).
2015 was honestly a confusing year of change. Many changes. Too many, in fact; one of them undoubtedly being me going to university in the UK. I didn’t a like a lot of these changes, still don’t, to be honest, but stagnancy is never good for the soul, no matter how much I can convince myself of that. So ultimately, what I wish for in 2016 is more acceptance, less negativity, more bravery, less cynicism and gratitude, gratitude to be able to realise that I am not in as bad a place as I keep on thinking I am, and also the ability to see the worth within myself no matter how small or how trivial, because I’ve lost all of what I’ve gained during the past year in just a mere few months. I hope, in 2016, I grow up and learn to be better, and keep on learning because everyday, there are always limitless opportunities for me to improve and do better and think better as a student, a friend, a daughter, a person. I wish for confidence and self-developed security, for being able to believe in myself so much that other people will too, and not the other way round.
And I wish everyone finds themselves a step closer to the person they want to be, doing the things they want to be doing and being in the places they want to be in the new year of 2016. Happy new year, everyone.
michelle teoh 