The Year 2023

2023 is almost coming to an end and like every other year, it seems to have just begun. To me, 2023 has been THE year of changes. Every decision I made this year was crucial and changed my path greatly. 

Have you ever gotten lost in a new area? Well, that has happened to me several times, thanks to my wonderful sense of direction hahah. Jokes aside, what I almost instantaneously do in such cases would be to switch on Google Maps on my phone. And yes, it would give me the directions to my destination. However, like every other technological gadget, sometimes, it does have its flaws where it leads to me to a blocked road or suggests a much longer route to reach the destination. And so, I do not trust it entirely but since it has been reliable most of the time, I still switch it on without hesitation whenever I get lost. Owing to its limitations, how my usage of this tool has changed is that though I do turn it on, I do not follow the instructions blindly, but rather, at times, I use my gut feeling or faint past experiences of having been to the neighbourhood several years back. And indeed, I have managed to discover shortcuts to reach the destination. Admittedly, there also have been some instances where I got even more lost. Nonetheless, I still use this method. 

So, my fellow readers, you might be wondering, is this clickbait? Why did she start off with the introduction of how her 2023 went but then went on to start talking about Google Maps? Well, I am sure you are not alone. Let me explain. 

2023 marked the beginning of a new phase --- entering University. Though it might sound dramatic, I really did feel that junior college, which is the territory that I was very comfortable in, was very different from the uncharted territory, University. 

After my A Levels in 2022, we had a 7 month break before University started. During the 7 months, the way each of us spent our time was really different. I felt that since there was not any structure such as a timetable or responsibilities imposed on us, how the first half of 2023 was spent was entirely up to us and heavily depended on the decisions we made. As for me, I spent the first month of the break to get a proper break from the really hectic journey of preparing for the A Levels. This month was filled with binge watching Netflix dramas and movies, meeting up with friends and sleeping for long hours. After that month, I knew that I had to make strategically spend the upcoming 6 months. Since I was still unsure as to what I wanted to do in University, I wanted to explore the fields which I had a substantial amount of interest in, such as Dentistry and Teaching. And so, I partook in a 2 week long job shadowing experience where I learnt much more about the working styles of various dentists, the plethora of treatments available and the myriad of backgrounds of patients. After which, I partook in a 3 month long MOE teaching internship. Honestly, I believe that this was one of the most memorable and insightful experiences that I have ever gained. I taught at Bukit Panjang Government High School and the teachers were really welcoming, my fellow interns were very friendly and my students were very cheerful and each and every one of them were unique. I picked up quite a few skills such as managing difficult students, motivating students to partake in activities that might not be as interesting to them, working with colleagues and putting forth my ideas and opinions in formal staff meetings and crafting homework pieces. Being called 'Ms Ish' was really different and it is something that has etched in my mind from this experience. 

After the 4 months of productivity and gaining insights in the fields that I was quite intrigued by, my friends and I decided to go on a graduation trip. This was the first overseas trip I have been on, without my parents. It was truly a really new experience. Firstly, financing the trip with the money I earned felt very rewarding. Secondly, planning the trip with my friends (Marian, Evelyn and Peizhi) was a really new experience because we had different interests and settling on common things to do on our 10-day long trip was slightly difficult but it gave me more insight as to how I work in such circumstances. Thirdly, taking accountability of my own valuables and keeping a lookout for my friends' ones was also an integral part of the trip as only we were there for each other throughout the trip and hence, it was essential that we took care of our belongings properly. Lastly, but most importantly, the moments we shared throughout the trip were truly extremely memorable -- be it going having my friends take pictures of me outside the beautiful houses, fixing my friend's broken suitcase with the help of the wonderful hotel staff, touching an animal for the first time and even, deciding on who gets to sleep on which bed in the hotel rooms. It was really one of the best experiences I've had and I will never forget the trip --- my first ever graduation trip. 

After that, my birthday arrived. It was honestly one of my most memorable birthdays too. People that I did not know will wish me, wished me and that made me feel sort of special. Sometimes, we unknowingly create an impact on others and I feel those bonds that arise as a result are quite magical. 

My birthday was then followed by a long-awaited family trip to Bali. Ever since 2017, we had not gone to other countries as a family, except to India. This trip was different as the planning was left to me and so, I worked on including trips to various places that each family member liked. During the trip, I realised some mistakes in my planning such as factoring in the traffic conditions as well as what the energy levels of the people whom we are travelling with and took note of them so that I could avoid them in future. Our trip was quite relaxing and we managed to immerse in Balinese culture as well as learn some very interesting things about their culture such as how the Gods are not shown to the public at the temples and that only the priests see them during the major festivals which happen about once every year. 

That 3 day trip was almost immediately followed by a month long trip to India. It had been 4 years since my brother and I had visited our relatives in India due to the covid restrictions and lockdown restrictions that ensued. The trip, overall, was a good catch-up with the extended family. Also, we went to Bangalore, which is a place I have wanted to go back to ever since our last trip in 2013 and visited our relatives there too. The climate was really chilly and I really enjoyed the stark contrast in weather. The weight that I managed to lose from the graduation trip from the daily more than 10000 step counts creeped back into me due to the variety of food I tried in India. 

After that, I experienced my first makeover. I went to rebond by extremely curly hair! Rebonding my hair was something I really wanted to try as I felt that straight hair would look a lot more professional and neat compared to my naturally curly hair which was also quite frizzy, despite my various attempts to make it softer and silkier. This really involved convincing my parents greatly but I am glad they gave in eventually and let me try a new look. My hair felt a lot lighter and yes, it did become more thin compared to the thick hair I had previously. However, I do not regret it since I really enjoyed how low of a maintenance it required and how much more neater I looked. This decision really surprised me too since I realised that I can be quite daring at times too. Usually, I always fear big changes since I know that they can have a quite a long-term impact on me. However, when it came to my hair, I just felt so decisive and really wanted to try something really new. And yes, I am proud as to how I have grown because I can feel myself becoming more decisive and bold. Not just with my hair, but in life in general. 

After all the party and fun, it was time to make yet another decision -- which is to settle on what course I was going to pursue for the next couple of years. This is where my decisiveness stepped in once again and led me to choose Dentistry. Yes, I did face quite a lot of opposition from my family as they really wanted me to go with the other offers I received such as Data science, accountancy and business. After weighing the pros and cons of each of these courses, I explained my decision to my family and we chose to go with Dentistry in the end. 

The later half of 2023 was filled with my memories from the first semester of University. At first, I was feeling really hesitant about going for University as I did not know anybody who had been enrolled in the class, partly because nobody from my batch in JC had entered the course. Regardless, there is always a first time and so, I tried to get to know as many people as possible and pushed myself out of my comfort zone while doing so. Indeed, my hard work paid off as I met really amicable people, who have now become my friends. In University, there were also many firsts because most of the things we learnt were new, the uniforms we wore were different and had our names stitched on them and also, our exams were all online. 

After our series of examinations, our break started. During the break, I went out with my friends to different places and tried something different every time. Also, I got my second piercing!! Moreover, I went for my final overseas trip of the year, this time to Batam with a group of 8 other families. Going with such a huge group was indeed a new experience and it was really chaotic yet fun. 

To end off this year, which was really different from the previous years since it did not have much structure but depended on what I chose for myself to do, we will be having a year end party to say goodbye to 2023 and usher in 2024!!

To summarise 2023, I would say that it was a year of many firsts. And drawing back to my Google Map example that I had mentioned at the outset, yes, this year was very akin to my Google Map experience, in that I received guidance and advice from various people. I listened to their advice, followed parts of them. Instead of following them blindly, I analysed the various inputs I received and went with what was best for me. Indeed, there were some mistakes I made due to some of the decisions I made but there were also some decisions I am really happy about. Learning from the pitfalls from 2023, let us all walk into 2024 with determination and hopefully, success follows!!