A reflection of 2017 // Not such a great year...? ((´д｀))

Here's to the first post of 2018, where once again I reflect on the previous year, 2017, and create or alter my goals for 2018! To be honest 2017 was not the best of year for myself and to my surprise a lot of my friends felt the same way!

Now lets break the year apart and start from the beginning. Over the new year I was still overseas with my partner, travelling around Kota Kinabalu, Hong Kong and Macau. The whole trip itself was amazing and exciting as there were so many new countries that I hadn't been to before. However, once I came back from my trip, an unexpected yet somewhat predicted personal issue had occurred and it was just an upsetting, awkward and weird stage for me and my family. I won't go into too much depth as it is still a sensitive topic but it was definitely something that had a huge affect on my life. 

On the brighter side I still went travelling even though it didn't seem like a lot. In April, my partner and I celebrated our 3rd year together by travelling up to Ayers rock (Uluru). This mini getaway ticked off another location that I've been meaning to travel to, as I've always wanted to see that big red rock in the middle of Australia! Also, for my birthday my partner had planned a weekend trip to Canberra where he took me truffle hunting which was a cute and fun adventure that we both enjoyed thoroughly! I actually got to dig out fresh truffles and mine was the 2nd biggest truffle that day! I also felt like I was in Japan, as there were cherry blossom trees everywhere in full bloom! It was just a beautiful and magical scene! This was back in September and was my last trip of 2017.

I found I got to brunch a little more this year and catch up with friends who I've missed dearly as we barely get the chance to meet due to...well life. It's kind of sad how our lives just change drastically as soon as we start working full-time. We just don't have the leisure to go out during the weekday (not unless you take [sick]leave). But this year I felt a little lucky being able to catch a few friends on their free time to go out and feast at new or different locations around Sydney.

Now moving onto something more...dramatic~ This year I turned 25 (woohoo?), hitting that quarter-life milestone! I had a simple birthday dinner with friends with pizzas and some drinks. But 2 weeks later...I went to a party and got absolutely wrecked! As a result, I injured my face and chipped a few teeth. Needless to say, this impacted my overall health, my plans for the next few months and my personal and/or work life. 

The whole healing process took a total of 3 months and it didn't come cheap either! My face took roughly a month to heal to the point where the scarring was barely visible unless you're really up close to my face. My teeth on the other hand...it was bad! This part took the longest to fix and heal. I have been to the dentist 800% more time this year compared to last year. Yes, 800%!

Although I had a major accident, I still continued to go out with my battered face. I was not afraid to show my battle wounds (maybe I just have a high self-esteem). The next day after my accident my partner had planned a nice dinner and star gazing~ I couldn't go for the dinner, for obvious reasons, but I still wanted to go out for star gazing. My partner granted my wish and we headed out. It was a beautiful and wonderful night. I also continued my volunteer work with SMASH! Sydney Anime and Manga Show. I showed up on the days of the event with my healing battered face, which did surprise a few friends. I had an amazing time running the events with my team and ensuring everything was going smoothly! 

I'm grateful for my family, friends and my partner who were there to cheer me on and support me during this time. I wasn't that sad over the injuries on my face, despite it being RIGHT THERE, because I knew over time they will heal.

I did notice that I was job seeking more often during this time-frame due to the issues that have happened at work, but I guess it's also because I'm looking into a different direction on how I wanted to progress and grow career-wise. 

The last few months of 2017 were a blur and I didn't feel like I was productive at all. All I can say is I'm glad 2017 is over and I cannot wait to create better memories in 2018! My next post will be to welcome 2018! 

Remember to like my facebook page, subscribe to my youtube channel & follow my instagram:"lazypandah" for daily updates! 

Comments are love ♥

-LAZYPANDAH