If I had to describe my life in 2018 it would be like a ship sailing through a storm, tossed around sideways and upside down but somehow finding a way to right itself up. Compared to that, my life in 2019 was like the same ship sailing on calm waters and finding its stride on the vast ocean.
2019 was the year for me to find a footing in my new life – my new marriage, my move across the country, new job and I must say that I definitely found that footing. And it felt so good to do so. The Year to Fortify.
Here are my top memories from 2019.
- Happy BIRTHDAY to me. January is my favorite month, naturally because I came into this world with a head full of black hair and a wail that alerted the neighbors that the Earth’s population grew by one. I started off the year with entering a new decade of my life. Womp womp. But my mom gave me the best present. She reached out to my close friends and family to gather messages and memories from them to share with me. The gift was so thoughtful and reminded me of how blessed I am to have all these people in my life.
- I wracked up more air and car miles than I can count. I’m grateful that I love and have the financial resources to travel. My husband and I went to the Indian Wells Tennis tournament in March 2019. My sister and I visited my favorite city (after NYC), London, and Paris. With my in-laws we went to Glacier, Yellowstone and Grand Teton National Parks. My husband and I had smaller adventures in the fall – Denver (Mesa Verde and Great Sand Dunes National Parks) and two action packed days in San Diego. And of course I spent sleep deprived nights on red flights from SFO to EWR!
- I continue to dabble in my side hustles. While I’m still waiting for the $$$ to pour in I am doing my best to be creative outside of work. I’ve been struggling to find the energy to write with work being more intense leaving me exhausted in the evenings. My attention is also focused more on my personal life than ever before leaving little time to devote to writing, painting and other endeavors. But I will continue to persevere in this realm.
- I’m proud of all the steps I have taken to build stronger relationships with my family and friends who live everywhere but in the Golden State. Even though priorities have changed and some of my friends are in new stages of their lives, I take the time to call every few months or visit the East Coast as often as I can. I’ve realized in the decade since I landed my first full-time job, I derive satisfaction and contentment from my life outside of work. While I have goals for my career that I want to meet, my relationship with work has a boundary that I choose not to cross. I think this mostly has to do with having control over the decisions I make. Unless you work for yourself, you’re always working for someone else and the lack of control that results from this leaves me feeling less satisfied. I’m working to build a sense of community in the Bay Area by hosting gatherings with friends. All of this takes quite a bit of effort!
- Most of 2019 was positive, however in the last few months I had to deal with an unexpected loss. One of my closest friends from middle school passed away suddenly. I’m grateful that I got the chance to spend time with her in Paris. Dealing with a loss is hard anytime that it happens but when a young life is lost, it’s particularly hard. I think I’m still in a stage of disbelief over this loss. My rational mind knows the truth but accepting it will take time. I also learned that we have to have more conversations about mental health especially in the Indian community where problems are swept under the rug because shame and judgement are predominant behaviors in the culture.
2019 off was mostly a steadying year for me with pieces of my life falling into place to give me a sense of security. I also didn’t stress as much looking for a new apartment because thankfully I now have a permanent roommate!
P.S. 2019 Goals – Year End Report Card
Here’s how I would grade myself on my 2019 goals.
- Focus more on my writing. Grade B-. While I did write for this blog, I did not write as much as I wanted. I know my loyal readers are looking for more. I also wanted to do more writing outside of this blog and sadly those pages are still blank.
- Read more. Grade A++. My goal was to read 10 books. I doubled that and read 20 books. I was literally reading the last few pages on Dec 31st on my flight back to the Bay Area but I did it!
- Side hustles galore! Grade B. I did a decent job keeping up with this blog. I dabbled in painting wine bottles and beer bottles. We have quite a collection of empty wine bottles that make me look like I drink more wine than water. I made progress on my 3rd paint by numbers but this one is proving to be harder to complete than the previous ones.
- Relationships, more levelheadedness, compromise more. Grade A-. This grade is heavily skewed by the work I put in building stronger relationships. My husband would argue while we’ve learned to communicate and fight better, I’m not exactly a levelheaded person. My emotions swing like a pendulum.
- Maintain my meditation practice. Grade A. I still meditate regularly. During challenging moments I have started to lean on meditation techniques and learnings to observe my reactions rather and remind myself “this is a thought, I don’t have to engage with it.”
As I forge ahead into 2020 – its already the third week in February, I pat myself on the back on the tremendous progress I made last year. I did have a few lapses with social media and constant comparisons with others but another problem for another year!
Did you meet the goals you set for yourself?