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December was filled with a lot of ho ho holiday activities that I have always dreamt of experiencing. It was also a great time to do some reflecting as we're nearing the end of the year. So much has happened and I'm excited to share a snippet of my month and year with you all.
Lifestyle: Holiday Spirit
Holiday Activities
This month, I really got to indulge in the holiday spirit whether that was with coworkers, friends, or significant other. Some of the most memorable ones would be the white elephant party with my friends! I love a white elephant party for the fun aspect, but I don't normally end up with a gift I love. However, this party, I ended up with an Essentials hoodie and a speaker, which was an extra great gift because it felt full circle (I'll get into that later on). I also got to a do a gift exchange with my LA friends, which was extra special because my friend who recently moved to NYC was able to join! It was so nice to see everyone's faces and catch up to each other's lives. We also did a holiday sweater cookie decorating contest, which I unfortunately got 2nd place to (congrats to Calvin's cookie).
Love
This month, I really got to do a lot of fun holiday activities with the guy I've been seeing. We both grew up not really celebrating Christmas so it was so much fun getting to do a lot of first holiday activities together, such as decorating a Christmas tree! He had prepared all the materials that was needed to decroated the Christmas tree, which I was so touched about. It was also special because we both had not talked about getting each other gifts, yet we both had ended up surprising each other with gifts. I had gotten him an Essentials hoodie because we had an ongoing conversations about the viral Tiktok video about hoodies that hoodie and that's why it felt full circle to also win an Essentials hoodie at the white elephant party. He had gotten me a Jo Malone perfume, which I was surprised at how well he picked out the scent since it can be tricky. We also was able to do other holiday activities such as going to see the decors and lights in Dana Point, which has been on my bucket list for a long time! All in all, there was so many special memories that were formed.
Work
Work has been luckily slowing down as it got into the holiday season and it was extra special because I got to go to my 2nd ever end of the year holiday party. It felt so surreal because the last time I attended, I had worked at this job for only a few weeks and felt like such a newbie. This year, I fully got to believe I belonged there and was celebrating the hard work that was put in. It also felt so nice to reflect as I had more closer work friends I can celebrate with that I did not have a year ago. It was also extra special because I got to bring a +1 and so I brought my friend Kelsey with me and we had such a great time together! All in all, so memorable and special to end off a hard year of work.
OOO
I also got to put in a 3 week PTO at work for the end of December to early January. 3 weeks is the longest time that I've requested to be out of office since I've started working in general. I was a little anxious about asking for that long of a time off but I also wanted to remind myself that I've earned these PTO and I have the right to use them. I'm spending the 3 weeks going to my annual trip to Korea where I want to really rejuvenate and recharge for the new year. I was a little sad I wasn't able to spend the new years with my friends and special people but I was also excited to spend a much needed time with family. I also got to go to Jeju Island for the end of the year and it was so relaxing. It was exactly what I needed and I'm excited to spend more time off with my family.
Lows & Lessons: End of the Year Reflection
This year was a lot of new adventures and growth for me. I moved out of my parents, which was not an easy decision to begin with but one that I was eager to do as I valued my independence so much. I know I've lived out in college but it felt different in many ways as I was moving out as an actual adult. I also started a new big girl job and it has been one of the most challenging yet rewarding job yet. I even got a promotion this year and I truly felt like my efforts were being recognized and have slowly felt like I actually knew what I was doing. I was slowly able to get rid of my imposter syndrome little by little with experiences to back me up now. This has been a big reflection because I know I'm at a place where I would've wished to have been years ago. I know that I had to put in a lot of hard work and effort to get here so I really want to pat myself on the back to say I'm proud of myself. It's easy to only look at the future ahead and where you want to be next instead of taking a step back and reflecting. I tend to do that a lot as I'm hard on myself on a lot but I really want to recognize my efforts this year. I even got to train someone at work, which has been so rewarding to do. I also could not have gone through work without my close work friends that I've developed through this year from our coffee breaks to water checks to make sure we're staying hydrated.
This year was also the year that I really solidified a group of friends in LA. We've been hanging out post Covid but it became much more frequent when we all finally moved to LA. We shared so many fun memories together from going out to wholesome nights together at each other's apartments. Sadly, one of us in our group is moving to NYC but we wish him the best and am thankful for the fun memories we've shared together this year. I also really put in a lot of efforts with my friendships and were able to find friends who truly reciprocate the efforts back. Some have been old and some new connections that I cannot wait to experience the new year with as well. I know how hard it is to find genuine friendships and I've definitely struggled with friendships where it was non reciprocal in efforts so I want to hold on as tightly to the current ones I have in my life.
Towards the end of the year, I opened up in the love aspect in my life more than I've ever in the past few years. It's been hard for to be truly open and not be so skeptical in being able to find love again. I do think that this person came at a good time where I was truly learning more about my avoidant attachment style and actively trying to work on it as well as being more open about going on dates (with the idea that it can actually develop into something else). However, I do think that a lot also has to do with his characters and how it was something I was looking for such as being a gentleman, funny, caring, and hardworking. It was also a time where I learned more about myself because he's the complete opposite of my type on paper with the outer looks but I realized that personality and character comes a long way for me compared to outer looks. Although we're not officially in a relationship and have only confirmed being exclusive this month, I'm excited to see how it'll develop as we enter the new year.
Songs on Repeat:
Top Songs -
A Nonsense Christmas - Sabrina Carpenter Tú - mayeSEROTONIN - Sam Gellaitry My Pick of the Month: Christmas Tree
As I've mentioned, I got to decorate my first ever Christmas tree! Christmas was never really a holiday that I've celebrated with family growing up and so this was extra special to me. It actually took in more effort and time that I thought it would, which made us even more proud in the end.
This month was filled with love by people I care about, while experiencing holiday activities together. I'm glad I was able to spend a lot of my time with the people that matter most to me and the ones that has made the most amount of impact to my life this past year. As always, there were some hardships I've encountered but I truly believed it only made me a stronger person. I can't wait to see what more I'll learn and experience in the new year.
Talk to you next year,
-- Jin
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