GRATEFULLY, 26th

So, I turned 26 one (or maybe, two) month ago.

A lot of things changed at 26th, & I have been pondering on what’s the biggest change in me for the past one year. One thing for sure, I’ve learned that G R A T I T U D E is happiness. 

“Gratitude. A feeling of appreciation or thanks. So simple, yet so mighty.”

Gratitude is a amazing thing, it grows the more I use it.
& here’s the top #10 things that I am grateful for as I turned 26th.

#1 FAMILY.

I am thankful for my mom.

I came home one day to my favourite pumpkin dish. Posted on my Insta-story, cousin replied & said…
“Your mom purposely bought the pumpkin because she said you mentioned that you miss the pumpkin she cooked.”

I was at a loss of for words as I have completely forgotten that I’ve said that before. Thank you for taking note of the little things I said, & constantly make sure I feel so loved, despite your extremely busy schedule. I love you, ma! Thank you.

I am thankful for my dad, I am thankful for how much loves & supports he gave me.

During his birthday this year, I baked him a cake. &, it was B A D, real bad.
But, dad was so happy, he even said “The taste doesn’t really matters anymore.” (‘:

Even he doesn’t say much, I am thankful for that I know he will always be my No.1 supporter for everything I do.

I am thankful for my baby sister, thank you for pampering me (literally).
Thank you, Mei; For always being available no matter how busy or tired you are.

I am thankful for my brother, thank you for respecting me.
For I know many times, you disagree with what I’ve to say, you’d still do it anyway just because I’m your sister.

Thank you, Didi.

Thank you, for celebrating my birthday with me.
Growing a year older is amazing when it’s with all of you.

#2 MY BOYFRIEND, SY.

I am thankful that I am in a relationship with my best friend, SY. [01/01/17]

I am thankful for SY.
Thank you, for giving me so much more than I deserve.

Thank you, for going out your ways to plan out a perfect-birthday-surprise – a trip to S’pore for me (will blog about it next), just to see that smile of my face.

You melted my heart, when you actually take note of all the little details that matter to me:
– you contacted my family to inform them about the trip, & got my passport & luggage packed!
– you knew I would want to take photos, hence you got all my #ootd ready (together with Karen) before the trip.
– you planned with my #annoyingbff to block my date to avoid me having meetings on that weekend, also planned the entire trip’s schedule the way I’d like to have.
– you got me a GoPro, just because I said I want to start working on my YOUTUBE.

Talking about youtube, here’s one birthday recap video SY did for me:

Too many things to be thankful for YOU, & here’s a few…

Thank you, for apologizing when I’m didn’t want to do so.
Thank you, for being proud of me, of us.
Thank you, for calling me beautiful even on my worst days.
Thank you, for earning my trust, making me feel safe & secure.
Thank you, for supporting me & being there for me on everything I do.
Thank you, for being patience with me on days when I’m simply ridiculous.
Thank you, for identifying what would upset me & do the best you could to avoid it.
Thank you, for the good times spent with our families.
Thank you for telling me “I LOVE YOU” every single day.
Thank you, for committing to our 1st long term commitment with me!
Thank you, for making me feel like we just started dating (even after 8 months).

Thank you, for making me feel so thankful to have YOU. ILY.

#3 FRIENDSHIP

I am definitely not an extrovert, neither a introvert.
I am more of an a m b i v e r t.

To be a friend of ambivert is not an easy thing, as an ambivert like myself; most of the time have issue expressing our true feelings nicely and often came off as rude/harsh.

I might be the most talkative person you met during our meet up, & then I would went MIA (switching back to the introverted way of life) for weeks or even months. It takes a really close friends to understand that I probably get a little stressed up with my work, or I am actually recovering from the hectic task of being a people person. One thing for sure, they all know that I can never be annoyed by them & how I will be just a call away when needed, despite me being half-presence at times.

I love birthday(s), let it be mine or theirs. Because, as an ambivert, I value one-on-one relationship a lot. It’s always during birthdays, I get to catch up with these VIPs of my life for real, we would spend hours just deep talking & updating each others on what’s happening for the past months.

Thank you, for accepting me for who I am with all the flaws;
& thank you, for all the efforts in keeping this precious & challenging friendship of ours.

I couldn’t be more thankful for these people.

#4 MY DOGS ARE HEALTHY

I am thankful that both Hershey & Macho are healthy now.

Last year this time, both of them were so ill, they weren’t responding when I got back from work or attempt to play with them. They were always tired, and down. Mama & mei have to bring them to the vet a few times in a month. Mei has to sacrifice her own time to bring them to the vet, while mama took the effort to braised home-cooked-nutrientspacked-nosalt-soup for ’em two on daily basis, just because the vet suspect that the dog food didn’t suits them.

Well, thankfully after months of extensive care, both of them recovered! I am extremely thankful for the good health of these two fur kids, to see them jumping around and wagging their tails when I come home.

#5 CAREER

So, on 26th, I am thankful that I’ve finally found the courage to leave my comfort zone (once again), to pursue the direction I want to go. I was struggling previously, despite being comfortably well paid because of the difference in values & culture in the company. I am thankful that my #annoyingbff shared with me her heart & concern for the industry we are in, and offered me an opportunity to work hand in hand with her – “to help people grow, to help businesses grow”.

Not going to be a smooth ride, but I know it’s definitely worth it.
I am beyond thankful.

#6 FIRST PROPERTY

So.. I got my first property as I turned 26th.
This is definitely an achievement unlocked!

Yes. I am extremely grateful that after months of property shopping, mortgage approval, and all the necessary procedures; I have finally gotten the house keys on my birthday month itself, it felt so surreal!

And of course, this would be really tough without SY.

Flashback to, while setting we are setting our resolution & goal together early this year…
ME: I want to work harder, & get a HOUSE this year.
SY: Let me help you, let’s do it together.

&, that’s how we started working really really hard, & now.. we’ve finally done it!
Thank you, love; for being so supportive in making this dream of mine a reality.

We couldn’t contain our excitement that we actually successfully got our first home, together. That sweet satisfaction of holding the sparkling shiny house key, as a house owner, is just… unexplainable. What makes me feel even more thankful is that this simply means both of us are real serious with each other, and pretty much ready to be committed to this relationship.

Nevertheless, I am also overwhelmed with gratitude for God’s blessing financially, on all the work opportunities given to me this year. Praise God for all his goodness. Jeremiah 29:11.

#7 LEARNED TO LOVE

I am thankful that I’ve gotten a wake up call early this year that we need no special occasion or reason to, LOVE.

Just like how HE has loved us unconditionally, showering us with blessing with no specific reason. I am taught to love people, more genuinely; showing love even when there’s no special occasion.

Instead of blessing my parents only on parent’s day or their birthday, I learned to blessed them, and express love as often as I can. It can be as simple as complimenting them, buying them a pair of shoes just because I overheard their conversations that they needed one, emptied my weekend nights to do dinner with them, etc. You will be amazed that little things like this can really make their day, and know that their daughter really care.

I also started to drop love notes & little gifts to my siblings regularly to tell them their jiejie always has them in mind, & also throwing kind words to people around me.

I am thankful that I have the opportunity to love them, & blessed them.

#8 REALIZE THE IMPORTANT OF INSURANCE

As I turned 26th, I up my self-responsibility game by getting my first ever health & life insurance on my own.

I have been benefiting from health insurance since young, but as I aged out my parents health plan; I weren’t really doing anything about it. I just simply signed for an health insurance plan knowing nothing about it.

So, what urged me to understand insurance better?
– My uncle passed away without insurance, & left a significant amount of debt for the family.
– My close friend’s mom who doesn’t has insurance, was sent to the GH & the the lead time to get treatment was unacceptably long.
– My close friend’s mom felt it’s better to die when she’s diagnosed with cancer & has no insurance, because she didn’t want to be a burden.
– While paying my tax, I saw the tax deductible column for health & life insurance, up to RM3000 & RM6000 each.

Last but not least, SY is a professional financial advisor in Great Eastern. He saw my previous insurance plan, and realise it’s insufficient, it’s more like a basic blanket cover. Well, putting it in layman terms, it pretty much means.. Yes, I have health insurance, but I might still has debt if accident happens, I might not be able to get the top treatment, etc.

So, here’s why I really think insurance is important.

– It protects my family.
My parents have been working extremely hard to raise us up the passed 20+ years, now that they’re retiring, they deserve to live a worry-free life. I strive really hard to give the best to them. & I want to take an extra step to make sure that, even if anything bad (worst case, death) happened to me, they will be assisted financially, and able to live on the life they deserved.

– I have one less thing to worry during difficult times.
We’re living in a world where nothing is impossible (literally). Tragedies happen every day, if I happened to be the unfortunate one to be diagnosed with a critical illness like cancer, heart attack, stroke etc., I want to be able to seek for the best solution without the money stress. Trust me, only if you’re a multi-billionaire; otherwise, get yourself covered even with the minimum annual premium. You wouldn’t want to match your broken leg/arm with a broken bank account/

People think that freedom equals no responsibility,
but in truth these responsibilities are what give you freedom.

I am extremely thankful that I am educated on this, and my whole family is now covered by insurance. I am still striving in my career, but at least now I know my family will get the best medical treatment when needed, & I will not be burdened by any unexpected medical bills in anyway.

I am thankful to be “adulting”, this way. (:

#9 IMPERFECTION IS, NORMAL

Let’s be real, I was so afraid of being judged, and constantly fear that I am not good enough before. I was constantly discontent, & upset.

I am thankful that after various incidents that happened last year, I finally accepted the fact that I will not be happy if I blindly chase for perfection, & the fact that no-one is ever going to be perfect.

Instead of glossing over the flaws, I started sharing posts of myself that’s not socially perfect or maybe I would say “flawed”. Let it be my relationship flaws, my struggles with in friendships, my injuries or even as simple as a photos of me with major breakouts of my face. I am actually encouraged by my followers on how they felt these imperfect posts have encouraged them to accept their flaws while learning to be better day by day. I am overwhelmed by how they felt it’s actually ok to not be perfect all the time.

I am thankful that my struggles & fears of imperfection actually helped others in accepting themselves, and to be more open to seek for necessary help.

#10 GRATITUDE LIST

I am thankful for my decision to start counting my blessing with a daily gratitude list, to remind myself of how fortunate I am to be blessed with almost everything I could possibly want.

This little gratitude diary of mine reminded me how all the good things my boyfriend did, and helped me to see beyond the arguments we had. It helps me to readjust my focus, and put our relationship as priority.

It also helps me to train my mind in finding the good things in my life on daily basis. Eventually, I tend to look at things in a different perspective, instead of what gone wrong, I learned to look at what’s great. It makes me a happier person.

So.. I noticed the drastic change in my life (emotionally, especially) when I hit 25th. This year, it’s even more different; I am also way more thankful now than a year before. Oh. I am thankful & really like how this humble blog of mine helps me to remember things that I am now reminding myself every year. Cheers to being a year older, and hopefully wiser. :D