2018 In Review Feat Adulting Is Not Easy

If I were to rate 2018 from scale 0 to 10, I’d give myself an 8. Last year is my first year adulting and it is not easy all. I graduated from university, entered the working force as a new recruit in Japan so it is a totally new environment from before and as an introvert who needs lots of time to adapt it has been difficult.

Okay, I know working abroad in a situation where you’re the only foreigner on the floor would be anything but easy and not having any fellow foreigner to speak to makes it worse.

My company is pretty huge in Japan and I’m sure that 90% of Japanese has heard of its name before so there are foreigners who worked here but the floor my department stationed at only have me – who totally stood out like a sore thumb due to me wearing hijab.  

I’m betting that even if the majority of my hundred worker mates at HQ didn’t know my name, they would recognize me from my hijab.

In a good way and bad way

Anyway, moving on, I realised that adulting is more than paying bills and taxes. It is responsibility and commitment on trying to get your life together and just trying to survive thinking whether you can receive your pension or not when you’ve retired even though huge sums of money are cut from your salary automatically every month.

On blogging, I managed to post 24 posts in 2018 with one of my post (8 Things You Must Do In Seoul, South Korea) getting a 1K share on Pinterest.

It is a HUGE ACHIEVEMENT compared to 2017 and I’m happy that despite working full time, I manage to keep this blog afloat.

My blogging goal this year is to be more consistent in posting, changing blog theme (again because I’m easily bored and blog makeover makes me motivated to post more ehem lies) and interact with more bloggers on Twitter.

Twitter can be pretty daunting when you’re awkward on both real and online but all of the bloggers that I’ve met there are all nice and supportive. A special shout-out to Laura (girl just blog for months and she’s been killing it), Vinny (who created beautiful blog graphics and hijab on point) and Bexa for having Sunday blog swap thread every week).

To sum up my 2018,

• Adulting is not easy. 
• Fake it till you make it.
• When in doubt, turn to Google.
• Having a budget is important unless you want to end up broke in the middle of the month.
• You are what you eat. Damn.
• Ebook is superior from physical books. Fight me.
• Stop buying stationeries just because it’s cute. #Reminder
• It’s okay to cry.
• Social media is addictive but keep it in moderation.
• Life is more than posting a perfect picture on Instagram.
• Perfect does not exist so just write.  On a side note, I miss writing.
• A cup of hot chocolate doesn’t solve problems but it makes me feel better.

 A LIFESAVER

• Noise cancelling headphone is my best friend. Especially during commuting to work.
• Meeting new people is a challenge. #Still Struggling
• Theme park is not for me.
• Watching dishes is therapeutic. 
• Hydration is key. I love Nature’s Republic Aloe Vera gel. It’s cheap and really moisturizes my skin.
• Book buying ban doesn’t work.

Happy New Year!

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