Goodbye 2023, Thank you for being good to me 😊

Hey everyone~ here goes my final blog for the year! Gosh, 2023 is coming to an end, it feels like this year went by so fast for me, it was almost like a blur. Or maybe it was because I count this as the busiest year I’ve ever had. Either way, I’ll only know when I look back on this year in the distant future.

So I’ve never really been one for joining contests except for art contests, but the announcement was so timely that I wanted to join the @hiveph question of the week because I need my yearly retrospection so that when tomorrow comes, I know what to put on my new year’s resolution. I've actually been contemplating this year since yesterday because I was sick in bed all day, but today, I'm alive and kicking again and I now know what I want to write.

First question: What were the major highlights of your 2023?

I think my independence would be the best answer to this. Though it’s not complete independence because I still go home every now and then on my mom’s request to help with food and cleaning, but otherwise, I manage myself now and it has been the best feeling I’ve ever experienced this year. For a little context, I lived with my family my entire life and I stand as the 2nd mom to my siblings. I have taught them, fed them, cooked for them, and have taken care of them for as long as I could remember. I was at the point where I felt like I was just their maid or something because all I ever did at home was cook, clean, sleep, work, give them their allowance then repeat. So to me, having my own little space to breath, even if it’s just a dorm room, has impacted me so much that I chose this as my year’s highlight.

my little lab bed with daisy bed civers my lab elders bought for me when they found out I'll be living in the dorms now

Though it’s only been like 2 months since I started living in the company dorm, just look at how happier and more active I’ve become since. I cook and decide what I eat without needing my mom’s or my sisters’ approval because they’re such picky eaters. I can be as experimental as I want to be with my food and with where I decide to go after work. I only need to tell the company guard whether I’ll be out late or if I’ll be sleeping elsewhere then it’s all good. I can be as clean or as messy as I want to be with my room, but of course, me being me, I try to keep it as clean as possible. I’m not so tired after work because there’s no need for commuting home and the best part really is that I’ve been saving much more than I did in the last few months that I was commuting to and from work (i don'thave to pay rent at the lab dorm 😅 so that was a huge relief for me). It’s been so nice and my lab elders have really taken a liking to me so they’ve been spoiling me with every chance they get since they’ve been learning more about me and my family background.

I’ve never used my family background for things like this, really. And at times, I don’t really want to talk about my family with them since they’d feel bad that I came from a broken family, but it feels nice being spoiled and taken care of like that. At times, I don’t even need to cook because they buy me meals, then at times, they get me small surprises like art materials, and that really makes my day. This minor independence given to me this year has meant more to me than any gift I’ve ever received while growing up. I can focus on myself and I can focus on my hobbies, saving and even blogging. I can focus on so much stuff since my sisters are no longer a major concern of mine. And hopefully next year, as I write my new year’s resolution, I write with the actual resolve that I can hit those goals and targets without a second or even a third thought because I know I can focus on them.

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Second question: Describe a moment that made you grateful this year

I wouldn’t call it just a moment, but a series of moments that made me grateful and all of those moments involve me travelling XD. Yes, I am grateful that I got to travel so much this year, either by my means or by someone else’s means. So I have to admit…. I had a sugar baby phase this year and I had times when I had to lie to my mom just to travel for a few days with someone that could actually be a serial killer. But here I am, still writing and alive so that wasn’t the case at all XD

a prime example of one of my travels with a sugar daddy XD I mean, there's no way I can afford palawan yet, I'm not that rich. But I met a lovely family there that I also sat next to on the plane back to the city

I am grateful for all my travelling moments because it was there that I got to immerse myself in different experiences, meet new and different people and know their stories. Form connections with people I never would have expected to befriend (also had really interesting sexperiences with a few select strangers XD). IDK, it was all just magical experiences that I would like to have more of in the following year. And this travelling goal would probably be in my top 5 goals for the year.

recent travel photo 😊

Anyways, these are all my answers for the questions from @hiveph

I hope @mooontivated and @ruffatotmeee can tell me about their 2023 highlights