26 Years Old

A long overdue reflection, but better late than never, right? 

A lot happened while I was 26. I honestly don't even know where to start so this reflection might be all over the place where I just talk about whatever comes to mind. Overall, I would say it was a year of a lot of change and uncertainty. 

The start of my 26 was a bit rough since that was the time I told my family that I wanted to move out with Gabe. They did not take it very well and there was a lot of crying. They saw where I was coming from, but they didn't approve of it. Regardless, I still moved out at the end of November with Gabe to Linc 245, a one bedroom apartment in downtown Portland right by PSU and where my brother was currently living. Eventually, they accepted my decision and now it is a thing of the past. I did make sure that although I moved out, I still visited and called my family often so that they didn't feel like I was abandoning them. 

Living at Linc 245 was great, but I am a bit disappointed that we didn't really get the full downtown experience because of the Pandemic and quarantine that hit in March 2020. We did get a few months, which was nice. It was nice being close to the food carts and Ding Tea. Jiwon, JiHae, and Minsoo moved into Linc towards the end of May. Yayy neighbors again. I did a lot of walking during the summer for work's summer mile challenge which kept me active. Also, can't forget my weekly walks with Jiwon over the summer keke. I always looked forward to those. The not so great thing about Linc was that we got a total of like 4 noise complaints from our neighbor which was annoying because we weren't even that loud or threw any parties there. Definitely not missing that about the apartment.

Beginning of February I traveled to Las Vegas for the first time without my family to celebrate Gabe's 27 birthday with friends. I have always only visited Vegas with my family and when I was under 21 years old so this was a new experience. We only stayed there for 2 nights, but it was a lot of fun! Lots of walking and eating. I am so glad that we got this last trip in before quarantine hit.

I got Lasik on February 14th, 2020! I have been thinking about getting it for a while now and after doing much research I decided on LasikPlus at Bridgeport. My family was very supportive of it. The procedure was kinda scary and super fast. Apparently during the procedure one of my eyelash got stuck on my eye. Thank you to Gabe for driving me after my surgery. My eyes took a while to fully heal and now I have to put on eye drops daily, but it is worth it. I don't regret ever getting lasik. It feels awesome being able to see things without having to put on my glasses or contacts. It did take me a while to get used to my face without glasses. Although I do still wear blue light glasses when I am on my laptop or watching TV to prevent eye strain. It really does work! At least for me I notice a difference.

Pandemic/quarantine started mid-March. What a crazy time we live in. It definitely caused a lot of change and adjustments for everyone. Staying home majority of the time, wearing masks, no more traveling, no large gathering, working from home, etc. Affect on us both physically and mentally...

Makeup free for more than half a year! There were several reasons that contributed to it --- lasik, being in quarantine, and just lazy. It felt very refreshing. Not that I wore a lot of makeup to begin with, just eyebrows and eyeshadow/eyeliner. Also, during quarantine I got really into skincare and my skin right now is probably the best it has ever been. Skincare over makeup any day for me. As you can tell, I am not a huge makeup person. I just do the bare minimal to make myself look more presentable. I am definitely way more comfortable/confident now just going out or hanging out with friends without any makeup on.

Working from home. This was not much of an adjustment because I have worked from home before. It is so nice not having to commute to work and being able to work in the comfort of my own home. I definitely feel way less active though with all the sitting and not moving around as much.

Purchased my first Kindle and it is probably one of the best purchase I made last year. I ordered it at the end of March because I wanted to do more reading while in quarantine. I was tired of constantly staring at a screen for work and for my free time. Before I only preferred reading actual copies of books, but after getting my Kindle that completely changed. It is so convenient being able to have multiple books available in a small portable device. Also, I borrow all my books through the Libby app which is free (all you need is a library card). The Kindle is perfect for me because I love moving around whenever I read. Since purchasing it, I have read 10 books so far and that's a lot for me because I haven't read this much since college or high school. I love my Kindle so much.

Paint by numbers. I started getting into paint by numbers during quarantine because of Catherine. She introduced it to me and it was very therapeutic and relaxing. Also, it was a good break from the screen. Although it did hurt my neck a little at times. I've done 3 so far and hoping to do more in the future. Probably going to stick to custom ones though even though those are way harder. I just love seeing a personal photo come to life through painting.  

Started searching for my first home towards the end of September. The apartment lease was ending and purchasing a home was probably the best use of the money I have saved up. Originally, my brother wanted to buy a duplex with me, but he decided not to so I was on my own. Toured lots of houses and had my offer accepted end of October woohoo. I will write another post to go into more details later on my house hunting experience. It is pretty crazy because I did not expect to purchase my first home on my own by the end of my 26 years old.

Weight Gain. I was probably the heaviest I have ever been in my life and felt extremely insecure about myself. It was really rough and honestly it still is...I am really not happy with the way my body looks and feels.

L4D2 and KF2. There was a period during quarantine where I would be playing those games with Raymond, Wing, Jonathan, Kevin, and Lawrence. It was a lot of fun having those weekly gaming session. I want to start it up again. I love zombie games.

Among Us. Got introduced to the game by Raymond and it is a lot of fun even though I suck at lying. I haven't played it in a while, but I still love watching people play it. Because of Among Us, I got into to watching Toast, Valkyrae, and their group of friends on Twitch/Youtube. I love the dynamics of their group of friends and watching them game. They are such a wholesome group of friends. Thank you to Among Us for introducing me to them.

Dramas. Started up my drama addiction once again. It is my escape from reality. 

Mental health was not any better and probably worse. It has been hard...

There was so much that I wanted to do, but I honestly didn't have the motivation, energy or mental capacity for it. Sigh. 

26. It wasn't the worse, but it wasn't the best. It was roller coaster of different unexpected things. A year of escape..