New Year New Me 2024

Entering a new year used to be ceremonial where family members gather in the living room, with the television blasting out music, counting down to the following year. 

As I grow, New Year's eve to me has become so repetitive that I see no meaning in celebrating it. (unlike Chinese New Year where we get to receive angpaos 🧧🧧 xDD)

"It's just another day right, when you wake up the next morning, sun continues shining and birds continue chirping", I thought to myself. It is like the 2012 doomsday where we gathered to countdown, feeling so helpless and yet the earth continues to rotate the next day.

I am sure many working adults and students have the same thought: while not really celebrating it, we appreciate this day as a public holiday to get a really good rest, preparing for another year of sprinting.

---

Slowly, I began understanding the benefits of this 'ritual'. It allows everyone to leave all the negative energy behind and hop into the new year with a better version of ourselves. New year new me right? 

We can kinda find 'excuses' for previous bad habits and throw all of them into the infinite hole of the previous year while promising to change for this new year. Sounds like a good idea huh..

---

I'm definitely not the best version of myself in 2023 so let's do the New Year's Resolution thingy again and check it out in a year! Here's how I want to improve myself: 

• start photography and be MORE ACTIVE on social media (50 blogs, 12 Instagram Reels)
• land a really interesting summer internship (consulting, project management)
• do at least two sports sessions in a week
• keep in contact with friends whom I care for
• make more friends
• witness the beauty of the Aurora Borealis and visit Santa Claus Village (can't wait for my exchange semester in Sweden!)
• 1.5k followers on Instagram

Let me know what's your new year's resolution too and I will remind you to check back by the end of the year to see how far you've gone to achieve them! 

---

This year I celebrated New Year's Eve with a French uncle whom I met randomly on the street two months ago. He turned out to be very caring for students especially those from Asia. I count myself lucky to have met him and he brought me on quite a few excursions. More stories on him next time! 

From left to right: 

Quan (Vietnamese), me (Malaysian), Jacques (French) and MuTong (Chinese)

Coquille Saint Jacques (scallop) as appetizer and 

Pintade Rôtie (roasted guinea fowl) as the main dish!

It was actually my first time opening a Champagne bottle after they told me about all sorts of accidents that happened while opening the bottle. Not so cool huh! 

---

I hope you enjoyed reading and stay tuned for the next post!