2011 Milestones

Before jumping into the new year, I would like to take some time to reflect on 2011. I have a lot of things I'm thankful for, a lot of things I could change, and a lot to put on my resolutions list. So much has happened this year, so 2011 is definitely a milestone for me.

One of the biggest things that happened in my life was that I graduated from university back in June. After 5 years of hard work, I finally finished my schooling (for now) and entered into society no longer officially a student. It was both scary and exciting at the same time.

me and emi from emicably yours

When you're in school, the only thing you look forward to is graduating... but when you're actually graduated, at least for me, I really wanted to go back.

You never realize how easy students have it until you are no longer one yourself. Right when I graduated, my bank was auto-changed out of a student account and I had to start paying fees. I was shocked! I've never paid bank fees in my life! That's when I started shopping around for a new bank.

Another thing I took for granted while back in school was how much of a social-shipper it was for me. Going to school kept your friendships in check because you see them more often. When you no longer have school, you really have to make an effort to keep in touch with people you care about, regardless if you have the tools or not. I, for one, had trouble keeping up with people and felt like I dropped off the face of the earth. It was kinda lonely.

Amidst all this, it was my one year anniversary with my boyfriend. He's been a real driving force in my life and has helped me through a lot of things. He even helped me find the job posting of the very job I work at today. Though we may have some rollercoaster moments, I've never been happier and I'm very thankful to have him. See, he's not just a pretty face ;)

Halloween (taken by Arnie Guieb)

The exciting part of graduating was that I finally got to do some travelling on my own. I've never gone outside Canada and the US without my family before, so it was a nice 'first' to do.

My favourite destination from my trip to Europe was Barcelona. It's definitely a great city to see with a lot of history and culture, but it wasn't rot with it like many other European cities. The food was great, much cheaper than Paris, and the weather was awesome. Lots of neat things to do in the city with a welcoming transportation system.

Barcelona, on Las Ramblas

A key thing I learned is that a lot of things can make or break a friendship. Travelling together is one of them. It can either make your friendship stronger, or make your realize how much of a person you CAN'T take. My trip to Europe, was the latter.

Between the Europe trip and starting my new job, I also went to California with my boyfriend. Did you know Disneyland is one of my favouritest places in the world? I've been so many times, but I love it every time. I know it's not for everyone, but it's one of the few places I always feel happy at :)

Santa Monica

After my travelling, I spent a good 3 months job hunting. I've had job experience before, but it was only for co-op or internships. When you get out into the 'real world', you realize how much more competition there is. Everything is a game. I've never been turned down so much in my life! It was a very challenging time those few months... so I'm very thankful for my friends that have shown me love and support during my grey days :) Now, my current workplace is full of wonderful people. It's not often you find somewhere to work where you get along with everyone, but this one is the exception. Great coworkers. I'm thankful for that.

Around that time is when I started my blog! It just seems like yesterday that I've been posting narcicisstic photos of myself and talking about my materialistic nature. But can you believe I've been blogging for 4 months now? Time really flies.

I'd like to take this time to thank all my readers. You've really been supportive over the past couple months in whichever way you can: reading, commenting, subscribing, friending, following, tweeting. I couldn't have done it without you guys. Though I'm still a small fry, I'm grateful for my 30ish subscribers and hope I have more to come in the future.

Big virtual hugs everyone! <3