2021 in Review

1st Jan 2022

2021 was a crazy year to say the least. There were joyous occasions, and there were occasions where life’s curveballs were difficult to handle.

January - March

I was still reeling from my insecurity issue. I didn’t handle the rejection from Company XXX that I interned in during the summer of 2020 well. Even though I was attending counselling sessions, it wasn’t until January, when I finally ended my last internship, that I could properly internalise my insecurities and my feelings of rejection. It made me realise that there are some things that I can’t handle on my own, and it’s completely okay to seek help for it.

March

I finally proposed to my long-time girlfriend of 8 years. I had been planning it for 5 months, and I decided to propose while I was studying as I figured it would be difficult to make any proposal a surprise once I started working. I would highly not recommend anyone proposing during their academic semester especially if their course is challenging and time-consuming. I was so occupied by schoolwork that I didn’t internalise the fact that I would be proposing until I was bringing her to the proposal site itself, and that’s when the anxiety hit me. I had completely forgotten what I wrote in my very short speech that I prepared the day before. That being said, it was a good day.

May - August

I finally graduated from NUS. Almost immediately I started house hunting with Sophia, and I must say, the property market itself is a rabbit hole. There are several factors you have to take note of if you want to properly select a house, and it’s difficult to balance between choosing a house to live in and ensuring that it has some resale potential. Even though it was stressful, I thought it was interesting to see how Singapore manages the market for HDB flats. Within 2 months, we found a flat we liked. At the same time, we were looking at wedding venues.

I also started my first job in May. However, 1 week into the job, I realised there were far too many red flags for me to ignore. I made the bold (but stressful) decision to quit and look for another job elsewhere, despite the fact that we were in the midst of our resale HDB application. Unfortunately, it did not reflect well on the department that a new-joiner was leaving so soon, and it made the resignation process unpleasant.

August - December

This was the most dizzying period for me. I started my new job at GovTech, Sophia and I finalised our wedding venue, and we finalised an interior designer for our house renovation. I don’t think I’ve fully processed all that has happened since.

Looking Ahead in 2022

Paul Graham wrote an insightful article aptly titled “Life is Short” here.

There is a quote that strongly resonates with me, and that is:

When I ask myself what I've found life is too short for, the word that pops into my head is "bullshit.”

2022 will no doubt be another year full of twists and turns. Looking back on 2021, I’ve learned a great deal from the stressful periods, and I’ve also learned to be thankful for all that I have. I think it’s easy to lose yourself in this adulting process, but we may never go through some of these experiences in the same way again. I think it pays to not get caught up in pointless situations, to learn how to enjoy the sometimes stressful periods, and to be open to new things. Paul Graham succinctly expresses this idea in his closing paragraph:

Relentlessly prune bullshit, don't wait to do things that matter, and savor the time you have. That's what you do when life is short.

Don’t wait to do things that matter.