The Year In Perspective

Some say hindsight is always better, I say, it is only one of the many perspectives. Nevertheless, as the new year unfolds let me pause for a minute or two to reflect on the ups and downs of the year that passed and another minute to broadly set what I want to achieve this year. 2013 has been good. It was full of excitement, adventures, new things, and loves. I advanced in my career and that is always good as it is another step to what I love which is history and teaching. I received excellent feedbacks from my students and I learned a lot from my encounters with them. I managed to solidify what I eventually want to be my niche in the field of Souheast Asian history. I got to meet esteemed scholars who in one way or another helped my put a better frame to my research. This year, I became more involved in the realm of academia - this is the world I want to be, in this world I am most happy and challenged at the same time. 2013 also brought me to various places from Las Vegas, Tokyo, Hong Kong, and Kamakura. Living alone was freedom. I needed that. It was also lonely from time to time, but knowing getting to know new friends made me less sad. For that, I am grateful. I changed physically and mentally. I found a new love, nay obsession, in gym. I went back to dancing and yoga after being motionless for a long time. It is always good to find things that can give you a refreshing feeling and enthusiasm about life. I found a thing or two last year. I would like to think that I became a better person...not perfect, because I still am impatient and cranky all the time, but relatively better and more equipped in life. Having been exposed to great things and great people, I am enriched.

So, I brave this new year with positivity, good energy, and hope. I cannot wait to see what this year will offer. I cannot wait to be challenged, stimulated, and dared. I am ready. This year, I shall conquer more things and I shall not falter. I will not be put down. I will rise and rise even more. But really my hopes are simple, I need a full draft of my dissertation, two maybe three conferences abroad, and a time for leisure and vacations. Mostly, I need this year to lead me to a more stable heart...a heart that is tough and a heart that cannot be easily broken. Nevertheless, I am ready. So, 2014, bring it on.