This time ten years ago, I was preparing to leave for my tuition-free semester abroad at the University of Pennsylvania in Philidelphia. I was so excited and full of hope. Now, I'm in Amsterdam, doing data analysis for Doctors without Borders with my freshly signed permanent contract, amazed at how I got here. Wild.
In that time, I:
- graduated with a Bachelor of Arts (Honours) in Journalism, Film, and Media, which was later upgraded to a Master of Science (Research) in Communication Science
- moved back to and promptly left Brunei
- travelled to a bunch of new places in 15 countries (the US, Germany, France, Spain, Belgium, Norway, Italy, Portugal, Czech Republic, the Netherlands, Canada, Russia, Mongolia, China, Iceland, Australia)
- kicked off my career with my first three 'proper' jobs as a Writer, then Brand & Crossmedia Data Scienctist, and now Marketing Data Analyst
- negotiated a salary increase after discovering I was being underpaid :o
- started being more active, beginning with running, and then I joined a gym and now I'm more into spinning and weight training with random pilates and yoga sessions every now and then
- somehow completed a full marathon (ya, 42.2km, took me nearly 5 hours, never again)
- learned Dutch (hoi, ik ben Sue-Anne) at the expense of my Malay (apa khabar?)
- gained two willful nephews and one feisty niece, and three times as much love as I had before
- had a few life-changing epiphanies, including realising that marriage and children are not for me, and affectionately watched four of my best friends tie the knot (two of them are mothers now!) <3
- had my heart broken and mended and broken and mended
- tried some of the tolerated soft substances available in the Netherlands and vomited them out more than once
- been in a couple of failed relationships, but more notably, fell in love and moved in with my liefje :)
- was sexually assaulted by a colleague and, against all my anxieties, actually found the guts to speak out against it (he and the company "mutually decided" it was best if he no longer worked there)
- survived my dad getting and surviving colon cancer that also spread to his brain
- was humbled by my sister and all the strength and courage she found inside herself to take some difficult but necessary steps
- discovered that my goals in life involve helping others, and got my dream job at an amazing non-profit humanitarian organisation while starting to volunteer at a homeless shelter
- decided I wanted to write a book and then did not do it while simultaneously feeling bad about not doing it
- drank too much alcohol probably
- wanted to be a better person but am not sure if I was successful
- learned how to open up and made some friends
- finally understood what a hero my mum is
Good luck with the new year, everyone!
