So I may be a little late to the blogging game. Tried it once, decided it wasn't for me and dropped it for what could be a decade. Only to pick it up again now. Why?
I've always been one to write down my thoughts - from the days of writing diaries back in primary school, to later digitising it. It was generally more personal reflections. Private. Nothing that I wanted to share with the public. Or nothing I thought would be very interesting for anyone else to read. Introverted, uninteresting, insignificant me.
Living in your 20s can be quite a tumultuous time in your life. You're no longer a kid so you can't use that as an excuse anymore. You're learning to adult and taking on so many responsibilities. Whilst at the time, trying to live up to society's/your parents/your own expectations of what you should be, should own, should have experienced and achieved by X, Y, Z.
“The decisions you make in your 20’s will dictate the rest of your life. ”
Your 20's is such a crucial part of your adult development. The choices that you make have significant impact on where your life will lead you.
Do you hustle hard to climb that ladder to make that $$, only to sacrifice living out your youth? Your health? Your well being? Study hard they said, get into uni, get a good job, get paid well and you will be successful in life. That was what we were taught growing up if you had Asian parents.
Do you travel or work abroad? Go "find yourself" and explore what the world has to offer. The world is your oyster! But, risk stability if you're not focussing on setting yourself up for the future.
At the same time, you also need to find yourself a partner so you can get married, have kids and settle down before your body clock stops ticking.
The quarter life crisis is real.
If we're looking at Gen Y and the millennial age group being 1981 - 1996, I would consider myself a mid millennial. The dot-com boom, the Y2K, 9/11, the GFC, the revolving doors of prime ministers. These were the key events of my generation growing up.
A 90s kid, with Sailor Moon, Pokemon, Hey Arnold, and Captain Planet. We had the Nintendos hooked up to the CRT TVs, the Tamagotchis, the dual cassette tape recorders and if you were Asian, the red car videotape rewinders. Be kind, rewind!
I distinctly remember the sound of the internet, a time before social media and being constantly connected. I had to go to the library and did research through physical encyclopaedias and wrote my projects by hand because we didn't have a printer.
So back to the question of why.
Now that I've hit my 30s, I don't know what it was, but something has just clicked. All the things I stressed about over the past decade no longer mattered.
It could be the fact that I managed to somehow balance all of the above and generally was not too affected by the quarter-life milestone. I started out ambitious and worked hard, earned enough to travel overseas nearly every year, and yet pragmatic enough to still save up for a deposit to buy my own home and afford to get married.
It could be the fact that I am no longer "wound up like a spring", as my husband once described me, and have learnt "The Subtle Art of Not Giving a F*ck".
Or, it could be that I have now given myself more time to explore new interests in self-help, self-love, minimalism, yoga and mindfulness and experiment with my creativity. Given myself permission to slow down, be in the moment and find enjoyment in the little things.
Relaxation at Onsen Hot Pools, Queenstown, NZ
Whatever it was, I can truly say that I have learnt to be happier and more content with where I am and who I have become. Be it my humble upbringing, growing up in the southwest with refugee parents, or simply the decisions that I have made to get me to this point. I reflect on my younger friends and family who are facing their own quarter-life struggles and though we may be of the same generation, the cultural landscape we grew up in feels worlds apart.
I write this blog as a creative space to find my voice and share my journey, my inspirations, my musings and advice. Maybe my narrative and learnings could be relatable or inspire someone else.
This is the world through the lens of my eyes.
This is a Somplified life.
