How do I describe 2019?

Short? Long? The end of a short decade? Long decade? My year of rebellion?

I started the 2010’s in school. I had just begun my second semester in college and I remember thinking, Will this ever end?

Leap forward three years later, I was working three jobs, going to school part-time, and starting my first blog. Another three years later, I was finally done with school and packing for my 4-months-long trip to China.

Now, less than 2 days from 2020, I am working busily at a job I enjoy, I don’t have to worry about tests and homework and rushing from lecture to lecture. I would say a lot has changed for me in the last 10 years and I have no doubt a lot more changes will come in 2020.

Hoover Dam

So how was my 2019?

In a way, 2019 began the same way as all the other years in the last decade. It began with me setting goals for myself. I do this every year because without goals, I have nowhere to aim and often, I aim for change. Every little change in my life counts because changes make life a little less monotonous.

In 2019, I gave myself a goal to get my BMI (Body-Mass-Index) to below 25 because above 25 is overweight which I have been for the last 10 years. It’s been my goal for years because being overweight had presented me with a wide array of health problems – one of them being my crazy emotional thyroid.

I began an intermittent fasting regimen at the end of 2018. At the beginning of 2019, I bounced in and out of that regimen. Consequently, my weight did the same thing. I didn’t really get into intermittent fasting until May and once I got started, I watched my weight drop – 1 pound, 2 pounds – and by July, my BMI was below 25 for the first time in years. I continued my fasting regimen and watched my weight drop even more. I dropped 2 waist sizes and suddenly could wear the clothes I never thought I could wear. I was thrilled because losing weight has been hard for me for years.

Unfortunately, my family wasn’t too thrill. They criticized me that not eating wasn’t the solution to losing weight. I tried explaining to them I’m not starving myself, I’m simply not eating 3 meals a day because I’m not hungry. For a time, they forced me to eat, piling food on my plate whenever we ate together. I was so angry at them for doing so but eventually they stopped and accepted my choice to fast intermittently.

2019 was definitely a year of change. I no longer wear my hair in a ponytail. I made the decision to cut my hair into a short hairdo. The hair-stylist was quite nervous. She said, “If I make the first cut, there’s not going back.” I was nervous myself too as I haven’t worn my hair short since my middle school days but hair is hair, it’ll grow back. I haven’t regretted going short once.

2019 was not a year of hiking. The weather had been awful from a wet spring to cloudy days during summer. It was snowing and cold in Yellowstone early July. I’ve been on only 4 hikes in 2019.

I would say I did okay in terms of traveling and visiting new places in 2019. I went to California, Las Vegas, and Antelope Canyon in June, Yellowstone in July, and Moab, Utah in October. None of those places were new to me except Antelope Canyon but it was nice to visit new places in California even after living there for 4 years.

Antelope Canyon, Page, AZ

One thing 2019 did not fall short on was memorable events. There were quite a few of those like I finally got my first-ever smartphone which takes got pictures. The picture at the top was taken with my phone.

2 of the memorable events came from my road trip in June. I won over $1000 playing the slot machine in Las Vegas, I booked a standard room and got a super large suite.

Another memorable event has to be my high school reunion. Even though it was disappointing, in a way, it was memorable in other ways.

The final 2 memorable events of 2019 occurred in the last month – I bought my very own DSLR camera and a new stove for my home. I had to retire my aunt’s mirrorless camera. Something got on the camera’s sensor, I tried to clean it as well as took it to a professional camera shop to have the sensor cleaned but it was to no avail. I’m looking forward to shooting many amazing pictures with my new camera.

Well, here it is, a wrap on 2019 and an end to a decade. Hopefully the next year and decade will be better.