Happy New Year 2020 (and new decade!)

Hello, all!

The new year has arrived, and so has a new decade. We’ve officially left the 2010’s and now entering the 2020’s, which is unbelievable. It seemed just yesterday that it was still 2015, and it boggles my mind just how much time has flown from year to year, down to the seconds.

A lot has happened in this past year, not to forget in this past decade. I plan to make separate posts for both the year and the decade, so expect them to be up within the next couple of weeks. In general, though, I’ll say that 2019 itself has been one of the toughest years I’ve had since 2013– lots of good and bad times in those 12 months, and I’ll describe them in further detail later down the line.

As for the decade, it’s been a huge learning process for me. I was 17 when 2010 came, and I closed out 2019 in my mid-twenties. Similarly, lots of good and bad things happened over the 10 years, but they’ve ultimately changed me into a person whom, while I would still recognize as a teenager, I would be proud of to say is more self-assured, independent, and wiser overall. There’s still a lot of room for improvement, though, and I plan to continue developing throughout the rest of my twenties and into my thirties.

I’m spending my New Year home with family, just as I’d done with Christmas and last year around this time. Los Angeles is chilly most of these days, somewhere between 10 and 14°C (50-58°F), and with the occasional rain. Otherwise, there are clear, sunny skies for a pleasant stroll outside, along with cozy moments at home with company and tea. Despite the busy days at work, I’m always happy to find free time to relax in my house and the occasional outings with friends.

The 2020’s seem daunting to me, as I have little idea of what to expect for these next 10 years. But I predict that it’ll be very much about work, as I’m in the process of establishing a stable, full-time career after spending the 2010’s either freelancing or with contractual/part-time jobs. I’d spent a good chunk of the past decade bouncing between France and the US, and now that I’m back in the latter seemingly for good, I plan to establish roots back in my hometown of Los Angeles.

My goals (or “resolutions,” as you can say) for 2020 are to balance work with rent, gas, and savings, all the while keeping up with my family and friend commitments and trying new things that have originally scared me. I want to learn how to rock-climb, as well as to drive the freeway (so far, I’ve just been doing local). I want to take a chance and try dating, which up until now, I hadn’t been actively seeking– intimate as it sounds, I hope to find someone, even if it’ll take some time!

Although it has been a challenging year, I know that I’ve become stronger thanks to the adversaries I faced. That said, I am looking forward to what 2020 has to bring, along with the years following that. Hopefully, there’s more travel on the horizon, and I’ll keep you updated with what happens throughout it all.

Thanks for reading, and I wish you a wonderful New Year! 😀

— Rebecca