Lovesong

Hiya! :)

It's only a matter of 5 hours or less before it reaches the New Year - 2012 - and gone, another year from our lives. It suddenly dawned on everyone that it is the end of something and the beginning of another. Everyone's making resolutions again and listing how grateful/how much they are relieved that the year of 2011 is finally coming to an end. I was looking through my blog archive and realized almost every year, I will write something about the end of the year, even though, in reality, I barely celebrate this significant date - 31st December.

So, here I am, trying to keep up with my so-called tradition of writing a post at the end of the year whilst listening to the amazing Adele and wondering why am I sitting alone in front of a PC when everyone else is partying/celebrating. Lol.

So... without further ado, here's the list of things about the year of 2011, which to me (right now) are some of the highlights:

1. In some ways, my year sort of started off with a relatively large event which I was lucky to be a part of - Notts Charity Carnival 2011. Though throughout the few months I was jittery, stressed, having quite frequent breakdowns, but every time I look back, I always find myself happy and proud that I get to contribute as much as I could in such a project. :)

2. Parting with Smita. It was difficult because she was not only a good friend but someone whom I could really count on. Though it was only 1 year, I am glad I get to meet her, know her, and share some awesome memories together. :) It was hard when someone that awesome leaves and for some time I was pretty lost in my own insanity.

3. Photography. The year of 2011, to me is one of the busiest year I had with photography. I had numerous opportunities to photograph various events or just random outings. Every time I recall when I first got a digital camera in 2007, then a DSLR in 2009, then an additional lens in 2011, it amazes me how it all started and how much I fell in love with photography. It's like one step closer to my directing dream and it also opens up my eyes to how complicated photography really is, yet how a click on a button could capture a moment forever. So, I'm really grateful that my dad pushed me into it and I'm really thankful for all those opportunities this year. :)

Meeting Gurmit Singh! :P

4. Pouya. First as my boss, then as an awesome awesome friend. :) Great with advise, jokes, hugs, jiggling when you poke, smiles, positivity, stories, and many many more. Another friendship which started late and we parted our ways early but I hope with the power of the interweb and technology, we will be able to keep in touch. Thank you. :)

5. Flying in a small plane around KL. My first time on a small plane for maximum 4 people. It was crazy! A tad bit claustrophobic-feel after a while but it was a whole new experience to see KL view from the top. And to photograph from the plane is a whole other thing. Sticking your camera out, feels as if you're gonna drop it any second because of the strong gust of wind throughout the flight. But ultimately, it was amazing! :)

6. Went to my sort of first graduation ball this year. Had the chance to experience a posh dinner with a whole group of people of my age in fancy gowns and suits. It was great to be able to photograph some moments of it too whilst wearing a dress. Lol.

7. My first time to Pangkor Island. Though it was a day trip but it was fun to go with my dad, riding around an old motorcycle around the island as I soaked in the true beauty of the island from the beaches to the lifestyle to the people to the smell of the salty sea. :)

8. Taiwan. The land where everyone speaks Mandarin and Hokkien. It was my first time travelling alone to a whole new country where half the time I was lost in translation. Lol. As much as I thought it'll be not that great and the fact that I didn't know much bout the country didn't help, but in the end, I found myself at awe of the country and culture. From the architecture, to the history, to the nature, to the people, to the night markets, to the food, and much much more. It was an experience I don't really know how to put into words. Once again, I'm so glad that my dad allowed me to do this, funding me to go and pushing me to be more independent. Taiwan is truly an amazing place.

9. Death. Cancer. Not the horoscope, but the disease. For the first time I get to encounter a person whom I know personally who had to battle with this disease. The transition of a very healthy and strong person to someone who was constantly tired, weak and yet still fighting for her life. It's eerie and it's scary to see it for myself, but all I can say is that we, humans, or at least I, take a lot of things in this world for granted, especially with our lives. There are times where things will just happen and all you could do is think why did I not do this before?

10. My first encounter of the lunar eclipse. One word to describe it all: Wow! :)

11. Psychology. As it is the final year of my undergraduate studies in Psychology. It is time again for me to decide what I would do with this degree. Whether I would like to move on with it and further my studies in this field, or whether I would divert away from it and go on and work in a whole other field. But as time goes, I realized it is insane to feel like I have learned nothing more about Psych and yet I've learned so much about it since my first class till now. In some ways I think it's a good thing I've stumbled across it, and in some ways I think I've manage to find another field I am sort of passionate about. But how true is this? For whatever it's worth, I'm happy that I've got to explore such a vast and complex field of study.

12. Pets. For the first time, there's 2 more addition to my family and that is our pet dogs. After 21 years, there are dogs in the household. And I love them! :D

13. ACE Society. One of the only clubs which truly changed my life. I joined it because of a friend and the only way I ended up at the meeting is because of photography and also because it's charity. For so many years, I've been a pretty dormant student and for once I was involved with so many clubs and societies and this is the one that really impacted me. Not only did I get to photograph many events, but I was given the chance to design posters, head a project and now lead a committee. It's strange and it's still daunting to be the head of something and I am still very bad at it and am still learning. Nonetheless, it has been an insane and unpredictable year with this society. And all I can hope for is that it'll work out well in the end and to try to make a difference in this world, no matter how small it is. :)

14. Important people in my life. From my family to some of my friends. I truly truly could not explain or describe how much my life would be different without them. Family is one, my parents especially, without them, I wouldn't be here, I wouldn't even get to do any of the things listed above. My siblings, without them, I would never have understood the importance of being a kid, the reason why we wanted to be an adult when we were kids, and sibling love. Friends... well friends is not exactly the word to describe these people. They are not just friends. They are more than that. GH, though we're in the same university and we're only 10 minutes away from each other, we barely spent as much time as we used to and every time I thought of that I get really sad. But I do believe that because of our history and all that we've been through, we both understand why we're so close yet so far from each other, yet we're still the closest friends as we were before. The only thing I could wish for is to spend more time with you before it's too late. AA, you know who you are. Words in the human language could not describe how important you are to me. And without you I don't really know what would have happened. You are the pillar of strength for me. :)

For now, that is all I could think of from my box of memories. 2011 had/has been great. I've learned more than I ever could in a year and I'm grateful for all the little little things that happened, from a shooting star, to bowling, to microwave popcorn. I just hope more of these amazing opportunities and experiences could come in the year 2012 and that I would be able to handle them. :)

Happy New Year everyone!

See you guys next year!
Keep the Faith.
x
Platypus.

P.S.: New Layout and blog title for the new year. :P This time, the blog title and various other titles on the blog are from Bright Eyes' First Day of My Life song. :)