9 Highlights of 2021

2021… to quote J-Hope of BTS: “It was so hard but I had fun and I was happy.” Won’t get into the terrible and heavy moments as I’m sure we’ve all endured this past year. Instead, I’m thankful for loved ones who are the brightness and salve through these ups and downs.

Here is a little bit more detail on each photo:

1. My sourdough adventure was a fun hobby to dive into while I worked from home for the earlier part the year.
2. First day back to in-person education in the Spring of 2021. I started the year with what was supposed to be the first post of a series about my professional journey in education, but there are so many reasons I haven’t been able to continue that series yet…
3. My family live in Hong Kong and I haven’t been able to see them for a couple years. Once my dad got vaccinated, he came here to visit and it’s been truly healing to spend time and hangout with him.
4. Once Husband and I were both fully vaccinated, we got to travel. We decided to keep it close to reduce time on the plane and pick a mostly outdoor location just to be cautious, so we explored the Redwood Forests, which I’ve always wanted to do!
5. One of the highlights of the year was celebrating Miguel’s milestone birthday with family and friends in Las Vegas! Nothing like seeing someone you love being loved on by loved ones. 🙂
6. I’ve always known this but the past decade has really reaffirmed that quality connections and true friendships are the only ways to get through life.
7. We went to 88 Rising Head in the Clouds music festival and saw a bunch of talented Asian artists perform. I listened to a lot of Cantopop, J-Pop, K-Pop, etc. growing up, though I didn’t know of many Asian American artists, so it was incredible to be at a music festival purely devoted to that. What a time to be alive!
8. The most epic life-changing concert ever was seeing BTS with my ARMY bestie! We both became fans in 2019, got front row (sob) tickets to multiple Map of the Soul shows in 2020, which were cancelled… so it was amazing to finally see them live in 2021.
9. After seeing my favorite artist, I accompanied Hubs to see his favorite in concert. Kanye and Drake at one show was pretty legendary!

So yeah… just seeing nine of these photos makes me smile and grateful there were so many warm times this past year as well. Maybe the thrill of being human is the ability to still look forward despite it all. Onward to 2022!