Much of 2014 was spent as a recluse, furiously scribbling away on a notepad and typing out essays and reports for my final year in uni, emerging only for the promise of food that never fails to lure me out of my little self-created hellhole.
But that aside, 2014 has been pretty pivotal. Despite me still not being able to curb my ASOS tendencies, I've survived the fashion and beauty year, having successfully conquered my fear of pants and midi skirts, found my godsend hair curler, won over a thousand dollars of YSL products, started worshipping the aeropress, stopped having my coffee with milk, become an Aesop convert and gone down the slippery slope of being a blush junkie in the making. All that and I've emerged with a degree in procrastination to boot. My family and friends have all played an irreplaceable part in my journey, and I would I am today without you. Thank you, a thousand times over.
And this blogpost to round up the year would not be complete without a paragraph as tribute to Lily, my friend, without whom this blog would just be sad. This little 4'11 package of wonderful has been the most patient photographer, putting up with my nonsense like asking her to take the same photo 20 times, or me bugging her to go on shoots. But more than that, she's literally my spiritual twin - we correctly guess each other's gifts without opening the wrapping and pick out the same items from a store without knowing it. I also don't think I'll find another person who will dress up to the nines in 20's gear for a swing dance party with me, or understand the importance of setting a leaving time - so we can get ready an hour in advance. As we bid adieu to 2014, I also bid a 6-month long goodbye to her as she ventures into the city that never sleeps for exchange (in which I hope my blog will not be as barren as I fear) - please return with 10 servings of Chipotle for me.
Blogging wise - I've always thought the hardest part about maintaining a blog is trying to start posts. Getting my writing engine going is an excruciating hour long affair of staring at a blank screen, typing a sentence, deleting it, and rewriting it. This one was certainly no exception. And in the end, Surprisingly enough, I almost always go back to the sentence with which I first began.
This year was pretty much like writing a blogpost. New Year's Eve saw me lying in bed in my slob clothes and hair in a topknot as I looked on everyone prepping for their parties on Instagram. I came to the small realization that this is me coming full circle. Not sure if it's inspirational or sad that I think lying in bed on New Year's Eve is coming full circle, but I realized that these new year traditions like making resolutions exist only because we put them in place. So here's my resolution for 2015: It doesn't need to be New Year's Day for me to make a resolution. Each day is 24 hours, just like the last, equally fresh and new. So don't wait for the new year. Carpe diem - seize the day, the minute, the second, for every little division of time, no matter how infinitely small, is a chance for me to become a better version of myself.
Happy New Year, everyone, I wish you love and light in 2015.
Photography by Lily Chen.
- R
