Reflections on 2024
At the beginning of the year, I wrote about what I was hoping for in 2024—quantum leaping. Specifically, I wrote: “I want to end the year thinking: I can’t believe this is my life.” Well, we’re almost at the end of 2024 and in some ways, “I can’t quite believe this is my life!” and in other ways, “I can’t quite believe this is my life?” While at first glance, it feels like much hasn’t changed this year, I think it’s because a lot of the change has been internal, rather than external.
Overall, I feel pretty good mentally and physically. My mental health is probably the best it has been in my entire adult life. I no longer feel like I am fighting with myself and life. I no longer struggle with anxiety and depression. I feel like I am starting to accept and even celebrate myself for who I am. I am more open, patient and calm. People in my life have told me repeatedly that I seem more relaxed and peaceful. It’s because I am! I am returning to my true essence.
On the work front, I have been away from corporate life for 2.5 years. Though I do have my moments of doubt, I have largely de-coupled my sense of self worth and identify from work—while still making a comfortable living. Sometimes, I forget how much has changed in such a short time and find myself being impatient with the new normal. But, it was only nine months ago that I actually pulled the trigger on pursuing trading and investing and to give up returning to a full-time, W-2 job.
While I’m very much doing things I was previously doing—trading, investing, and consulting for startups, I don’t think I quite expected things to be the mix that I am currently pursuing. While there are moments if I wonder if I should be trying to make more by going back to the corporate world, the trade-offs from a mental health and lifestyle perspective would not be worth it. I also had to reckon with the fact that I am not cut out for corporate and that it’s hard to do well—in any sense of the word—when you’re in the wrong environment. For that reason alone, I know that this choice will be the right one in the long term. Financially, I think this will open up doors and opportunities that I wouldn’t have been able to conceive of and I’m expecting in the next three to five years, my income will be double or triple what it would’ve been had I decided to go back to a full-time W2 role.
Some highlights from 2024:
Listened to myself and decided to take the road less traveled when it comes to work. This came from a place of values alignment and deep trust in myself to figure things out. Letting go of control is both scary and awesome!
Spent a lot of time in creative pursuit with pottery. I built some truly beautiful pieces I’m proud of and more importantly, fell in love with the act of creating and spent a lot of time in the flow state.
Spent a lot of time with my parents. Living at home has been one of the best parts I never expected to have in my 30s. From small everyday activities like going out to eat or more memorable ones like watching the solar eclipse together, it’s been a blast.
Became a millionaire (again!) and surpassed my investment goals for the year.
Contributed to my local and global community through volunteering and donations. I successfully led the planning efforts for a nonprofit benefit that raised double what any single fundraiser previously netted.
Got to see ATEEZ and Woosung perform live—an absolute dream!
Went to Korea with my mom and sister and spent close to 3 months in Korea…building towards my dream of spending 1/3 of the year there every year!
Some things I wish I could have done better at and want to incorporate into next year:
I was hoping to lose the ever elusive 10 lbs but instead have gained ~5 lbs. I have been pretty good about consistently exercising and this is likely needing to clean up my diet. That said, I am back at the weight that I was in 2018 when I was in my mid-20s, having shed 20+ lbs during my sabbatical, so rather than focusing on weight loss next year, I’m thinking about it more as being more consistent with a healthy and nourishing diet. Lastly, though I am in good health overall, I do have some chronic issues that I would like to get to better manage. I have started taking some additional supplements just this past week and have scheduled a doctor’s appointment next month.
Made zero progress with dating. I did not go on a single date in 2024—yikes! Hard to meet your future husband if you’re not going on dates. I need to reflect on creative ways to meet people because the status quo of dating apps has proved to be a bad strategy. On a related note, my social life has been very dead. Between my best friends from college living in different countries and many of my local friends having moved away, I have spent less time with friends. While I do get a good amount of social interaction through my volunteer community, I am rolling off one of the boards at the end of this year and will need to find new ways to build connections. This also partially has to do with how much has changed in my life and feeling less drawn to the people that used to be in my life.
I spent way too much attached to screens this past year. While it’s hard not to be glued to a laptop or phone when all your work happens through these mediums, I definitely want to think about ways to reduce online dependency and more importantly spending time outside.
All in all, 2024 has been a good year albeit less exciting and dramatic than I was hoping. Then again, I’ve had very dramatic and chaotic years that ended up being a bad time. Looking back, I think the word that best sums up my year is grounding. This is the word that ChatGPT came up with it when I shared the above post. Here’s what it came up with: “Your year seems to have been a period of anchoring yourself in deeper self-awareness, stability, and alignment with your values. While there wasn’t the dramatic external leap you may have envisioned, the internal shifts—like cultivating peace, creativity, and meaningful relationships—laid a solid foundation for future growth. It's a year of planting seeds and trusting in their eventual bloom.” Ironic that I used AI to come up with a theme related to self-awareness, but all the same, I do think it is fitting. I love the idea of planting seeds and tending a garden that is not yet fully visible but you know one day will be. I can’t wait to see what the garden will yield next year and beyond.