Okay, it's finally time to set new resolutions for the new year ahead. After a review of 2013, I realised I achieved pretty much, and had a lot of new experiences! :) So here are my resolutions for 2014 to make sure that it's going to be a more enriching and fulfilling year! And, there has been so many 1314 (一生一世, which means forever) messages, so I hope that the resolutions I set for myself this year are also going to be my resolutions for life.
I resolve:
1. To be vegetarian
2. To keep pushing my limits & stepping out of my comfort zone
3. To try something new, learn a new skill as often as I can
4. To always do good things and say nice things :)
5. To spend more time with my loved ones and be more appreciative
6. To work out regularly and stay fit & healthy
7. To be happy and positive :)
1. To be vegetarian
This has been something I wanted to do since 2010. I made that decision after I read a booklet by some NGO which was sent to my house. It was about how cruel it is to kill animals as well as the benefits of being vegetarian, especially environmental benefits! (I shall go into that another time ^^) So I became vegetarian for a month then. However, my parents felt that I wasn't ready because I'm still growing and need a balanced diet and enough nutrients. Fair enough, so I decided to become vegetarian only when I become 20. (Thats when we stop growing right?)
You may realise that I'm not 20 yet, so why the decision to start now? During my trip to Bhutan, I realised that many people there were vegetarian for religious reasons (FYI, my reason is non-religious) So, all the meals we had there were 4 veg 1 meat and I felt it wasn't that hard to abstain from meat since there were so much delicious vegetables to eat! HAHAH! So from day 2 onwards, I started to eat only vegetables! :) Also, in Bhutan, it is against the law to kill animals there, and there were dogs, cows, goats, yaks all freely roaming by the road side and it was just so hard to imagine that I'm eating them the next moment. So yeah, no more meat for me forever. (OMG, its going to be so hard sigh. but yeah this is my resolution.)
{Just a side note, after my decision to be vegetarian, there were still people who asked me to eat meat etc. when I dine with them. Please respect my decision and know that it isn't as easy as it seems to quit meat overnight. SO stop trying to ask me to eat, or even making use of the fact that I hate to waste food to force me yeah. I know that they don't mean any harm but just try and help me stick to my decisions. :) Thank you. }
“If slaughterhouses had glass walls, everyone would be a vegetarian.” ― Paul McCartney
2. To keep pushing my limits & stepping out of my comfort zone
If you know me personally, you'll know I am an introvert and I hate attention omg. That's why SMU's 20% Class Participation marks are not in my favour. Sigh, for my Technology & World Change module in Semester 1, I only got a C for class participation. So yeah, I will really need to start speaking up more. I hope that by the end of the year, or hopefully by the end of Semester 2, speaking up and voicing my opinion in class would be a natural for me :)
Apart from class participation, I hope to be able to be more determined in face of challenges and push myself because I know I can do better. I was telling some of my friends, since we've already decided on this path, then we have to accept whatever challenges we might face along the way. :) I hope to have better time management in 2014 and maximise my time to be as efficient as possible!
“Do not pray for an easy life, pray for the strength to endure a difficult one” - Bruce Lee
3. To try something new, learn a new skill as often as I can
In 2013, I gained a great deal of knowledge and experience but I guess I didn't make full use of the break I had to learn a new skill. So in 2014, I hope to be able to pick up new skills! And I'm finally going to put my heart into taking up driving lessons. Sigh, dreading it, but I know if I keep procrastinating it will never happen. SO, I'm going to have my very first driving lesson next _____ And I'll be learning manual driving since I'm going to take private lessons cause they're so much cheaper! Hahah!
I also hope I'll be able to grasp the opportunities if they come by to learn other new stuff and try new things! Perhaps a new instrument or a new sport! :)
"You learn something every day, if you pay attention." - Ray LeBlond
4. To always do good things and say nice things :)
I always believe that it is a privilege to be able to share happiness and give away to those who are less fortunate. I feel that I am extremely lucky to be able to have a great family, close friends and a good life where I don't have to worry about food, health or money. Thus, I want to make it a point to do more community service and help other in ways that I can. I may not be able to help a lot of people but I will keep contributing back even if I'm only able to make a difference to one person. I will make a difference to one person at a time :)
During the recent interaction session with a few kids with down syndrome, I initially found it extremely hard to get their attention and help them to focus on the task. However, after much patience and persistence to help the boy, he eventually listened and he loved the christmas tree card we made with him. At the start he was just throwing colour pencils around and making a lot of noise, but at the end, he was just smiling happily at his christmas tree and kept repeating "nice nice" when we asked if he liked the card! Super happy to see the joy in people who I help! :)
In 2014, I'm going to start on a new community service project called Sunday Play @ Sunbeam where I'll get to interact with little kids by reading to them and teaching them art & craft! Can't wait to have fun with these kids!! :) I am also planning to join the overseas community service project that Isaac is organising! If time permits, I'll probably join another school organised OCSP at the end of the year!! :) Excited to make a bigger and more positive difference in 2014!
"We can do no great things, only small things with great love." - Mother Teresa
5. To spend more time with my loved ones and be more appreciative
In the past, when I was still a kid my family used to go for outings on weekends to places like the museum, library, shopping centres, zoo, beach and watch movies together. However, as the years went by, it just seemed like everyone has so much work to do that we don't spend much time together anymore. We always say "but we don't have time!" "There's too much work, can't finish still go out?!" "Also no special occasion, what for go out?" Sigh. But everyone has the same amount of time, eventually it boils down to time management and making the effort.
I learnt this from FFFC, Chek's secondary school group of friends. They have been meeting every single friday night after secondary school and lots of other meetings to gym, movie or just hang out for lunch together! Everyone is busy with their own lives yet still puts in the effort to meet up because they all treasure the friendship. So I've learnt that it is possible as long as all parties are willing to make the effort. :) So I'm going to put in more effort, manage my time better to make more time for my family, close friends and chek! :)
“To get the full value of joy you must have someone to divide it with.” ― Mark Twain
6. To work out regularly & Stay fit and healthy
Okay, most might not know but in primary school I WAS SUPER FAT hahah and was once in TAF club because I was overweight. (That's because I love the chicken rice chilli so I ate chicken rice almost every single day! haha!) In secondary school, I was lucky because my school had mass run and mass dance every week which gave me a bit of exercise and after controlling my diet I slimmed down quite a bit. In Junior College, I finally decided that I need to get proper exercise and joined Floorball. That was when I started to take exercise seriously.
I am still playing floor ball now and I try to go running regularly when I can to make sure I stay fit. It really feels so much better when I'm working out and putting in the time and effort to make keep my own body and health in check :) Oh and eating lots of fruits and vegetables also help in keeping fit! So, everyone start eating vegetables and less meat! :) Staying fit and healthy really makes me feel so much better and good about myself. :) So go work out and stay fit everyone! :)
"I don't work out because I hate my body. I work out because I love it."
7. To be happy and positive :)
My favourite flower is the Sunflower because a sunflower is so powerful! Why do I say so? It's because a sunflower always turns to face the sunlight! In life, we should be like the sunflower, turn away from darkness and negativity and face the positive and happy sunshine! :)
Ultimately, life will always throw lots of challenges at us. Since they are inevitable, so we have to think positive and stay happy. That will help us get through all the difficulties~ Nothing is too difficult to overcome. :) If you ask me what I wanna be when I grow up, I guess I'll have the same answer as John Lennon :)
“When I was 5 years old, my mother always told me that happiness was the key to life. When I went to school, they asked me what I wanted to be when I grew up. I wrote down ‘happy’. They told me I didn’t understand the assignment, and I told them they didn’t understand life.” ― John Lennon
HAPPY 2014, wishing everyone good health and an even more fulfilling year ahead! :)
