Ever since I’ve noticed the impact of change, I’ve been telling myself that change must happen every year, no matter how minor they are. That’s why I started 2014 with this blog, wanting to keep track of the pivot points.
Clearly, I failed.
Better late than never, they say. So here’s a short recap of my 2014.
I got my first full-time permanent job offer and quit.
After graduation, and a year-long full-time internship, I was super duper fortunate to land a position one month after returning to Seattle. It was a new role and a new industry, exactly what I was looking for. In the pond, I met Felix the mascot and learned how to work with other fishies. I took on more responsibilities and befriended the marketing team. I giggle at all the pranks in the office and snacked on unlimited Pepperidge Farm Goldfish. I attended the coolest jungle-themed annual company party ever, involving red people swallow fire, some reptiles, face paint, and a limo home. Good times. But then I had to quit half a year later to embark on another journey.
Applied to Master programs in Germany and got accepted.
This was initially just a random idea. A dear friend, Mandy, applied and departed last year. It was more like a give-it-a-shot-why-not type of thing. It all happened too fast. Took GMAT, got accepted into 3 programs, made my pick, and here I am in Mannheim, Germany now. They call it destiny.
The boyfriend came to visit and our one-week road trip.
Finally, Chris made it across the Atlantic Ocean. We planned several small trips and a week-long road trip, but before we could even start, my dear brother had to cut it short with his graduation invitation. So, we bought last minute tickets and went up to Bellingham for 2 days, flew down to Vegas to meet up with my best friend Patty and Tyler, drove to the Grand Canyons and the Zion National Park, stopped at the Hoover Dam, went to Vegas again, flew to San Fran, drove down highway 1, and did the 17 mile scenic drive. How on the earth did we manage to squeeze so much into one week?! Another blog post about that.
Moved to Germany and thereafter.
Seems like a simple process huh? NOT. First thing was not being able to get housing. Then there was the quarter-life crisis and switching from a finance focus to a marketing focus. Courses were nowhere near easy. During the last month of the semester, I went to the library every day at 8:00 am and stayed til it was dark outside; I studied so hard for the first time in my life and still I am not sure whether or not I passed all my exams. I cracked and killed my xiaomi 3 weeks into the semester, but managed to survive with a not-so-smart smartphone for the remaining 3 months. I applied for a Double Degree Program with ESSEC back in October but got rejected; still, I will be going to Cergy Pontoise as an exchange student. I tried acting club. I tried conditional kickboxing and freeletics, and started NR’s 30-days-of-Change. I went to a bunch of Christmas markets and drank different liquored beverages. It was a tough start, yes, but I made it. AND I made great friends along the way. Seems like everything has fallen into place after all.
8046 km is the distance between Seattle, WA, USA and Cologne, Germany.
Closing 2014, it seems like I have also closed the 8046 km.
8046 KM 