Things I’m Grateful For 2017

So let’s make a list – in no particular order. I hope I can list down everything (with me not having a planner or diary this year and have not written much even if I wanted to) that I’m grateful for in 2017. Here goes…

1. having witnessed the most touching wedding I’ve been to. A wedding that I knew both the groom (my team manager) and bride (my senior specialist in some states) and I kind of knew their love story.
2. outgrown my fear of dogs, mostly, but not 100%. It was because of the first trip (Potipot), that I love having a pet walk and always follow you when walking and even lick your face!
3. somehow learned to swim.
4. climbed Mt. Ulap and with heavy backpack at that! But I guess I won’t repeat it.
5. got to watch three musicals this year: Wicked, West Side Story and Sound of Music! 🙂 and one local musical: Sa Wakas. 🙂
6. finally experienced what it’s like to watch a film alone (La La Land) that I cried alone in the theater
   
7. booked that one way ticket to Osaka alone. 
8. started to learn watercolor
9. I got promoted in work coupled with lots of workload and issues
10. went to a lot of beaches this year: Potipot Island, Pagudpod, Apo Reef & Pandan Island, Puerto Galera, Puerto Princesa and Kalanggaman Island and two places in CAR: Mt. Ulap and Buscalan Village
11. had a surprise birthday greeting from my team MF3 that I was really surprised to props to them – they’re the sweetest!
12. crossed San Juanico Bridge on foot!
13. Indochina backpacking trip finally materialised
14. saw the Angkor Wat amidst the heat
15. got inked – hardest decision ever and realised some mistakes you live with your life
16. John Green released a new book!
17. a lot of wonderful korean dramas this year but Because This Life is Our First 
18. gazillion things to be thankful about the Osaka-Kyoto-Nara trip
19. redeemed myself in December tax return preparation after that November fiasco
20. different trips with different people in different places
21. honest to goodness teambuilding stories 
22. champagne to end the year

I don’t know if I’ve written everything that I am thankful for in 2017 but this is what I remember. 2017 feels like a comfortable place, a resting haven, an escape that I didn’t want to end or get out of. It was so amazing and awesome it feels like a dream though not all good things because 2017 also had its downs, but overall it was awesome and wonderful and a fitting thing as this year is the year I decided to take a break and be free of all the things I always do and then I got different results. Some, I don’t want but that’s the price I have to pay besides not knowing is good – because not knowing means you’ll be surprised. You’ll just have to know if it’s good or bad.