2022 Year-End Review

Happy New Year!

Another year, another year-end review post (You can read my 2020 post here and my 2021 post here). I didn’t blog, cosplay, or draw much/at all, but I had a busy year and I’d like to think that I’ve accomplished some things.

I paid off my student loans.

I wrote a post about it and how I did it. You can read the post here. I also set a rainy day fund for the first time after I paid off my student loans, and I’ve reached it. I have a new year’s resolution of saving a good portion of my monthly income, so we’ll see how it goes. Inflation is wild, so expenses are higher while the quality of life is more or less the same.

I got a new job.

It’s a full-time job with benefits, and I work three days at the office and two days from home. I hope I can continue to keep this hybrid model, as this was a COVID thing. For those of you who don’t know, I have a BA in Psychology and a Bachelor of Social Work. You can probably guess that I work in social services. It’s stressful indeed, but rewarding at the same time. The job keeps me busy and I like my coworkers.

I got my full driver’s license.

In British Columbia, we have to take the knowledge test, the Class 7 driving test, and the Class 5 driving test. The Class 5, full test is taken at least two years after you pass the Class 7 test. It has been a long and rough journey to get my full driver’s license. I actually got Covid during the time I was supposed to take my Class 5 test, so that had to be canceled and then rescheduled. I was so happy when I got my full driver’s license.

Celebrating my graduation (two years late!)

I graduated with my BSW at the start of the pandemic in 2020. There was no closure. Everything ended so abruptly that I 100% believe it impacted me negatively. I didn’t bother attending my virtual graduation.

The university held an in-person graduation ceremony for my class in late 2022. I didn’t attend that one either. I didn’t celebrate my graduation at all. In December 2022, I thought about it some more and changed my mind. I thought that I should celebrate my graduation, so I bought a charm for myself. I wear it on my bracelet every day. It’s the Celebration Cake Dangle Charm by Pandora, and it has the word “Congrats” on it. There’s a strawberry on the cake, and I just really like how the charm looks. I like the idea of collecting charms that represent the milestones in your life.

I’d like to thank my boyfriend, family, friends, and WordPress family for your love and support. Thanks for reading!

To my blogger friends

To my blogger friends,

Thank you for the recommendations. I must thank Irina for introducing me to Ajin, one of my favourite anime. I think the context was that I tweeted that I needed an anime recommendation and listed some of my favourite anime. Then Irina commented Ajin, and she was spot on with the recommendation.

Thank you Nora for tweeting about the Japanese BL drama, Old Fashion Cupcake. I watched it the same night, and it was a 10/10.

Thank you Shoujo for writing about The Scum Villain’s Self-Saving System. Thanks to your post, I was able to enjoy the donghua and then I read the books. Now I am obsessed with SVSSS.

Thank you Crimson for tweeting about buying Hashihime of the Old Book Town on Steam. I am enjoying the game so much! Even the most random thing can be significant.

Thank you Jon Spencer for recommending Japanese Tales of Mystery and Imagination by Edogawa Rampo. I don’t remember the context too well, but I believe it was over Twitter. Rampo is my favourite author of all time, and I recently read The Edogawa Rampo Reader!

There are countless instances like these. We learn about anime, dramas, books, and games one way or another, right? Thanks to all of you, my life is a lot more colourful.

2020 Year-End Review

2020 has been an unexpected, life-changing year for most of us, if not all of us.

1. Time seems to have slowed down for me. Pre-Covid, I was busy. I had school, practicum, three part-time jobs, and was an exec for my university’s anime club. On top of that, I watched anime, updated my blog, and cosplayed.

I recently wrote about my day-to-day life (Click here for the post). I am now at home all the time and my work is flexible. I have completed practicum, graduated, and am no longer an exec for anime club. I feel like I’m on an island, removed from the busy city.

2. I am enjoying the little things in life. Pre-Covid, I always felt like I didn’t have enough gratitude. I didn’t know how to change. Looking back, I was so busy that I didn’t have the time to process things in the moment.

Now, I’m always finding small things to appreciate. Trying out a new recipe, for example, or receiving a package. Pre-Covid, I bought things I liked and tossed them aside.

A positive post

Good things that have happened to me since quarantine Part 2

3. My social media habits have changed. Pre-Covid and several months during Covid, I posted on social media for other people to see. I don’t think that’s necessarily a bad thing because I still had fun.

I’ve changed, I think. I still think that posting on social media is fun, but my intentions are different. Lately, I’ve been looking at my old photos with friends. Photos of daily life serve as reminders of what happiness means to me. To me, photos are precious.

There’s still a lot that I can improve on, but that’s life. I’ve felt all sorts of emotions this year but I think I’ve been holding up well given the circumstances. I think that out of everything, my attitude and mindset have changed the most.

To my blogger friends and readers, I encourage all of you to reflect on what this year means for you. If you write a year-end review post, please let me know. I would love to read it. 🙂

The Joys of Writing Reviews

I wrote this post in March 2019 but never published it because I thought it was too corny. 


I would like to take a moment to express my appreciation and gratitude. I’ve had readers tell me they’ve watched the Asian dramas I’ve recommended, watched the anime I’ve recommended, enjoyed the songs I’ve recommended, and more. It’s a wonderful feeling when someone tells you that they enjoyed your recommendation. It really brings meaning to the work I do. Blogging is not a paid job, and this blog comes from a place of love. I do put my heart into my reviews and what I write.

If you’ve read my extremely personal post, Why I Like Anime So Much, you might remember that I’ve had a lonely childhood. The thought that there are people out there that are interested in what I am watching and reading was unimaginable. All your comments, messages and emails have showed me that things do get better.

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