Amazing journey…

As the year comes to a close, I’d like to reflect on a few things that I was able to accomplish this year. I am grateful for all of the professional opportunities that have presented themselves to me this year.

In my personal journey, I am amazed and grateful to have had the opportunity to visit some of the most interesting places and locations. I did an 18-day solo trek to the Mt. Everest region, covering over 300 kilometers of trekking distance. Seeing the sunrise and sunset from 5000m above sea level from the Everest Basecamp was breathtaking (literally!). The last-minute solo trek was the best decision! I am grateful for saving the life of a fellow solo trekker on a remote trekking route, but I sincerely hope that no other travelers/ trekkers find themselves in similar situations. It was a different experience watching 14 peaks with people who had climbed the tallest peaks many times themselves.

Finding ways to get a bus in Albania to go to Kruja Castle, stopping at the wrong train station and thus missing the connecting train in Italy, hiking the 2800m tall hills (mountains, not hills) in Slovenia, being in my former supervisor’s country, Croatia, and exploring the mesmerizing hiking routes by the glaciers in Switzerland. And I reconnected with people I met a decade ago and formed strong friendship bonds with them.

I decided to run more than 5km for the first time in my life in February (I had never run more than 5km before and had no idea I had a runner in me), and I ended up doing my first 10 km, first half marathon (22km and finished third) in September, and first half trail marathon (24km and finished fourth) in December. I am extremely proud of myself and continue to flaunt my medals… But, seriously, I am astounded to learn that training our minds is as important as training our bodies.

This does not imply that this year was all about the bright and positive sides. There were difficult times when I doubted my own worth, doubted myself frequently, and felt strange adjusting to the values of my loved ones-family and friends. I think it worked because I didn’t stop, I kept going even though it wasn’t easy, and I kept walking even when things were confusing. I sincerely hope that I can continue to take baby steps toward loving and being kind to myself while also being nice and kind to others.

Learning is a process and I have learned a lot about my own self last year. I hope to continue digging deeper into myself and going on new journeys, making new memories in years to come.