Personal Reflections
I will be honest, 2018 was a year full of emotions. It was an emotional and mental roller coaster ride for me. I was very active in Steemit during January 2018 till August 2018. In March, I got my internship at the Crowdfunding marketing department (they call it 9Future) of Aliyoyo Sci-Tech Beijing Pte Ltd. It was my first experience working in a Chinese startup. I started out as an intern doing simple work, pretty soon I became a media manager at the end of the month. It was when my responsibilities gradually increase from doing translations to planning media marketing strategies for Kickstarter products. I’m pretty happy that I have done some pretty cool projects. I learnt pretty fast in that company, I was even considered fortunate because I got to learn more in 6 months than what usually people usually get to do in 3 years. However, the company that allowed me to grow so much was also the same company that drained me physically and mentally. Pretty soon, I find myself too exhausted and tired when I get home. Believe it or not, the stress had caused a tremendous weight gain I never had in years. Even till this day I’m working on my diet and exercise to lose it.
You can read my quitting experience here
What did I achieve in 2018?
- Got my internship in a startup and learnt so much through there
- Able to manage my time working in 3 orgs (2 internships + embassy) while preparing thesis at the same time. Crazy~~
- Got promoted from intern to manager in 1 month and handled a lot of cool projects.
- Had my work seen my millions of internet readers.
- Financially support myself, paid my rent and all expenditure for the entire year while still being a student.
- Paid my plane tickets to go home for short 3 weeks holiday and go back to Beijing to complete my thesis.
- Support myself without income for several months.
- Achieve First tier scholarship(June) and Outstanding Graduate Award (December)
- Got my Degree in Management my university in Beijing, China.
- Last but not least, paid for my own ticket to come home.
What I am grateful for in 2018?
I am grateful to my family that always love me no matter what. I remembered an accident where I broke down due to exhaustion, I called my mom and told her that I was too tired. I was strong because I needed the money to support myself, and the 9am-7pm office hours gave me some sort of discipline to utilize my time. Sometimes we handled multiple projects and I need to rush them. During lunch hours, I write blogs on Steemit. After office hours, I have to pitch to people in the U.S because of the 12-hour time difference. I asked my Chinese boss if he can give me some sort of flexibility as a writer, but he didn’t care. He told me to work on my phone on my way to the office! I needed to manage things myself. Sometimes at 1 am I need to prepare a PR proposal for an embassy event. I love to do what I do, and I squeeze myself so much that I forgot to take time to sleep and rest. It wasn’t good, I fall sick once a month from exhaustion and pretty soon I had enough.
I am grateful to Steemit that provides me a space to unleash my thoughts and ideas. I love writing. The interest probably comes from my 3 years majoring in English and reading numerous blogs and websites. To write is not only just to express, but also to teach. I believe writings that tells a story and teaches through the stories are considered as an incredible piece of work.
I am grateful to the community group in Steemit. The groups I am in are very understanding and thoughtful. There are once or twice that I broke the rules but It remains one of the warmest online community groups I ever have. Supporting each other on the blog is one of the important keys, I am fond of following more people on Steemit and as I will leave the country of internet restrictions pretty soon, I will get back to be active and writing again.
I am grateful to my friends, who are always there for me when I want a listening ear. When my closest friend asked me “how’s work?” It almost brought me to tears because it wasn’t easy. It takes a true listening ear to really ease the pain and discomfort, it takes a true friend to really console a wounded human being. Love is what we need, and I’m thankful for the love my friend gave me.
I am grateful to the staff I worked with in my school I was thankful that the staff I worked with had put their trust and faith in me. They could have entrusted the work to another person but they chose to believe in me. I am grateful for their patience and confidence in me as we worked together, my achievements with them would not be possible without their generous guidance.
I am grateful to my university The International Business School of BFSU for providing me the environment to pursue what I really want. Every class was a different experience, every immersion week was an exciting journey. Coming from a family that owns a small business, I wasn’t exposed to a lot of industry. The immersion week in IBS provided me opportunities to learn, and I was excited to learn what other industries are there in the market. As a young adult who is figuring the ways in life, I was hungry to learn and absorb everything I can. Leaving here soon is bitter sweet, but an exciting journey awaits.
Epilogue
I wished I wrote more in 2018, I wished I achieved more, and I did what I could within the time frame. Everyone is given 24 hours, and I have utilized the time I had. As I type down my closing chapters of 2018 in this cold and dry winter in Beijing. I felt the warmth while reflecting 2018. It was a meaningful year; It was a year of emotional and mental growth, a year of discovery, and a year of persistence.
Thank you 2018, hello 2019…