Turning 24...

I'm 24!!

It strangely doesn't mean much to me.  Haha.  Perhaps it's true that after 21, birthdays don't feel much anymore.  But I do feel blessed that I have a lovely boyfriend, friends, family who make me feel like my birthday lasts a month every year =)  *Mental note- next time give birth to kids at the beginning of the month*  Haha.

Looking back, I do feel quite accomplished being 23 years old.  The biggest change I guess, would be stepping out into the working world, learning to be more independent.

What does Graduation mean to you?  I never used to think much of it, other than Freedom to pursue my dream and being more responsible for my own life (especially financially).

However, after working for over a year, I've come to realize that the greatest meaning of graduation would probably be No more second chances.  In school, you're mostly accountable to yourself, where being lazy or doing the wrong thing would at most cost you your grades.  Whereas, when you're at work, you're accountable to your bosses and clients, and if you're lucky/didn't make too big a boo-boo - you simply get a gentle reminder/warning; but if you're not so lucky/made a big boo-boo - boss is not gonna tell you "Nevermind, try again next time.", and client's not gonna tell you "It's ok that I paid you so much and you booboo-ed.  Just don't do it again".  Haha, pretty scary isn't it?  I believe we all truly understand the meaning of Accountability now.

For me, Graduation also brought about Purpose.  Studying never meant more than the pursuit of knowledge and grades, a vague goal of I'm studying hard in order to fulfill my aspirations.  So how exactly does memorizing many studies and psychologists' names and spending hours twigging around my independent and dependent variables bring me nearer to my dreams?  I would say I never really understood the importance of those things until I started working.  Ok, to be fair, not every single thing I've learnt in school is useful to work.  But at least it laid a strong foundation to whatever knowledge that needs to be added upon to fulfill the goals at work.  Like for me, having knowledge about Reinforcements and Behavior Modification helped me more easily understand my training content at work; having knowledge about research helps me to look for answers independently when I want to know more about things at work that nobody might be able to spoon-feed me with;  not every presentation I've done in school seemed meaningful, but at least they cumulatively honed my skills to address people and answer questions; even being ticked off by professors helped manage my emotions better when supervisors give feedback.  And the list goes on...  Of course I also believe that no amount of skills learnt in school would help without any practical application at work.  It is often when there are work goals to fulfill, that I would more strongly see the purpose of learning and relevant knowledge acquisition!

The luckiest thing being 23?  Getting a flat with my dream guy in my dream location!  Let's not discuss whether it's my dream price or not, but it suffices to say that it's a reasonable price =)  It's a BIG thing to us, coz that brings us one step closer to settling down, and adds another reason for both of us to work harder for each other!  Actually, I'm very much convinced that the luck came from my dream guy, coz I've never had much luck with important stuff my entire life.  Phew!  So ultimately, the luckiest thing being 23 is that I've snagged a nice guy! =)

Anyway, I'm pretty satisfied with life right now.  Twelve more months, and I would be at the quarter-mark of life (Let's be really positive, and assume that we're all gonna live to be centeranians).  Long-term goals would be career advancement, better management skills, better financial management (I wish there were more finances to manage...), and be nicer to my dream guy! =)

May everybody feel more accomplished and happier each and every year aged! =P