The first half of 2018 and the second half of 2018 feel lifetimes apart. I couldn’t imagine that January and December were of the same year if it wasn’t for this recap. For the first time in a long time, I’m no longer a student. With that previous identity stripped from me, I need to figure out who I am and what I want to do next. That’s what the second half of 2018 was all about, but I still haven’t quite figured it out yet. Perhaps one day I’ll share the cycle of emotions and identity crises I’ve gone through in the last few months, but right now it makes me anxious to sort through that Past when I’m trying to figure out the Future and not break down in the Now. And so, all I can do is focus on the light…
January
I started off the year in Beijing finishing off my winter break internship on the outreach team of the company my dad works at. My dad is a computational linguist and I never understood what his job entailed — in fact, I didn’t even know he was a computational linguist until I updated my family that I had declared a double major in computer science and linguistics my sophomore year of college (until then, I had only known that he did research in computer science) — so it was cool to see where my dad worked and how successful he’s been in his field. Furthermore, the work experience was informative for narrowing down my own career path. I decided that I couldn’t see myself working in China due to the language barrier; I know enough of the language to communicate ideas, but with very little nuance and no personality, which is a stifling thing long-term.
February
By February, I was back in Philly for my final semester of college. That semester, my four classes were distributed amongst three of the four colleges in my consortium: Bryn Mawr, Haverford, and UPenn. Those little snapshots are from around the campuses, documenting all the seasons we experienced in February.
A special moment I got to be a part of was photographing a proposal on campus. I had this photoshoot scheduled two months in advance, but wasn’t notified until the day of that the couple shoot was just a cover for a surprise proposal (+photoshoot)!
March
Going into this semester, I was a little worried about how my social life would differ from previous semesters because the majority of my computer science friends graduated a semester early (they graduated early, I’m the normal one here). But in fact, this gave me the opportunity to branch out and also go back and put more effort into the friendships I made my freshman year, friendships with people I saw less and less of over the years due to each of us getting deeper and deeper into our majors.
After three years of knowing each other in college, Georgina and I finally nailed down the overlaps in our schedules and we started spending more quality time together on the regular. We grabbed meals in between classes and I would often join her in the sculpture studio to do my own work whilst she worked on hers. Sometimes I would help her out with her thesis project too. It was fun to be hands on, and it reminded me of the days I did IB HL art in high school. It was also fun because there was no stress for me since it wasn’t my own project haha.
Besides seeing each other regularly, we also did bigger things together like going to Bruno Major‘s concert. Georgina didn’t know Bruno Major previously, but was kind enough to come with me anyway. Luckily she ended up loving him and even bought his album after the concert!
April
At the beginning of my senior year, I relaunched Her Campus at Bryn Mawr — a huge feat during the busiest year of college, if I may say so myself — and in April I was able to see and enjoy the fruits of my labour. After the first semester of our relaunch, our chapter ranked platinum, which is the second-highest ranking, giving us access to more brand partnerships. In April, we took on two big partnerships, with Bliss beauty and Echosmith. After our second semester, our chapter ranked pink, the highest ranking.
School began to wrap up, this being the last full month of the semester. Senior dinner kicked off the festivities. The best part of it was the silly photoshoot Georgina, Victoria, and I had after the dinner. Later in the month, Kat, who graduated a semester early, came back to visit Steph, Ann, and me. We hung out in the city and had a Parisian afternoon at Parc.
May
The first hints of summer illuminated the Haverford College Nature Trail, and I was determined to capture it. I snuck in a photoshoot with Steph and Chloe ten minutes before class. A few weeks later I passed by the same location and found it overgrown already. I’ll miss pulling together last minute photoshoots on campus and having my friends around all the time.
But you know what I won’t miss? Finals. After finishing my last final ever (unless I decide to go to grad school…), I was set to enjoy senior week. My best friends and I all RSVPed to the same events: Sky Zone (indoor trampoline park), Booze Cruise, and Evil Genius Brewery Tour (where I ate nachos). And to finish it off, we graduated!
June
I used to save trips to NYC for long-weekends and short holidays, but over the summer I discovered just how easy it was to pop in and out from Philly, so I made quite a few day trips to NYC. There were two trips that were especially memorable: one to see Harry Potter and the Cursed Child, and the other to see Dear Evan Hansen! I had wanted to see those shows for ages but made peace with the fact that I probably never would, but then Kat had extra tickets and took me along! The production for Cursed Child was nothing short of magical, and Dear Evan Hansen got me in the feels.
July
Julia came to visit me in Philly, during which I spontaneously decided to go back to DC with her and make a day trip out of it. But summer wasn’t just about flitting from city to city; there was much to be explored in Philly as well! Georgina and I hit up a few museums including the Franklin Institute, the Philadelphia Museum of Art, and The Academy of Natural Sciences.
August
Another big trip to NYC was a weeklong trip to 1) look at apartments with my mom and 2) reunite with some high school friends. This was back when I thought I would be moving to NYC post-grad. I’m glad I decided against it in the end because even if I could afford a place, the cost of living would still be high. I’m also glad that I had the NYC-apartment-hunting experience; there’s a lot to learn about NYC through the lens of real estate!
When I got back from NYC, it was time for me to start moving out of my first apartment. I was still on the fence about NYC at the time, so I was looking for a temporary place to stay in between then. Georgina graciously offered her new apartment for me to crash at. So there I was, sleeping with a mattress on the ground for two months, before I would eventually decide to live in Philly, sign on the lease with her, move in, and get a proper bed frame.
September
September was a continuation of August — applying to jobs and looking for apartments — and passed uneventfully except for a senior photoshoot that Leah hired me for. I was honoured to learn that she had known she wanted me to shoot her senior photos ever since she saw my shoot with Azalia from the previous year.
There was another exciting development regarding photography that happened at the beginning of the following month. I was introduced to Philly Snap Booth, a photo booth business in Philly, and started taking up gigs with them. Whenever Laura needs an extra hand and doesn’t have her usual people available to her, she’ll call me up.
October
The grind of job searching and apartment hunting was taking its toll on me. It just so happened that my dad was about to visit my brother Ken in Vancouver, so I squeezed myself into the trip, and also took the opportunity to catch up with Grace, who was in the middle of her first semester of grad school. It was during this trip that I encountered the best, smoothest cappuccino in the world at The Teahouse in Stanley Park. I’m still not over it.
November
Finally I could be certain of one thing post-grad: I would be living in Philly for the next year, and I would be living with one of my best friends from college, Georgina. I signed the lease, moved in, and got a proper bed frame. Besides the bed frame, another new piece I acquired was a c-shaped side table, and everything else was brought from my first apartment.
Another comforting moment in November was celebrating Thanksgiving with Georgina and her family at their place in NYC, as we had done the last three years. In college, Ami, Grace, Victoria, and I would always spend Thanksgiving at Georgina’s; it was our most sacred tradition. Although we missed Ami, Grace, and Victoria this year, I was grateful to be able to continue this tradition.
December
As soon as the Thanksgiving celebrations ceased, the Christmas ones began. Well, I had been anticipating Christmas since September, but it wasn’t until December that I was able to openly celebrate hehe. It was my first time celebrating Christmas without finals to worry about, so I was completely enrapt by the holiday cheer. My favourite activities were ice skating with Bomi at Dilworth Park and seeing the Philadelphia Museum of Art‘s Fabulous Fashion: From Dior’s New Look to Now exhibit by myself.
Two weeks into the month, I had finished a round of interviews and figured that most companies wouldn’t be hiring around this time of year, so I gave myself the rest of the month off to travel with family. We spent a week in Beijing (during which I got a trim, perm, colour, and fringe that I kinda love), a week in Japan, and closed the year back in Beijing.
…It’s hard to believe that all these things happened in one year, that so many changes could happen in one year, that I could feel like a completely different person in one year. I have no doubt that 2019 will bring more challenges, but it will also bring more changes, and as I have seen 2018 do for me, those changes can be big.
2018 by month: january, february, march, april, may, june, july, august, september, october, november, december