A letter to 2023
Dear 2023,
Thank you for all of the blessings, lessons and miracles that you have brought into my life this year. Thank you for all of the places that I have traveled to, the people that I have had the pleasure to meet, the experiences that I have had the honour to experience. Thank you for the love, the connection, and the smiles that you have brought. I am forever grateful for all of the things that you have brought into my life.
So here they are:
My favourite memory of 2023 was staying at FlowerBeach Stay Hotel in Da Nang. That was a very beautiful time. I loved our entire life experience there. The room was perfect. It was so cozy — it was my favourite hotel experience ever. The design was traditional Vietnamese, which is what I love. The brown wooden furnitures that resembles ‘back-in-the-day’, and the colours were so calming for me. It felt like it would be my dream home in a boutique hotel version. I dream of living in a traditional Vietnamese style, zen-like home, with brown woods like that, and a cultural touch design. I felt like we had everything we needed. A nice hotel right next to a coffee shop that I could go out within my own door to work anytime. Meeting an amazing friend who was so chatty and friendly. Worked together, hung out together, went to the beach, restaurants… Met so many friends at the beach, went to outdoor beer gardens with live music band, enjoying conversations of the evening. Having a cleaning lady who comes regularly was amazing given how organized and Virgo I can be lol. 5 minutes away from the beach, and my favourite restaurant, “Roots”. I loved their smoothie bowls, and the friends I meet there. In addition, all of the other street food around, delicious and cheap — we basically ate out everyday, using it as an excuse to connect with the locals. A motorbike that we could go anywhere and anytime. Taking trips up to see the big Buddha on the hill at midnight, jamming to songs under the moonlight. Being teenager-like again, free spirited. These are the moments I live for. These are the adventures that my soul crave.
Another favourite moment was traveling on a lux cruise ship, all expenses paid for by our benevolent rich uncle and aunt lol. Staying in the middle of the Ha Long Bay. The crystal clear blue water, surrounded by mountains. I felt like it was a Titanic moment. The ship was decorated with traditional style again, my favourite, in a very luxurious, rich-people style. It seriously felt like a Titanic. I remember waking up at 5AM to go see the sunrise. Instead, we just witnessed the silence of the bay in the morning, when no-one is awake. There is not even a city around. Just nature, and a boat of people who wake up to go fishing… How unreal. I love nature. I love too, being in a luxurious nature experience.
Another beautiful moment is going to Moc Chau, a place where I imagine there would be only cows and green grass. How wrong was I… We had a meal that was made of horse meat, which I was not a huge fan of, but had to accept due to cultural norms and practices there. In the end, it tasted like chicken anyway… LOL. Spending time with our uncle, again, another luxurious experience in a beautiful hotel out looking the hills. All expenses paid for. Going on the longest glass bridge in Asia, a Guiness World record bridge — that was fantastic. What a life! We are so dearly blessed.
Another beautiful moment was traveling to Ninh Binh, going on a boat tour, going under caves, seeing how beautiful my country is… The majestic mountains, the beautiful river, the greenery, the temples, the people, their smiles, and their genuine hearts. They were so kind. Their kindess touched me to the core. These are the profound moments that I could never dream of experiencing. I love it all. I love it so much that I just don’t think I could get the travel bug out of me, ever.
My God… can we talk about Bali?! That was another lifetime in and of itself. I loved staying at our Airbnb’s. A nice pool surrounded by tropical plants, greeneries — everything felt so tropical, relaxing, and cozy. Going to a top beach bar event, witnessing one of the most beautiful views of the whole island. Communicating that night with the full moon. Remembering the exact message I was given. That connection to nature is something I treasure the most.
The most beautiful memories happened when we were traveling. The most memorable experiences of being human, the feelings of the unknown, the adventure. Those moments mark the experience of what it’s like to be human.
One of my favorite pieces of content that I made this year was definitely the Surrender Experiment Book Reflection. Sitting in the field of Bali, the sun shining behind me, the green field all around me, here I am making content, sharing what I learnt. I felt like myself the most. I felt like that was my true being. I am so proud of myself for gifting myself that experience, for having the courage to pursue and create that experience, that identity for me. That version of me. I love her. I love who she is, how she is, her energy, her being. I thank her for what she has given me, the gifts she has shown me that exist inside of me. I vow to be with her many times again and again. If I could marry her, I would.
One of the most heartfelt moments of 2023, was living with my grandma in my childhood home again. It brought back so many memories. It connected me to my roots of simplicity, spirituality, and human-ness. The most profound moment was crying in front of my grandpa’s ‘bàn thờ' when I first came back to my childhood home. Crying, grieving for his death was so profound for me. Realizing how much love I have received from him during his time on this Earth. Realizing how much his love has impacted and nourished me growing up, and forever as a human. Realizing how much I had loved him, his presence and the gifts he had brought to my life. Realizing how his spirit will always be connected to mine, in my heart, no matter where he ends up traveling to.
Reconnecting with my grandma, someone whom I grew up with, seeing her aging had sparked wisdom in me, her granddaughter. The deep love that her being exudes, her commitment to buddhism has been a seed planted in me throughout our lineage. Seeing her again helped me remember who I am, a part of me through my grandmother.
A challenge that I am extremely proud of myself for navigating through this year with grace is learning how to hold myself with compassion when dealing with clients’ negative feedback. The first one shocked me to the core, the second one helped me realize it is not about me, and rather what actions I could change to prevent this situation from happening in the first place. I am grateful at how graceful I handled myself and the challenges that came my way from running my own business. One lesson that I learn is, it is much easier to run other people’s marketing and brand than running your own. For some reason, running other people, the creative flows come out easily, the execution comes easily because my personal fears and insecurities are not so attached to my work. Yet, when it comes to my personal brand and growing myself, it became that much harder. And yet, I am so grateful for the challenges that it brought, because it has made me so much stronger and wiser. I know my soul chose this.
I feel that this year was blessed with so many experiences on all levels. Even landing a job back home in Canada, meeting new people, being in a corporate environment, a new city — that has taught me a lot, and has shown me another version of myself. A new experience of life that is so outside of my regular peripheral.
This year has taught me to trust myself.
That is the one lesson I continue to receive and integrate as time goes on. I am forever learning how to trust myself, deeper and deeper. 2023. Thank you. Thank you for everything. You have been an absolute blessing, and I cannot wait to see what 2024 brings.
