New Year, Same Me

2018 flew by in the blink of an eye.  It honestly feels like I woke up and it was January, blinked a couple of times, and here we are in December, right before New Years’ Eve.  I’m so grateful for all that has happened in the last year.  I started a fitness routine and kept up with it, I wrote three books and published two of them before the end of the year, I visited home and saw most of my family and friends, decided to move home, and now, as you are reading this, I will be preparing for my NYE celebration in Hsinchu with two of my best friends.

In the Spirit of Giving

Christmas time is one of my favorite times of year, right after Thanksgiving which is equally as thrilling for me.  Both holidays embody what I love most: family and friends.  It’s all about giving and spending time with those you love, no matter how far and wide your circle of comrades spreads.  And while the idea of spending Christmas in Chicago next year is exciting, I couldn’t help but get a little nostalgic thinking that this was my third and final Christmas spent on the island of Taiwan.

What Happens After Your Last Game

I remember the first time I stepped foot on the ice in hockey skates.  At nine years old, I had donned figure skates for six years leading up to that, but nothing could prepare me for the dozens of bruises and bumps I had all over my body as I got used to life without toe picks.  But yet, despite every fall and a few stifled laughs from my teammates that summer, I kept on trying.  Thirteen years later, I would step on the ice for the last time, wearing my collegiate uniform and equipment way larger than the first set of pads I wore way back when.