A year to be remembered- 2021

by: Charmaine Lee

I will always remember 2021, the year that I learnt to count my blessings and enjoy my sufferings.

In the beginning of 2021, most of the countries were in a lockdown situation. I was a young fresh graduate who was in my first 4 months of work. I started my first busy season at work when all of us in the audit industry would work long hours due to the large volume of work and tight deadlines. It was a steep learning curve yet a satisfying one. I enjoyed spending my time developing new skills and exploring more knowledge.

However, under long hours of work and inconsistent lifestyle, my health went downhill. I was advised by my doctor to take care of my health as I was diagnosed with some alarming issues. The message was a huge shock to me and I felt like it was the end of the world. Luckily, with the support from my family, I started my journey with a healthy diet and regular exercise. The journey was tough as my meals were just left with greens and I would need to count my calories every meal. However, my hard work paid off by losing 10kgs in 3 months.

2021 was also the year that I grew stronger in faith. I couldn’t pull it through without having God by my side. Despite the improvement in my health, my skin problem persisted for almost the whole year. I consulted more than six doctors (both private and NHS), and spent thousands of dollars just to treat a few stubborn spots/ warts on my face. It got to a point when I hated looking at the mirror or washing my face, as it reminded me how ugly I was each time. I did not know who to seek for help anymore. However, even at moments when there did not seem to have any other solutions, my heart never felt lost. I knew that God had His plan and I would recover eventually. Thanks to God, I finally recovered in the last month of 2021.

2021 also had a lot of heartbreaking moments. Receiving bad news from friends and media has never been so hard for me. Much of the news required extra time and effort to digest. Many of my beliefs crumble in a split second. It is hard, but yet all these experiences have taught me to become more independent and confident. I no longer wait for someone to motivate me nor to change me. Instead, I start to understand myself better, further strengthen my capabilities and bravely face my weaknesses. I started putting conscious effort to pursue my dream and my goal for 2022 is to stay focused and keep loving myself and people around me more.