In less than 24 hours, you and I will say goodbye to this 2016.

2016 had been an amazing year for me. I have experienced many new life-events throughout this year; from the most expected to the unexpected ones, from the relaxing to the thrilling ones. I am so grateful for every bit of these 365 days.

I started this year by selling my hand-crafted Valentine's gift. My first intention was to earn some pocket money, but during the process, all I wanted was for my hand-crafted Valentine's gift to represent my customers' love toward their significant others. I felt the excitement in making the gift personalized for every different customer, also happiness and satisfaction when I saw them posted it on their social media with the lovely quotes. The money earned couldn't compensate the sleepless nights (and back pain) to make the gift, but the happiness of my customers paid it off.

Then for the first time, I live away from home for almost half a year. Started with my internship in Jakarta, then continued with the exchange program in Hong Kong. Living away from home, I learned to have more responsibility, wiser and have better judgement to distinguish which is good and which is not good for me. I also learned to appreciate more toward what I have back there: my time with my family, bf, friends, and of course, my local foods.

I also met many incredible people who bring positive impacts to me. Outstanding lecturers in my home university inspire me to aim higher. My supervisors and colleagues during the internship showed me how to work professionally in fun ways. My roommate in HK introduced me to many cool songs. The international and local friends, professors and staff in HKBU gave me new ideas about how to deal with language barriers and cultural differences, also helped me to expand my horizon.

Last but not least, I am grateful for my wonderful friends in 2016: my best friends who stayed with me even though we rarely see each other, my interning friends who built a quick yet strong bond between us, my classmates in PCU who went through the hardship of university life with me, lovely local friends in HK who helped me to adjust to the new culture and solved my problem, and international exchange friends who explored the city and experienced the local taste with me during our stay in HK. 

I enjoyed all the challenges, exposures and international experiences that year 2016 gave me and I really thank my parents who support me to experience those precious opportunity.

Also thank you for those who helped me to climb up high,

those who helped me to stand up again when I fall,

those who took part in my amazing 2016.

Thank you, thank you, thank you.

In less than 24 hours, you and I will say goodbye to this 2016.

In less than 24 hours, you and I will say hello to the total stranger, 2017.

Wish we all a happy new year!

*My gratitude is not only limited to people in pictures above*