At a recent birthday dinner, a friend of mine asked me, "What have you accomplished this year?"
I answered, "I don't know, it has been a rough year."
It has been a challenging year for the family. With my mom's declining health, my dad and I had to take care of her until her death in August. While my parents were in Hong Kong for two months earlier this year, I had to jungle full-time work, and taking a class at night, with Chinese language class once a week. (That, I don't think I want to do again... unless I have someone to cook me food!)
While this year was shadowed by my mom's health and bad economy, I did think of a few things that I did accomplish:
1. I can carry somewhat of a simple conversation in Mandarin-Chinese.
2. I have learned to cook a few Chinese dishes that my mom used to cook. But I'm not as good as her.
3. Work-wise, I'm done with documentation for UV standard products.
4. I finally understand what bioassay is and what the regulations are in the U.S.
5. Even though this was a challenging year, I believe God has made me a stronger person. I haven't really felt close to God or connected to fellowship in a while, but God is still there for me. I think my view of humanity has changed. I think being part of some conservative churches in the past effected my view on people such that people should be "projects". But being part of a Methodist church for a while, that has taught me how to accept people as they are and lean on the hope that people will come to know Christ. It also tested my view that we are not all enemies but we are all people. It's a different mentality... It truly test your belief not to judge others as sinners but potential brothers and sisters in Christ. People are people, with basic emotions and needs. We smile, we laugh, we cry. We love, we hate. We eat and sleep. But yet, God gave us different personalities and behaviors that makes us who we are.
Being with my family and around Asians, we (or they) think differently than Westerners. I think this part I'm still analyzing because I view things on both side of the fence, being raised here in the U.S. but also being Asian.
I think even the past 4 months have been tough in that I had to re-adjust to a new schedule. It's weird to say but there is a lot of freedom now that my mom is no longer with us. I mean, I miss my mom, don't get me wrong. Now, I struggle with finding things to do...
With that said, I was thinking of things I want to accomplish for 2009:
1. I think I finally found a church I like. I have visited many churches in the past 3 years, and all of them have been great churches. But it's been kind of difficult to find a niche, to find the right chemistry, so to speak, and usually it takes time to build relationships. So, I think that this year, I want to become involved with a church I've been visiting for a few months. I went to their "membership" class which they called "partnership classes" to learn more about their beliefs and doctrine. It's in line with what I believe, so I'm going to stick around. The church is also building up their single's ministry, hopefully in bringing in more younger singles (more my age).
2. I want to be involved with a non-profit organization. There are tons in Charlotte. Some are belief-based and some are not. I've been thinking long and hard about this because for the longest time, I actually wanted to take a class again to go towards a Master's. But I had this "light bulb" moment today that even though I may get a MBA or whatever Master's I choose, it's not going to be as rewarding as being part of an organization that I can contribute to humanity. I think volunteering my time in helping others is more rewarding than going back to school to gain a Master's.
One organization I was looking into is Water for People. Water for People is a non-profit organization made up of professionals in the U.S. I realize that there are a lot of mission type groups, but most focus on construction in a foreign country. Water for People is not affiliated with a religious group but I think it may have a place for me since I am interested in improving the basic needs of water treatment to a developing nation (if that nation needs or wants it). But there are limits. There are groups of people that may not think they need it, which is quite alright too. The last thing I want to do is force my view of a modern world upon a group of people who think they don't need it.
3. Exercise more. I know, it sounds pretty cliche. Before my mom's death, I was really on a role though. I ate 5 times a day (breakfast, snack, lunch, snack, dinner), I lifted weights, I did cardio 30-40 minutes a day (excluding warm-up and cool-down). I actually lost some weight and toned my muscles. But with the schedule change, I think I have gain some back. :-(
4. Run a 5K. But I need a buddy/trainer/motivation. I would like to participate in the Susan G. Komen Race for the Cure in October, so that should be my goal. I have about 9 months, right? :) Or maybe I should find something closer in the calendar...
5. Finally... I have been going through spiritual funk for a long time. I think partly that I have been church hopping and not feel connected to any fellowship. I hope and pray that this year, I can re-start being more with God through quiet time and connecting to a fellowship. Like I said in #1, I want to be more involved again with church and I hope that would help with me be spiritually challenged in my life.
There's probably more I can think of but so far, this is it. :)
