ANSWERING 40 QUESTIONS FOR 2025
Reflecting on 2025, as seen on Ava's blog.
- What did you do this year that you’d never done before?
Got a major surgery: A hysterectomy due to rapidly-growing myomas.
- Did you keep your new year’s resolutions?
I don't make new year's resolutions. Instead, I make a vision board which I set at the beginning of the year and only revisit it at the end/beginning of the next year. It's like a game, to see how many things I ended up doing intuitively. I haven't checked this year's yet.
- Did anyone close to you give birth?
Yes! My good friend gave birth the day I got my surgery. It was also Valentine's Day. I still remember being delirious off morphine in the ICU, seeing her Whatsapp message and thinking, "Wow. We truly are connected." (She's the reason I'm here in Switzerland.)
- Did anyone close to you die?
No.
- What cities/states/countries did you visit?
- May: Paris, France
- September: Bali, Indonesia
- Also visited Zürich a few times and Bern once
- What would you like to have next year that you lacked this year?
A job where I work 80%.
- What date(s) from this year will remain etched upon your memory, and why?
February 14, 2025. As previously mentioned in questions 1 and 3.
- What was your biggest achievement of the year?
Getting back into my creative endeavors. That includes blogging and writing more frequently.
- What was your biggest failure?
Being rejected by pretty much every job I've applied to. I only had one interview in 2025. But somehow that doesn't really feel like a personal failure, because the job market is really bad right now and I'm not the only one feeling it.
- What other hardships did you face?
- Recovering from the surgery was one of the most difficult things I've had to do. I don't even remember it anymore because I feel like I've pushed it to the corners of my mind. It was both physically and mentally exhausting.
- Accepting that my career path wasn't what I thought it would be. I also have no idea what it might look like anymore. I'm burnt out from the corporate world but still need to work to survive. I need a job in 2026 because my unemployment benefits end this year.
- Did you suffer illness or injury?
Other than the operation, I also contracted "bali belly" (i.e., bacterial infection of the gut) on the day of my friend's wedding, which happened to be the day before my birthday. It sucked because I couldn't eat any of the amazing food and missed the cake-cutting because I was puking in the bathroom. I also spent my birthday in the hotel room. The illness lasted for 3 weeks total, so I was still recovering when I returned home.
- What was the best thing you bought?
My karaoke mic! It's metallic pink. You can link up songs to it via bluetooth but I don't even use that function. I just put on YouTube, turn up the volume and echo to max, and sing my heart out.
- Whose behavior merited celebration?
My sister's. It's amazing to see how much she's grown as a person, and she made a lot of positive changes this year.
- Whose behavior made you appalled?
Some of the folks in my German class who made racist and/or pro-genocide comments. Like, what the fuck.
- Where did most of your money go?
Travel. My plane ticket to Bali cost over 900 Fr. After that, it would be food.
- What did you get really, really, really excited about?
Starting this blog!!!! I haven't been this obsessed with something in such a long time. That and playing Death Stranding 2.
- What song will always remind you of this year?
Probably "Golden" from the K-Pop Demon Hunters soundtrack. The movie was my gateway into K-dramas.
- Compared to this time last year, are you: happier or sadder? Richer or poorer? Healthier or unhealthier?
- Happier. Last year, my job burnt me out and I was let go in a negative way. I was depressed all of July. So even though I am jobless, I feel a lot better mentally.
- Definitely poorer though, because I'm getting 70% of my salary through unemployment benefits. (Which I'm still grateful for, because it's more than enough to get by).
- I'm probably unhealthier, because I eat more processed foods. I also stopped seeing a personal trainer and now go to the gym twice a week rather than 3 times. But I think that's a good amount for me.
- What do you wish you’d done more of?
Make more YouTube videos. But I pressured myself to be more like a content creator and it killed my motivation. Now I just want to take my time, enjoy the process, and not worry about when/how often to publish.
- What do you wish you’d done less of?
The usual suspects: Guilt and Judgment. I've improved a lot over the years, but I'm still hard on myself.
- How are you spending the holidays?
With just family. We also video-called my sister during both Christmas Eve and NYE dinners, and that's been really fun to finally be able to spend the holidays with her again. I was also more mindful with decorations and dressed up for myself!
- Did you fall in love this year?
Yes, with blogging. And Bear Blog, hehe. ʕ♡˙ᴥ˙♡ʔ
- Do you hate anyone now that you didn’t hate this time last year?
Nah.
- What was your favorite show?
"Golden Kamuy," both the anime and live-action adaptation. I really recommend this series!
- What was the best book you read?
I am an extremely slow reader. I read one book in 2025: "The Joy Luck Club" by Amy Tan. I've been wanting to read this book since I was 10-years-old. I've seen the movie already, but the book was a lot more intense. It made me realize that I had much more of an American upbringing than a Chinese one, but also that my mother's immigrant story was very different from the usual ones you hear about.
- What was your greatest musical discovery of the year?
K-Pop. I had no interest for years. I have thoughts about the genre, but if you don't think about it too deeply it's just really fun music to work out to.
- What was your favorite film?
I really enjoyed watching "Superman" in theaters.
- What was your favorite meal?
We ate a lot of amazing food in Paris, namely udon. (I will do a recap of 2025 food highlights, so you'll see soon.)
- What did you want and get?
To not get my period ever again.
- What did you want and not get?
A job.
- What did you do on your birthday?
Slept all day in the hotel room and ordered bland food.
- What one thing would have made your year immeasurably more satisfying?
Feel less guilty about being unemployed.
- How would you describe your personal fashion this year?
Having fun with colors. I also started wearing rings.
- What kept you sane?
Journaling, talking to Daniel and my sister, sharing voice notes with Haben, my meds, watching K-dramas, and knitting.
- Which celebrity/public figure did you admire the most?
Ok Taec-yeon. His performance in "Vincenzo" blew me away, especially when I read his bio and learned that he has no acting background. I also thought he was like 28-years-old max but he's only one year younger than me!
- What political issue stirred you the most?
The ongoing genocide on Palestine by Israel (backed by the US), but also learning about the genocides in Congo and Sudan. Also the fucking shitshow that is American politics.
- Who did you miss?
I've been missing my 阿媽—my paternal grandmother—a lot, especially now that I'm learning to cook Taiwanese food. I wish she was still here because I have so many questions. I didn't give a shit about cooking while she was alive because I was too young to care.
- Who was the best new person you met?
The cool couple we met at Ami's wedding who drove us home when we couldn't get a taxi. (We were in the middle of nowhere). Coincidentally, I learned I contracted bali belly from his family's restaurant! :S Small world.
- What valuable life lesson did you learn this year?
Rekindling my childhood interests has revived a part of me that has laid dormant for years now. My inner child will be free.
- What is a quote that sums up your year?
KIKI: Before, I could fly without giving it a thought. But now, I don’t know how I did it.
URSULA: When that happens, all one can do is struggle through it. I draw and draw, and keep drawing.
KIKI: But then, if I can’t fly...
URSULA: Then I stop drawing. I take walks, look at the scenery, take naps, do nothing. Then after a while, all of a sudden I get the urge to draw again.
⁙ KIKI'S DELIVERY SERVICE by Hayao Miyazaki
More reflections from 2025 incoming.