Reflections on 2010

As this year winds down through its final week, I've been reflecting on the year gone by. As I was telling my best friend the other day, 2010 felt like the year in which everything finally fell into place for me. I couldn't have asked for a better year to close out this decade, which has seen me go through some truly tumultuous times. It feels deeply satisfying to finally shed the insecurities and uncertainties of my 20s and grow comfortable in my own skin. Much of my 20s were spent agonising over whether I'd ever meet the right person, what I should do with my life and whether I'd ever be any good at what I do.

Being naturally quite reserved, I've never been the kind of person who makes friends easily. Throughout my 20s, it seemed like with each passing year, my circle of friends grew smaller. However, in my 30s, I was surprised when new friends came into my life and we bonded easily and strongly. Similarly, just when I'd given up hope on meeting someone, I met my husband and we got married in March this year after just two years of dating.

Life and people will surprise you that way. Sometimes, all it takes is being in the right place at the right time (and always treating the people around you with kindness and graciousness will go a long, long way too). So, ladies who are dreading turning 30, do try to keep an open mind because your 30s could turn out to be much more interesting than you anticipate. I know that I've been very blessed, and I give thanks every day for it.

Blog-wise, it has also been deeply gratifying to watch my readership grow organically to where it is today. Long-time readers would know that this year, I started to show my face on the blog and hopefully, that has made the blog more personable and useful. (If you detest my face, I don't know why you are reading this but I do hope for your sake, that you find something more productive to do with your time soon!) My sincere thanks to my regular readers for stopping by and sharing your thoughts with me through the comments.

2010 was the year that beauty companies in Singapore actively started to engage the blogging community and so I had the chance to attend several events. These have been on the whole quite fun and it was definitely an eye-opener in terms of getting to know the rest of the local community of beauty bloggers, ladies from all walks of life and professions with one shared love of everything beauty-related. Naturally, not everyone is peaches and sunshine but well, they do provide the best stories!

For 2011, my only wishes are that my mother's cancer will continue to stay in remission (it's 2 years and counting now) for decades to come, and for the safety of my husband, who likes to visit countries that give me nightmares. To my readers, I hope that 2011 will bring you buckets of warm love and laughter, wherever you are.