Saturday, December 31, 2011
2011 - The Year Of Firsts
Every year, things happen - good things, bad things, boring things, exciting things. For me, 2011 was the most interesting year of my life. So, so, so, so, so many things happened to me that I can't even believe it myself. With every new year comes new experiences and for me, 2011 was an exceptional year with so many new experiences (what I call as 'firsts') that I felt that I must compile it all, as explicitly as possible! Okay, so explicit isn't a word with very positive connotations, but it's meaning is as close to the word I'm looking for as possible.
So, here goes nothing:
My List of Firsts (Things that I did/happened to me for the first time in 2011)1) First time I worked/had a paying job
2) First time I chose to have a meal by myself in a foreign land (Japan, when I wanted to eat stuff my family didn't want to eat - curry)
3) First time I signed up for a language course!!!!! :D (한국말!)
(That's my Korean teacher~!)
4) First time I went for a facial (haha)
5) First time I had a drum lesson! (It's been 6 years since I first wanted to learn drums, and I was glad to have learnt a wee bit this year!!!)
6) First time I was in charge of a whole comm (okay, not that I had people under me, but in YAWA comm, it was kinda like you had to take charge of the whole thing, which was sorta new to me, to conceptualise, plan and execute. Previously, I hadn't done the conceptualise part)
(No nice pictures of me at YAWA, so, yeah, no picture for this one)7) First year in a long while that I ....... didn't do ushering AT ALL. THE WHOLE YEAR. :O (Okay, this is a lousy one, but I just wanted to put it there for remembrance)
8) First time I went to China (did you know that 3 out of my 4 grandparents directly came from China to settle at their respective countries? No wonder people sometimes mistake me as being from China. T_T)
9) First time I travelled out of the country unsupervised (like, without my parents or school teachers. The feeling of freedom was exhilarating, I must say!)
10) First time I went on a mission trip (this is especially significant to me, because for so many years of my life, I didn't get a chance to/didn't want to go on a mission trip. So, finally, I got to go)
11) First experience of being a teacher/teaching dance (still a funny feeling to think of people calling me as "江老师")
12) First time I had to wash my own clothes - HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA (good experience, if I should say so myself!)
13) First time I travelled around on a mountain (really, really cool - although at times, nauseating. The scenery is SO good and it's totally a free roller-coaster ride, without the upside down bits. It was cool to be in the 凉山 Liangshan province!)
14) First time I made dumplings (饺子) / glutinous rice dumplings (粽子)
15) First time I took part/played a part in choreographing a dance item ^^
16) First time I took an aeroplane by myself!
17) First time I allowed more than one person (in a sitting) to hear one of my songs (memory-jogger: at YA, when Kim lead worship on one Sunday, after we'd both come back from our respective mission trips, we sang a song I had written after I came back from YAWA in Malaysia and before I left for China, i.e. within those few hours I had)
18) First time I went for an actual dance class (not school-based)
19) First time I performed a hip hop dance item without a school context (at PlayMax)
20) First time I put on make-up for other people (I still remember when I was in dance club, the seniors/other people would always be the ones putting on make-up for me. So, at PlayMax, when I was putting on my own make-up, and even going around helping the dancers to put on make-up, the feeling sure was a refreshing one)
(Have posted this picture before - sorry, no other picture)
21) First time I sang as a support singer in worship at main service (ooooh~)
22) First time I helped out at a Cornerstone event (for Children's Day)
(The letters below were designed by yours truly! :D)
23) First time I tried out puppetry (same event as above)
24) First time I helped out at a children's day camp (Saddle Ridge Ranch, KPC's first Vacation Bible School, where I helped Auntie Mui Hong with the worship session, teaching the kids how to dance to the songs taught) (Never have I imagined that I would do something like that, because for the longest time, I couldn't stand kids - especially the ones that screamed, but wow, I did it!)
25) First time I did a session (or rather, four sessions) for kids (at Saddle Ridge Ranch, where I was at the Missions room, and I had to share with the children about missions in South America and Africa. This took me a lot of courage, because firstly, this was a subject that I wasn't familiar with, and secondly, I had never done this sorta "teaching" before)
[No pictures from Saddle Ridge Ranch too, 'cause Tate didn't post any pictures online...]26) First time I went to Punggol (okay, in all honesty, I've never been to many parts of Singapore before. I'm ashamed to say that, as a Singaporean)
27) First time I was THE choreographer of an item (whoot whoot!!!!)
I'd always wanted to choreograph my own item while I was in dance club - okay the latter part of my time there. However, I never got the chance to, because I was afraid that I wouldn't be able to do it. I mean, I could freestyle at home, but I could never remember my own steps. So, I thought that I would never be able to do it, to put up a full-fledged item. The chance to be a choreographer - the main one, not the one contributing a few sets of "8s" here and there - at Celebrating Christmas In Singapore (CCIS) was truly a dream come true for me. The best part, was dancing for God, not for my own glory. And I'm truly thankful for that opportunity.
28) First time I was a group leader at youth camp (scary scary, but I'm glad God gave me the courage to take it on)
29) First time performing my own song - not just singing, but playing the piano too - in "public" (well, it was at camp, but it was quite a big crowd to me, okay!)
This last one is my favourite - you know, save the best for last! ;D
30) First time a guy
(I thought was cute) has
ever told me that I was
pretty
(I know I look crap here, but the fact is, I woke up at 5.55am that day, having slept at 3am+, so not enough sleep + just woke up + just showered = unglamorous)Frivolous? Yes. Important? YES.
Judge me for all you want, but yes, I admit that I am an insecure person and that things like that make me happy. DEAL WITH IT.
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If you actually read all 30 of them, GOOOOOOD JOB! I salute you, soldier!! :D
If you read the first one and just skipped to the end, well, thanks for visiting my blog anyway. :)
Okay, it is too early in the morning to state. I should get to sleep now!
(Pictures were limited, some of these special moments weren't captured, but oh well, it's as good as it gets!) (And yes, I did take some off facebook)
♥ Out!
Angeline♥
