2011 had its ups and downs, but it was still fun
2011 was about the internal, emotional struggles associated with what I want in my work, relationships, and life. I had to decide between a promising career or pursuing a passion. I had to learn what I really wanted in a girl and in a relationship and if I was ready for it. And I even struggled as I was living my dream lifestyle of location independent travel. Essentially, it was me going through the Quarterlife Crisis. I did turn 25 after all.
But I had mentioned that I had anticipated the Quarterlife Crisis and planned to embrace its challenges, and that meant life was still fun and I have plenty of highlights and personal lessons to share. Here are 15 of my top highlights from the past year divided by theme and roughly in chronological order:
Career
1. Ryan and I co-authored and sold our first book, How to Win Awards in Model United Nations. Regardless of the sales, we were proud to have launched our first product at the beginning of the year.
2. Our Model UN rankings went viral and Best Delegate achieves broad popularity in the community. One of the articles was even retweeted by the former Venezuelan Ambassador to the United Nations!
3. I was promoted to senior manager and graduated from the AT&T Leadership Development Program. I finally crossed over to the alumni side!
4. I actually left AT&T and went full-time with Best Delegate. This was a big decision! I’ll add that I also had a fun trip to China and Korea in between jobs; the trip served as somewhat of a reset button.
5. Model UN experiences overall: McMUN was probably the most fun conference I went to all year. FCMUN was also very fun. I probably learned the most at WEMUN and THIMUN Singapore. Professionally I’ve been told my best work took place at MUNUC, NHSMUN, and NCSC. I blogged about our top 15 highlights from work here.
Family, friends, and dating
6. I enjoyed a super-fun birthday with my Atlanta friends plus some visitors that featured home-cooked Korean dinner, clubbing, and late-night karaoke. This was probably one of my best birthdays ever.
7. Fun Memorial Day weekend with the LDP family: I made a summer fruit salad with a mango vinaigrette from scratch (my proudest cooking accomplishment this year) and then we went to go Shoot the Hooch.
8. Saw my brother graduate from college! That was one of several highlights in terms of good happenings for my family this year.
9. I met a girl I really liked and decided to seriously pursue her. I think I learned a lot about myself in terms of dating and relationships this year.
10. Atlanta life overall: I had a lot of fun with my friends. Atlanta brings back memories of Korean BBQ and Eclipse di Luna with the LDP family, Braves games with Jean, and more fun times. It also reminds me of Fox Brothers, Highland Bakery, Mary Mac’s, Flip Burger, Olympic Centennial Park, and the Georgia Aquarium since I always took friends to those places whenever I hosted them. Finally, Atlanta is where I saw Kina Grannis in concert.
Travel and experiences
11. I went to Mardi Gras in New Orleans. I had a lot of fun with the group, and the trip helped me fulfill my desire to travel with a purpose, meet new friends, and explore the South.
12. I took part as a model in a photoshoot for an AT&T in-store ad. I’m glad I got the opportunity to do something cool like this right before I left the company. On a related note, I finally bought a DSLR and I feel like I have gained proficiency in using it.
13. I went on an eye-opening driving night tour of the projects in Atlanta with my friend who grew up in the ‘hood.
14. I achieved Gold Medallion status on Delta and A+ Elite status on AirTran. In addition, I figured out how to use Priceline as I’ve now added hotels to my travel hacking arsenal.
15. I completed 12 weeks of consecutive location independent travel to the East Coast, Canada, Singapore, and San Francisco. I had a lot of fun everywhere, and San Francisco, Fredericksburg, and Boston were particularly enjoyable. Thanks again to everyone for hosting me!
