Since day one of 2018 I never write down my resolution, I found a better way. Instead of writing my resolution, I would write anything good that ever happened to me through the year, anything. It can be something that is really small, or very simple such as your friend buying you lunch or you found new good music on Spotify. Up to something bigger, you get a new client that will pay you 10 times your usual rates. I will write everything.

It makes me easier to enjoy my life. You don’t have a responsibility to check some list. You will be more grateful for your life. But that doesn’t mean you don’t have any target at all. I still have a target to get rid of my body fat and reduce my body weight, I still constantly developing myself to become a better person than me yesterday. Stay hungry, stay foolish, you know.

Now, for the first time after the last 4 years, I will add 3 resolutions for 2023.

The first resolution is I want to play more often. 2022 really makes me don’t want to go outside, even for hanging out with my friends. I spent 95% of my 2022 time at the house, working on my side hustle. There are a couple reasons for that. One, my youngest sister, the last kid went to college this year, meaning I have to prepare for the college tuition money. Second, I spent too much money last year, so I want to earn that money back. I was impulsive with my money last year, and I hate myself for that, but I also forgive myself because I learn something.

The second reason is I want to take more photos. Since I locked myself up alone in my room for 2022 of course I can’t take many photos or I can’t think to take a photo. I like street photography, so what are you gonna capture when you locked yourself in the room? Really, I want to tell more stories in 2023. If you follow my Instagram since 2018, you will know that I always post aesthetic photos on my Instagram. Ever since 2022 I never post anything. Thanks to Yusril Fahriza, because I found his account yesterday, exactly yesterday, it makes me want to go outside and capture the story. I want to tell more stories through pictures in 2023. Amen!

The last reason is, I want to be more independent. What’s that mean? It means that for some aspects of my life I don’t want to depend on something or someone. The pandemic taught me that nothing is last forever. For example, my income streams right now are mostly from my monthly salary and some monthly freelancing. I almost have freelance work for at least one or two every month from my regular client, and he can easily replace me with the other designer if he wanted to. My company could hire someone cheaper and have better skills to replace me. My good friend always gave me a design project with good payment, now in 2022 she doesn’t. I understand that and I know that would happen. So that’s why I worked really hard in 2022 to build my “passive income” stream. I know it’s not passive, I still need to work on production and marketing stuff, but if this passive income can earn more than my salary plus my freelance, that would be great. I can’t rely on someone for the rest of my life. I have to learn how to market myself, or how to increase my skills, and as Dave Grohl said, I need to learn how to fly. But that doesn’t mean I don’t accept an offer from someone else, I still and always accept an offer and opportunity from someone else. To achieve an independent status, I need to learn more, read more, exercise more, work harder, work smarter, play harder, and play smarter.

Being independent also means I can spend time by myself alone without worrying. I can go outside by myself playing, taking pictures, and having fun.

I really forgot how to have fun in the half of 2022. I worried too much in 2022 and overthinking about how to earn more money. In 2023 I think I’m gonna relax a little bit, cool down a little bit, and sit back a little bit, I mean why worried if I already did my best? Worrying will not change the result.

In 2022 I can say that I did nothing about those 3 resolutions, my focus was work, work, and work. So now, even in 2023, I can do 2 or 3 times at least for my first two resolutions, which still count as “more” for me.

So that’s it. That’s the last chapter of my life in 2022, and you already got an idea about what happened in 2023. I can’t think about how to end this post because the fireworks are already everywhere even though it’s still 9pm.

Thank you for reading my blog, and happy new year!