Hello friends, followers, and various people on the internet 👋 Happy New Year! 🎊
2023 seemed to pass by so quickly! But even more astounding than that, for the first time in my Yearly Review history, I’ve managed to get this published right on January 1st 🥳💪🏻
Table of Contents
- Why Am I Writing This?
- B.A.G. Format
- What I’m Grateful For
- Stats / Achievements
- Memorable Moments:
- General Thoughts on 2023
- Goals for 2023
- Goals for 2024
- Themes, Lessons, and Insights of 2023
Why Am I Writing This?
This post allows me to simultaneously:
- Self-reflect on my past year
- Share personal highlights with those who are curious or interested
These year-end reviews give me the space to recap memorable events, express gratitude, compile my personal statistics, and examine how much progress I made on my personal goals.
My Tradition Since 2016
Since 2016, I’ve been doing these posts mainly for my own records. However, these reflections may also be beneficial to others, so I write them with the intention of a public audience reading them.
For those who don’t know, I do 3 other types of journal reflections: daily, weekly, and monthly. This yearly reflection is somewhat of a compilation of those reflections but formatted in a more digestible way for the public.
Past Years In Review:
In a separate post, I’ve compiled all of the life lessons I’ve learned this year. My hope is that sharing my own hard-earned lessons will benefit those who may encounter similar challenges. I also want to compile these into a book one day, since it’s my long-term dream to become a published author.
B.A.G. Format
For my yearly reviews, I use the B.A.G. format. The acronym stands for:
B = Blessings
A = Achievements
G = Goals
The idea is that to keep yourself happy and centered, you have to reach into your “BAG” every so often. This helps me focus on gratitude looking back, celebrating wins, and then redirecting my focus to the future.
What I’m Grateful For
Special Individuals
My Parents
Always grateful to have my parents around and to see them each time I visit home. They always make time to spend with me and host me if needed, and they drive me around. Most importantly, it’s the one time I get fed by someone else since I’m usually the one feeding others, haha. But I’m particularly glad I got to catch up with my mom in October when we took a walk around my grandpa’s neighborhood. Also was able to catch up with my dad and stepmom about their plans for the future and what they’ve been up to. It’s always nice to have a place to go home to where you know you have people who love you unconditionally. Having littles/daughters of my own really makes me appreciate my own parents more because I feel like I can sorta relate now. How parents will love their kids endlessly, but you can’t expect your kids to appreciate everything until maybe way later when they have kids of their own. Now looking back, it’s easier to empathize with all the love and sacrifice they’ve given to me growing up. And also realize just how much love they felt/feel for me no matter how little time I spend with them nowadays. It’s a love that you know will never go away no matter what.
Siblings
When I visit home, the only people I really visit are my parents and siblings. It was great catching up with them each time. My sister has been going through a lot of personal challenges the last several years, but I’m proud of her for still hanging in there. My little brother Jacob seemed to be doing well during his first college quarter in Hawaii, and I’m always so proud of him when I hear updates from my mom about how he’s doing. My baby brother Daniel seems to be doing fine also. He’s hyperactive as always, but he seems to have good friends around him. Despite his struggle to stay organized in school, he has a good head on his shoulders. From some of our long talks, while walking around the neighborhood, I can tell he has a lot of creativity inside of him and a lot of potential for his journey ahead. Hopefully, when either or both of my brothers become adults, our paths will cross more consistently. I have a feeling that either of my brothers would be great partners to have in future creative endeavors together.
Aeden Pham
Anthony / Aeden is a long-time dance friend who recently came back into my social circle this past summer when we started to see each other more in the kpop dance cover community. We ended up taking Improv 101 and Standup Comedy 201 classes together this last fall, and are now doing semi-regular comedy open mics together, as well as joke-writing sessions. It’s super nice to have an accountability partner and someone to write jokes with and practice them on. I also really appreciate this dude for all of our deep and intellectual talks we’ve had these past few months. I appreciate that he’s such a genuine guy who always tries his best to be a good friend, will go out of his way for others (even if they don’t deserve it), is willing to be vulnerable around his friends, and keeps it real. He’s a guy who keeps his word, communicates clearly and directly, and appreciates honesty in others. This past year, I haven’t met many other people who have as much integrity as him, and I just wanted to call that out as a rare trait these days.
Patrisha Maui Sangalang
Maui is our fearless leader of KND who brought us together for K-Factor this past year and helped get us that 1st place win. I don’t know how it worked, but she managed to wrangle our 10 personalities together to create something crazy. Not only that, but she is the heart of the culture of our little project team. Nobody parties harder or takes dance standards as seriously as her, and that’s something I deeply admire about her. Someone asked me this year which group of friends I like partying with the most, and hands down it’s KND because they’re such a crazy and fun group that also makes me feel 10 years younger. And a large part of that is because of Maui. I sometimes tease her and give her a hard time, but it’s mostly because I care a lot about her and our team. More importantly, I feel like I can be straightforward with her without her taking it negatively, which is super rare in dance leaders nowadays. She probably doesn’t know this, but of everyone on KND, I feel the most protective of her and see her as a little sister (not because she’s also Filipino but also because of that lol). I’m so excited to work with her and the rest of the team for K-Factor 2024 and see if we can top ourselves.
Phuc San
Even though we’ve known and danced with each other since Firework Era on Koreos, it was so nice to dance again with him on KND, and also party with him through them and our OldCrew. Phuc is one of those guys who is so different onstage and offstage. Onstage he’s a beast who exudes charisma and trains hard to always put on his best performance. Offstage, he’s a total goofball but one of the kindest people you’ll ever meet. He’ll go out of his way to give you a ride or pick up boba for you, and he’ll be there for you if you ever need it. And most importantly, he’s one of the most humble guys you’ll ever meet despite how talented of a dancer he is.
Jordan Ziegler
This might be recency bias because I saw him recently during our Tijuana trip, but I wanted to call out how much he has impacted my Koreos experience. This past retreat, he told me how much it meant to him that I did my best to look out for him and be there for him, despite how much internal turmoil was going on inside him, as well as his largely negative experience being on LSHIP. It meant so much to me and made me realize how much it has gone both ways. Seeing him go through so many challenges and having to leave the team, despite being one of my favorite people on Koreos at the time, was devastating for me personally. It was one of the largest catalysts for me wanting to make a change on the team and join LSHIP. I wanted to help make it a safe space for everyone to feel accepted and welcomed on the team, not just the “in” crowd. To be honest, my early time on Koreos felt like that: cool kids who were invited to everything vs the rest of us. I hated it and I wanted to make it better for the newbies who would join future eras. So in that sense, I’m grateful for him to still have been involved in the team, and to inspire all of us with his own growth journey, both dance and personally.
Lisa Doan
Lisa typically would get her own section in my dedication to my littles, but she deserves a spot here as well because of how much I’ve grown to appreciate her even more this past year. She’s done so much for the team and for others, it’s something I admire most about her. Not only is she the clear winner for most miles driven for Koreos, but she also has been working hard to get us great and unique dance opportunities. Moreover, she is almost always involved in helping organize our socials (maybe because Tory and I are usually planning them also), and is consistently the first to volunteer to help. She doesn’t usually ask for much, but because of who she is and what she does for our team, I’m always compelled to do whatever I can for her when she needs it. It feels good to be there for her since she is usually the first person to be there for her friends, and I’m grateful to have her in my life.
Bao Vu
Probably the only friend who would make this list three-years in a row, but I feel like I’ve already said how much I appreciate this guy. Like all of us, he goes through his own challenges and struggles. But what I admire about him is that he still has the self-awareness to navigate them. Unlike others who passively hope for the best, he’s intentional about trying to better himself. To me, that effort is what separates him from a lot of other people I know. He’s done so much for our team these last few years and always does his best to bring people together. Not only that, I’m grateful for when he offers to carpool and drive us to whatever practice, filming, or hangout together. I’m happy to call him a friend and I want to do my best to be there for him whenever he needs it.
Blessie Panopio
The love of my life has to be last because she’s the best. I’m so proud of her for how much she’s grown this past year and all she’s gone through. From moving twice, navigating family challenges, and recently joining a K-pop dance team of her own, she’s been making strides on her personal goals. She and I of course have our own couple struggles like everyone else, but I appreciate that she’s still willing to go through the challenges together. We’ve also traveled a lot this year, notably to the Philippines this past May, and then to Seattle in August. She’s hands down the best travel buddy I could ever ask for.
Being a partner to someone like me can be very difficult at times, and I fully acknowledge that. I can be stern, have high standards, and be very aggressive with my communication sometimes. When I’m going through my own challenges, I tend to be more cold and closed off. But I appreciate her for giving me kindness, space, and patience regardless, and has somehow learned to navigate me and my own idiosyncrasies. I realized I’m not an easy person to date, but she makes it seem so easy, and for that, I love her endlessly. She truly makes me want to be a better person and constantly inspires me.
This next year, I’m excited to see her grow and do my best to support her on her own journey as well.
Groups of People
Koreos
I’m finishing up my 5th year on Koreos (currently in my 6th era) and it’s been such a ride. But I’m so grateful for Koreos to have been such a big part of my life these past few years, and one of the vehicles that has helped me grow so much. I’ve gained so many friendships and created so many memorable experiences with the team. I’ve also learned a lot about myself on this team, going from an “old/experienced” newbie, to a returner, to now a leader for the 2nd year in a row. I’ve been involved in taking on three sets of babies onto the team (choco fall, choco winter, strawberry fall), and been like their parents, helping them get acclimated and connected to the team. My primary goal is to protect our newbies, make them feel connected, and make sure they feel unconditional acceptance on the team. It’s always harder the larger the team, but I hope that my efforts for the choco babies helped create a good experience for them. And I’m hoping I can do an even better job for our straw babies this year.
Koreos LSHIP
In addition to the newbies, my fellow LSHIP are also very important to me. I feel super protective about each of them and I’m always thinking about their well-being as our team could never run effectively without them. I’ve always preached that the health of any team is solely determined by the health and culture of its leadership. Therefore, my main priority at the start of each year is to make sure our LSHIP can foster a space amongst ourselves for trust and transparency. A place where we can ask for and lean on each other for help when we need it. Our team could never model this culture if we don’t first create that culture with us. But for all they’ve done for the team, I deeply appreciate both Choco and Strawberry LSHIPs for their service and leadership on our team.
My littles: Yerson, Jade, Ariel, Rin, Lisa, Tia, Katrina
I can’t believe my family has grown so large this past year. I’m sure I hold the record for largest family, or even active family haha. But that’s not really the point. I truly just want to model by my own actions the type of family I’ve always wanted when I was on a dance team. I don’t think I’ve ever had a dance family who cared about me like I felt like I needed when I was younger. I lacked so much confidence and didn’t have a sense of self yet. I wished I felt more accepted and loved by my dance family. But I later realized that they were also going through their own struggles so they did the best they could.
But now, I figured I might as well be that person I felt like I would have wanted. I want to set the standard for what a Big should be like: someone who always listens, cares, and intentionally makes time for their littles. To reaffirm them when they’re doubting themselves. To show up when they need him/her, but also consistently show up even if they don’t need them.
I learned from my own parents that your love needs to be unconditional, and no matter what their behavior, you have to be consistent to show that nothing they do can change how you feel about them. Even at times when you feel unappreciated, I’ve learned that you don’t love someone because you want something from them. You love those you care about because that’s who you are and what you’ve committed to. You love even when you don’t feel like loving because that’s what a parent does. That’s what a true friend does. That’s what family does. And maybe one day, they’ll look back and realize just how much you loved them because you’ve been there every step of the way, and followed up your words with actions. But even if that day doesn’t come, you act loving regardless.
This is a struggle I’ve been dealing with these past couple of years since I committed to being the best Big I can be. And because of them, I’ve grown so much, especially in how I approach this role in my life. It’s one of those things where you learn it’s not what you get in return, but rather who you become that’s the most valuable.
Yerson – I’m grateful that I’ve spent so much more time with him since we both joined KND this past year and all the partying and deep talks we’ve had. He’s going through his own journey and struggles, and I’m grateful to have been able to provide some insight and guidance as his Big / friend. I’ve also had to sort of “yell” at him for some of his decisions, but that’s what any big bro has to do haha. But in the end, I have faith that he’ll find his way and make the right decisions in the long run. I really hope he knows how much I endlessly love him, and it’s frustrating sometimes to not be able to do much. But I still commit to showing up no matter what because I know that’s what he needs. Consistent friends who he knows he can trust and won’t leave him no matter what.
Jade – This girl is like the personification of loud lmao. But I love and accept her unconditionally regardless, even if she probably wouldn’t be someone I normally would become friends with haha (jk, but maybe). But she has gone through so many challenges this past year from school, to family, to her relationship. And even though she’s not always the best at following my advice, I’m still proud of her for sticking through it and slowly becoming the person she wants to be. Also special shout out that as much as she clearly enjoys being the recipient of my generosity, I appreciate that she doesn’t have an ounce of entitlement in her. She’s always grateful and doesn’t expect anything from anyone, which I love about her.
Rin – I was sad that Choco was her last year on Koreos, but infinitely grateful for the time we have spent since then. Even though it feels like we’ve been drifting further apart since she left the team, I still have this undying adoration and love for this girl. I never know what she’s up to, but whenever I do see her for our family hangouts, I try my best to show her how much I’ve missed her. I hope she’s doing well in all areas of her life, and I’m constantly praying for her and all the happiness she could ever want.
Ariel – I also feel like this past year we’ve grown further apart, similar to Rin. Even though she’s not on Koreos anymore, I’m always happy to see her put out her own covers and be involved in covers with Playground. Same with Rin, I don’t think she knows how much I think about and miss her, and I’m constantly wishing her the best. I wish I could be there for her whenever she needs it, but I’m glad that it seems like she’s doing well and doesn’t need it. But just like the rest of my littles, I would be there for her in a heartbeat. As long as she’s happy, I am happy. And I’ll forever be one of her biggest fans and supporters 🙂
Lisa – I’ve said a lot already in the previous section, but I have a deep gratitude for her and how much of a giving person she is. She’s the type of friend anyone would be happy to have, and if you ever get a friend like her, you should do your best to hold onto that friendship as much as you can. Because you’d be stupid to ruin a friendship with someone as amazing as her. Regardless of her being my little, she’s the type of person I always want to have around me because she inspires me to be the best person I can be.
Tia – Even though this is probably her last year on the team, I admire Tia so much for her artistry and work ethic. She’s such a hard-working dancer, a talented artist, and such a fun person to be around. It’s always good vibes with her, and she’s very loving to those she cares about. I’ll miss her when she leaves, but I want to do my best to spend as much time with her as possible. I know she has a lot going on and is still trying to figure herself out, but I have complete faith that things will turn out fine for her because she has all the tools needed to be successful in whatever she chooses to do.
Katrina – She’s my newest and youngest baby out of all my littles, but I definitely love her no less than the others (despite what my cards say lmao). She thinks she’s my least favorite but I HAVE NO LEAST FAVORITES! Her interview during Fall auditions was the best I’ve ever heard, and I instantly knew I wanted her on the team. And after dancing with her in our first subunit of the year, I knew I wanted her in my family. Unfortunately, most of the other Bigs also wanted her as a little (no surprise), so I was prepared to give her to one of them depending on her preference. Luckily, it worked out and I was able to adopt her as my own ❤ Even though she’s a bit unsure of herself at times and her journey ahead, I know she has so much potential to do great things. And I’m especially proud of her work-ethic despite being relatively new to dance. I’m still trying to figure out how to make her feel loved and supported (she doesn’t even know her own love languages haha) but I’m confident I’ll figure it out by the end of the year.
My grand & great-grand littles
I was so happy this past year to get grand littles and one great-grand little! It can sometimes feel overwhelming to have so many people in my family, but I definitely love it more than anything. I think part of me wants to prove a point: love isn’t a zero-sum concept. If you truly love someone, it doesn’t take away from how much you can love others. In fact, the more you love people, the more your capacity to love grows. But this only applies to unconditional love. Conditional love is very draining and truly feels zero-sum. Unconditional love, however, is infinite. Maybe this is a bit too deep or serious for other people, but like I said, having littles has really been a paradigm shift for me.
Tory – Despite being so busy with her life outside of the team, I love and appreciate how much she’s done for the team, especially in the short time she’s been on LSHIP so far. She’s put her heart and soul into organizing our social events and is such a loving presence on the team. This is probably her last year on the team, but I want to do my best to support her as much as she needs to help her get through the year.
Alex – My former youngest baby in my family haha. Even though her time on the team has been short, it feels like she’s been one of my littles for much longer since I knew her back when she was in high school. I’m infinitely proud of her for all she’s overcome in her life, and how much she’s grown since we first met. I’m also hyper-protective of her as she’s really like a little sister to me. Unfortunately, a big part of my protectiveness comes from her being such a loving and vulnerable person. Because of that, she’s been more susceptible to guys who don’t have her best interests at heart. For someone who has so much going on for her (talent, intelligence, work ethic), her only Achilles heel is a guy she thinks is attractive 🤦🏻♂️. But I guess she’s just as much a hopeless romantic as me when I was her age lmao. I can’t blame her, but it sometimes hurts that I have to let her make her own mistakes so that she can learn. As much as I want to tell her to just listen to me, I want her to be empowered to make her own decisions confidently.
I’m grateful that Lisa and I are like co-parents to her, and have been there for her this past year when she was going through it. But more thankful that Lisa has been like the perfect Big/mom to her, having gone through very similar struggles herself. But now, Alex is doing much better and getting through her first year in college. I’m very happy to be one of her supporters along the way, and I’m always looking forward to our family hangouts.
Angela – My first great-grandbaby! I’m so glad she ended up in our family because I was ready to adopt her myself if need be. But I’m glad it worked out and she’s Tory’s little. We met earlier this year through Untitled, and after speaking with her, hearing about her mindset and experience, and that she wanted to join Koreos, I was really hoping she would make it onto the team. Long story short, she’s on the team, in our family, and she’s such a good fit for our team. As a fellow Aries, I feel like we think very similarly and have very similar personality traits haha. But I also promised Tory that when she leaves the team, I’ll look after Angela like my own little. But too late because I already see all of my grands and my great-grands as my direct littles. I know Angela will do great things both on the team and in her life as she’s so capable and effective. I’m just happy to be one of her supporters cheering her on and being there whenever she needs me.
Karaoke Crew
I always want to give a special shout-out to this group because we consistently make time to hang out together, have foodie adventures, try new fun activities, and of course karaoke! It’s always a good time when people you appreciate make the time for you. Unlike most of my friend groups that tend to be younger or older than me, this group feels more like my peers in terms of age range since I’m about in the middle haha. But as always, I’m looking forward to our monthly hangouts together, and possible out-of-state and international trips.
KND
The newest group but also the craziest group of friends that I’m very thankful to have found this past year. Hands down, nobody parties harder or takes winning more seriously than this group of people and I absolutely love it. The common denominators that brought us together were 1) knowing Maui and 2) the drive to put something together to hopefully win. Proud to say that more than accomplishing that 1st place, the fun vibes when we hang out until late at night have been some of my biggest highlights this past year. The plan is to try and 2peat at K-Factor this year. But even if we don’t, it’s definitely going to be a crazy set that we’ll be proud of.
Blessie’s fam in the Philippines
My last shout-out goes to Blessie’s family this year who hosted us and took us around when we visited in May. I deeply appreciate all of their kindness, warmth, and generosity in making the trip even better than I was expecting. Special shout out to Kuya Ison for driving us everywhere and being the most informed tour guide haha. The trip was such a great and memorable experience for me, and it wouldn’t have been half as good without her amazing family.
Stats / Achievements
Books read: 24
Movies watched in theaters: 54 (via AMC A-List + others)
TV Shows & Anime watched: 15
- Spy x Family
- Inukai-san’s Dog
- Fairy Tail
- Demon Slayer
- Invincible
- Kabaneri of the Iron Fortress
- Blade of the Immortal
- How to be Rich
- Rokudo’s Bad Girls
- The Outcast
- Jujutsu Kaisen
- One Piece (live action)
- Asobi Asobase
- Chainsaw Man
- Yu Yu Hakusho (live action)
Reindeer Family hangouts: 4
- 1/14 – LACMA + ramen (6)
- 4/23 – Alex’s dance show + Karaoke (5)
- 10/14 – DTLA escape room + K-Town (7)
- 12/8 – Triple birthday dinner in LA (9)
Blood donations: 3
- February 15
- May 17
- August 30
Flights / Trips: 14 / 6
- NorCal 1/20 – 1/21
- Philippines 5/3 – 5/12
- NorCal 6/10 – 6/11
- Seattle 8/11 – 8/15
- NorCal 10/27 – 10/28
- NorCal 11/22 – 11/24
Dance Teams / Projects: 4
- Koreos Choco & Strawberry Era
- Playground
- Untitled
- KND
Gym workouts: 20,19,12,20,10,15,16,16,17,17,14,16 = 192 sessions
KPOP covers/performances: 11
- Lucifer – SHINee (Koreos) [2/17]
- Fighting – BSS (Koreos) [3/12]
- K-Factor 2023 Medley (KND) [4/22]
- K-Factor 2023 Exhibition (Koreos) [4/22]
- Super – SVT (Playground) [6/4]
- Flash – X1 (Koreos) [6/16]
- Super – SVT (Untitled) [7/2]
- 626 Night Market performance (Koreos) [7/8]
- Get A Guitar – RIIZE (Koreos) [11/7]
- Drunk-Dazed – Enhypen (Koreos) [11/21]
- K-Factor 2023 set filming (KND) [12/30]
Got into temporary tattoos in July
Learned boxing & took classes: Jan-Feb
Signed up with an online fitness coach in April
Bowling all-time high score: 234
Memorable Moments:
January
1/10 & 1/13 – Koreos Winter auditions
1/14 – Fam hangout @LACMA
1/15 – Winter Orientation
1/20-21 – NorCal trip to visit fam
1/28 – Koreos Six Flags trip
February
2/11 – Jae’s moving away celebration w/ Karaoke Crew
2/13 – Catch up w/ Rani
2/14 – Valentine’s Day Cruise
2/17 – Lucifer filming
2/18-20 – Koreos Photoshoot + Midyear retreat
2/24 – QT KPOP clubbing in WeHo
2/27 – Bao’s birthday hangout
March
3/4 – Project KND photoshoot
3/10 – Newport Beach dinner cruise
3/12 – BSS & XG filming
3/18 – Six Flags trip
3/22 – DV hangout
3/24 – Karaoke Crew hangout + added Joanne to the group
3/31 – Date night: Food + Comedy show @IrvineImprov
April
4/2 – Sunday practice + my birthday “surprise” & fam hangout
4/5 – Birthday dinner @Benihana
4/7 – Birthday hangout @IdolKaraoke
4/8 – Newport Beach Brunch cruise + birthday celebrations
4/8 – Rani’s 30th birthday murder mystery party
4/22 – K-Factor, Koreos afterparty, Untitled afterparty
4/23 – Fam hangout (Alex’s dance show, Davien, karaoke)
4/26 – KND hangout (Tenju, KBBQ, Tastea, R1)
4/28 – OldCrew hangout (DV, Billiards, DDD Karaoke + games @Genesis’s place)
4/29 – Louna’s birthday party
May
5/7-12 – Philippines trip w/ Blessie (Manilla, Baguio, Batangas, Tagaytay)
5/13 – Irvine Korean Culture Festival
5/13 – Jae’s birthday celebration (Benihana, Matcha Maiko, DDD karaoke)
5/15 – Attention filming in Long Beach
5/17 – KND movie night @Jaime’s place + her roommate
5/20 – Alive filming + Koreos beach social @SantaMonicaBeach
5/27 – Big/Little hangout day w/ Jade (KFT fundraiser, Unforgiven filming, Paint Nite)
5/28 – LSHIP bonding + deliberation for new LSHIP
5/29 – Brunch w/ Marco, Ascella filming
June
6/3 – Koreos Banquet + cakes for Ariel & Rin’s birthdays
6/4 – SVT – Super filming w/ Playground @SMPier
6/4 – Koreos last Sunday practice (retro, mafia, LSHIP dinner chat, Sharetea)
6/10-11 – NorCal trip for sister’s birthday
6/12 – Hangout w/ Shasia @Costco & @Cafe86
6/15 – Koreos movie night @AMC: Spiderverse 2
6/16 – X1 – Flash filming
6/17 – Adventure day w/ KND (Six Flags, Brickyard Pub, Universal CityWalk, Round1, Chemelier, Hush filming @LACMA)
6/23 – QT KPOP clubbing
6/25 – Blessie’s Lokalani’s dance show + sushi
6/30 – InvAsian club performance w/ Koreos
July
7/1 – Hao’s birthday hangout w/ Karaoke Crew (@Aloha + @DV)
7/2 – SVT – Super filming w/ Untitled @AX + 7hr hangout @Jaime’s
7/4 – Untitled beach potluck + hangout @Angela’s place
7/7 – Shasia’s birthday dinner
7/8 – 626 Night Market performance + Untitled afterparty @Lauren’s
7/14 – KND Kpop Clubbing performance
7/16 – Koreatown Plaza competition + KND hangout & team meeting
7/22 – Karaoke Crew hangout (Brunch cruise pt. 2 + Hao Sweet + Round1)
7/22 – Jaime’s birthday party
7/23 – Saigon Night Market + Karaoke
7/28 – QT Kpop Clubbing + Untitled hangout until 7am
7/29 – Koreos movie night @AMC: Barbie
7/30 – Foodie adventures w/ Lisa & Alex (Tanakaya, Gogo Sonic, Bake & Che)
August
8/5 – Six Flags w/ Karaoke Crew; OC hangout w/ Sylvia @Genesis’s place
8/6 – Chi Chi LA + karaoke w/ KND
8/8 – LSHIP KBBQ
8/11-15 – Seattle trip w/ Blessie + wedding
8/18 – OC peeps hangout w/ Sylvia pt. 2
8/26 – QT KPOP Night performance w/ Koreos
8/27 – Little Tokyo hangout w/ Tia, Tory, and Shasia
September
9/1 – Karaoke Crew hangout (matcha maiko + DDD karaoke)
9/2 – Hangout w/ Sarah + D&H (@LittleOx @VillainsBrewing & @Sarah’s place)
9/8 – Blessie’s first SHERO filming @LACMA
9/15 – Dinner w/ Julie @ThaiVilla + @7Leaves
9/22 – Karaoke Crew hangout (@BCD @DV @MM @DDD)
9/23 – Dinner date w/ Blessie @CheesecakeFactory
9/24 – Strawberry Koreos LSHIP bonding gathering
9/24 – Standup Comedy 201 graduation show
9/25 – Dinner w/ church small group
9/29-30 – Koreos Fall audition, deliberation @Sarah’s
October
10/1 – Koreos fall orientation (@SAC @Sharetea + love readings @InNOut)
10/7 – Spade A RPD; Phuc & Genesis’s birthday dinner
10/8 – Koreos first Sunday practice
10/9 – Dinner w/ bible study small group @DunHuang
10/13 – Karaoke Crew hangout @DV
10/14 – Fam hangout (DTLA, @HorrorEscapesLA, @FeiXianGong @Oakobing) + KND hangout @Nandarang
10/20 – Clarissa’s going away gathering (@SunNongDan @YDKaraoke)
10/21 – June & Alex’s wedding
10/21 – Yerson’s birthday afterparty @Travis’s place
10/27-28 – NorCal trip for brother’s birthday
November
11/4 – Anime Pasadena performance w/ Koreos + Halloween social
Alex: 🤪
11/5 – Koreos Sunday practice + Big/Little reveals
11/7 – Get A Guitar filming w/ Koreos + @Sharetea & @BCD
11/10 – Perfect Night filming w/ Koreos + @BCD
11/11 – Catherine’s birthday party + Untitled Friendsgiving @Lauren’s
11/17 – Lisa’s birthday party
11/18 – Dinner + @BeachBoulevardClub w/ D&H
11/20 – Blessie’s birthday dinner @Benihana
11/21 – Drunk-Dazed filming w/ Koreos + dinner @PixiuMalaHongtan
11/22-24 – NorCal trip for Thanksgiving
11/24 – KND Giving party @Lauren’s place
11/28 – TXT filming w/ Koreos @LACMA + dinner
December
12/1 – Blessie’s birthday hangout pt. 2 w/ Karaoke Crew @DDDKaraoke
12/2 – Stray Kids filming + Matt’s birthday party
12/5 – Foundations performance + dinner @KillerNoodle @SomiSomi
12/6 – Yelp Elite Event: 2023 Yelpies @QueenMary
12/8 – Family triple birthday dinner @Oste & @AboutTime
12/9 – Kaba Modern K10 Classmas @Hung’s place
12/13 – Work holiday party @FoxStudioLot
12/15 – Koreos Winter Social @Kat’s place
12/16 – SHERO showcase @LMNL
12/17 – P&D Treasure filming + @MilletCrepe @KillerNoodle
12/17 – OC hangout w/ Sylvia @KINRamen @DV @Bao’s place
12/22 – Drama filming w/ Koreos @TheSource + dinner @dPot & @GongCha
12/23 – Karaoke Crew Friendsmas + gift exchange @IslaCuban
12/24 – Shasia’s tour of Tijuana trip
12/28 – Fam hangout in Chino Hills @BengeeSushi
12/30 – K-Factor set filming w/ KND + Saki’s 20th (23rd) birthday celebration
12/31 – Travis’s NYE party
General Thoughts on 2023
Health Achievements
Last year, this section was all about the health challenges I was facing. Therefore, I made it a goal to do my best to completely turn that around and thus made my theme for 2023 health-related: Energy & Vitality. Happy to report that it was generally very successful. I write more about it in the following section.
Internal Struggles
This past year, I’ve set aside a lot more time for self-reflection. In my mind, it’s my pseudo-replacement for therapy since I feel confident in my ability to step outside of myself and guide myself through my thoughts. My daily, weekly, and monthly check-ins with myself help me to keep myself level throughout any internal emotional turmoil. My close friends know that I rarely open up about these things until way after I’ve digested, processed, and “figured out” my way out of these things. So by the time talk to someone about it, I’ve already worked my way through to the learning part of it.
One of my biggest struggles that I’ve noticed a lot more this year was my feeling of not being enough. I think this is one of those recurring things I’ve dealt with since my early to mid-twenties, but I’ve mostly been able to repress this due to constantly being on the move and keeping myself busy with achieving my goals. But I think these thoughts resurfaced because of my increased emotional investments in others this past year.
Meaning, that because I was trying to be more giving and loving this year, the dark side of that coin is that nagging feeling of feeling empty when others don’t reciprocate or visibly feel the same way.
This can come in the form of not making as much effort to build the relationship as you, flaking on plans, or being inconsistent with their thoughts, words, and actions. In any case, the seeming disparity in my emotional investment compared to theirs (likely the case of my own overthinking and caring), has made me question my actions. Am I doing the right thing? Should I care less or stop caring? How do I do that?
I think it’s easy to just tell yourself to “not care” about what other people think, but it’s naturally hard to do so when it seems normal to want to see our efforts reciprocated. And I’ve given this advice more than a dozen times to my friends. But I think it’s an ongoing process to develop those “not caring” muscles.
By the end of the year, I’ve settled on the following conclusion: The only opinion that should matter to me is my own and God’s. The only thing I should focus on is to continue to be my best self and continue loving those around me as best as I can. As I’ve mentioned earlier in this post, the more you love, the more your capacity to love grows. Love isn’t like money in that the more you give, the less you have. And I’ve started to internalize that by realizing I’m whole and enough. Nobody else’s actions need to prove that.
Goals for 2023
Theme for 2023: Energy & Vitality
“By the end of 2023, I’ll look back and feel like everything I’ve done has helped contribute to my new level of energy and vitality I have at that moment. I’ll have woken up every morning feeling more alive and energized than the previous day. This is due to the commitment I made to live a better life through my small, daily decisions.”
Me, Jan 2023
My above statement was my intention for how I wanted 2023 to finish. Overall, I’m very happy with how the entire year went based on the results I’ve achieved due to my diligence and discipline. I’m unashamedly proud of myself for being able to focus on this goal and achieve it.
To summarize from a health perspective, I’ve never felt leaner and stronger in my life, even when I first got a fitness coach back in 2018. While I haven’t gotten back to that weight (143lbs at my lowest in 2018 compared to 147 in 2023), objectively I am stronger and much more balanced right now. I’m able to enjoy going out to eat while also not having to work out 6-7 days a week, but still getting the results I want.
I also had my yearly physical checkup and had the standard bloodwork done. Every single one of my health metrics has improved. I’m also consistently getting 10k steps per day which has done wonders for keeping off the bulking weight, improving my quality of sleep, and giving me much more energy than I had compared to last year.
Even though I haven’t quite hit my goals (specifically being at a lean 10-12% body fat), I’m on the right track and it feels much more sustainable than before. Back in 2018 during my first cut, I was dreaming about food almost every night, which is a clear indicator to me that I’m at a caloric deficit. But this time around, I might only dream of food once a week, and I’ve noticed a lot more size and definition in my body composition. Even though health and energy are most important, I also want to feel good and proud of my body composition in the mirror.
From a social and activity perspective, I feel like I’m consistently giving myself the time and space to do the things I enjoy and spend time with people who give me energy. I’ve had so many deep and intellectually stimulating conversations. In many of these, I’ve had the privilege of helping to pick apart the problems my friends have been going through and give them an insightful perspective. I took a Standup Comedy 201 class and started to do open mics again semi-regularly. I picked up bowling again which is great for many reasons. I started walking consistently which, aside from the health benefits, gives me plenty of time to listen to books, develop some yo-yo-ing skills, and an additional 60-90 minutes of reflection time each day. In my opinion, the walking habit has been the biggest unlock for me.
Content Creation
- Publish 12 episodes of my new podcast
- Strategy / Action steps: Get the artwork done, find a hosting website, find a location to record, schedule guests, and possibly hire a consultant to help me set everything up
- Not achieved: Unfortunately, I didn’t get to this project this year because I wanted to focus on my health, dance, and comedy. However, I have a path forward for starting my podcast this upcoming year but it requires me to finish my Relationship Coaching certification first. Once I have that down, I’ll feel more confident to have a base of knowledge on which to center my content.
Physical/Health
- Get back to 10-12% body fat and maintain it for most of the year
- Strategy / Action steps: Find a means of accountability (fitness coach, DietBet, etc), establish a consistent sleep schedule, simplify my meal prep process
- Achieved: Although I can’t conclusively say I achieved this particular body fat percentage goal, I’m probably closer to 14-16% which is a huge win regardless. My body composition has improved immensely, in addition to my health metrics and energy. My focus for this upcoming year is to dial in my nutrition to get down to 10-12% body fat, while also figuring out a way to consistently get 8 hours of sleep per night.
Dance
- Attend 12 freestyle sessions
- Post weekly freestyle videos
- Strategy / Action steps: Reach out to freestyle friends, join a freestyle community, and commit to blocking off time for it
- Not achieved: This was also a goal of mine that was deprioritized due to focusing on my health goals and comedy goals. However, I don’t think I can use this as an excuse this year because even just posting 1 freestyle video per week or attending 1 freestyle session a month is not THAT difficult. For this upcoming year, I’m going to commit to doing this by putting it in my schedule and weekly to-do list
Financial
- Double my Property DP savings account size
- Start homebuying process
- Strategy / Action steps: Find a realtor (through networks), compile list of areas / homes that fit our criteria
- Achieved: This was a win and did take a good chunk of my time in Q3 this year. I did double my mortgage down payment savings as well as found a realtor (a college dance friend of mine). And while I was one signature away from officially being a homeowner back in September, I’m glad I made the decision to hold off for a better real estate opportunity. This next year, I’m not sure if I’ll commit to for sure owning a property, but I’ll be on the lookout for a potential rental or Airbnb property as an investment vehicle. I realized that I didn’t want a house for myself, but rather an investment that would give me returns and positive cash flow. If I can learn the process and do this 2-3 times, I’ll feel more comfortable in looking for a home for myself.
Comedy
- Do at least 10 open mics
- Strategy / Action steps: Block off time to write and rehearse jokes, join the standup comic community, find more open mic locations
- Achieved: Thanks to the Standup Comedy 201 class and my accountability buddy Aeden, I was able to achieve this goal. Getting back into standup was such a great feeling as I put it off once the pandemic started. And even though I’m not anywhere near the best comic out there, being onstage feels so natural to me. And the process of writing, improving, and performing comedy gets me so excited that I’m glad to continue this adventure in 2024.
Career
- Get certified in Life/Relationship Coaching
- Strategy / Action steps: Purchase Relationship Coaching Academy, finish program, get certification
- Partially achieved: It only took 12 months but I finally pulled the trigger on the Relationship Coaching certification I was looking at last year, at the end of 2022. While my goal was to finish the training in 2023, I’ll start in 2024 and probably finish at the end of Q1 or the beginning of Q2. After that, I can start my coaching practice while possibly simultaneously launching my podcast.
Goals for 2024
Theme for 2024: Deep & Purposeful Connection
There are a few factors that contributed to me picking this as my theme for the new year. First off, I knew that relationship coaching and finally launching my podcast were two big things I wanted to make significant progress on by the end of 2024. I was wondering how I would “connect” the two of them, I realized that both goals are also a means of deepening my connections with others.
I’ve been honing in on this idea recently: connections and relationships are what life is about. Without our relationship to others, what is our life about? What is the purpose? And the end of the day, the experiences, memories, and love you share with others are all that matters.
When you get to the end of the road, nobody asks to bring them their trophies, accomplishments, bank statements, or fancy cars. They want the people they love to be surrounding them. And to me, the pursuit of intentionally deepening these connections is a meaningful endeavor.
Lastly, I think a peripheral goal of mine is to make the connection of all the things meaningful to me so that there is synchronicity to them. Meaning, I want my individual goals to connect and be a part of my larger plan. All of my efforts are going toward the same purpose and that creates a synergy in my activities. I’m not juggling back and forth between different priorities, but rather different aspects of the same goal. To me, this is the best way to maximize my effort and energy.
Career / Projects
- Goal: Finish Relationship Coaching certification program + get first 3 clients (free or paid)
- Strategy / Action steps: Finish certification program by end of February, follow marketing program to get first few clients/testimonials
- Goal: Launch podcast, publish first 12 episodes
- Strategy / Action steps: Hire podcast launch specialist, hire assistant to help manage/publish content
Health / Fitness
- Goal: 10-12% body fat
- Strategy / Action steps: Continue fitness coaching, regulate sleep schedule (7-8hrs per night), cut down on sugar & caffeine intake
Comedy
- Goal: Perform at shows 2+ times/month
- Strategy / Action steps: Weekly writing sessions, find new open mics, sign up for shows, film sets for potential video submission shows
Dance
- Goal: Find, mentor, and foster new LSHIP for Koreos
- Strategy / Action steps: Observe the strengths of individuals on the team, encourage engagement, and inspire new leadership through personal example of giving back
Financial
- Goal: Find investment real estate property with positive cashflow, continue to save for property down payment
- Strategy / Action steps: continue looking for good deals in CA, and start looking for out-of-state properties that are cashflow positive
Themes, Lessons, and Insights of 2023
I’ve created a separate addendum to this main post. It covers my lessons learned throughout 2023. Click on the header above to be redirected to that post.
Below are the main categories that encompass the list of insights I’ve compiled for the year.
Main Categories
- Love & Relationships
- Success & Happiness
- Health & Well-Being
Thank you 2023
For showing me what I’m capable of.
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