The Soloista

A travel and personal blog of a solo wanderer

2016 in Review



Who would have thought that 2016 will be a great year for me? I had a lot of personal achievements and a lot of emotional stress, unfortunately. But this year I can say, it settled my goals and true happiness in life. Let’s do a run down.

  • Early this year, I suffered stress from different channels. But it eventually faded and all that’s left are lessons learned. I learned that I shouldn’t drop my identity and pride for a worthless person. That taking risks should also have limitations. I learned that people change, and I should not expect them not to.
  • I’m on my way on mastering the “I don’t give a damn” attitude. Seriously!
  • Come March, I finally scratch off another item on my bucket list. Plus! I did it solo. TRAVEL to PORT BARTON PALAWAN. Read here.
  •  For all of my life, this thing only shows in my dreams and I didn’t expect to finally have it. Until now I still haven’t absorbed this – “I got a CAR”. Still an achievement right? With this, I learned a lot as a driver and I experience a lot already – apprehended, rear-ended, scratched by a public vehicle. What more?
  • This year I think is dedicated for my binge-watching! I watched and re-watched a lot of different shows, old and new, anime and series, and I’m happy to list them down.
    • Game of Thrones – though I’m really following this, I finished season 6 after it was broadcast.
    • The Office Series – I’m happy I watched this.
    • A lot of Hollywood movies including animated ones!!!
    • Ranma ½ (Anime)
    • Tangled, Mirai Nikki, Spirited Away, Howl’s Moving Castle (Anime) – re-watched
    • Your Name (Anime Movie)
  • This year is K-drama year for me. I watched around 8 dramas (Korea, Taiwan, Japan) series this year and it’s really fulfilling! HAHAHA. Now I’m planning to go to Korea.

          a.      Meteor Garden I (Taiwan)
          b.      Princess Hours
          c.      Coffee Prince
          d.      My Girlfriend is a Gumiho
          e.      Oh My Venus!
          f.       Oh My Ghost!
          g.      Good Morning Call! (Japanese) – Netflix
          h.      Love in the Moonlight
          i.       W – Two Worlds

  • This year I gave a shot on exercise and healthy food. I tried subscribing (and paying) to KFIT and attended some Zumba/Hip Hop sessions and Aerial Silk. I also tried a Diet Food Delivery service, added vegetables and yoghurt (I don’t like this before) on my healthy diet and drank a couple of Go Salad shakes. I’m not promoting. I just become health conscious – in a way. And this is related to the next item.
  • I learned that I really need to exercise for my hiking goals. This year I experienced the downside of not being prepared. Read my experience here.
  • I had to make this a separate item, because I really am into “Fairy Tail” manga right now. Can you imagine? I started last November with the anime series and after I finished it I went to the manga, and there you go, I’m now up to date. Chapter 515. HAHAHA First time in my life that I’ve been up to date with something.
  • I’m starting to like books and I hoard everytime I get the chance. I’m actually staying away from it right now since I still had a lot of books to read.
  • This year is also about strengthening relationships. I went out with my friends and stayed updated.
  • To top all of them I learned what things really make me happy and that’s a secret. 😀
As you can see, all of them are personal achievements, and I’m proud it is. This year has been a great ride for me! No dependencies, no other factors. My happiness depends on me!

This year runs so fast I still have the memory of last year’s Christmas, and it’s still fresh for me. I’m a little afraid to grow fast right now because I feel like I still have a lot of things to do. That’s why even if I stayed up all night just for something, I do it. We’ll never know when our time will come. So far so good! This year certainly rocked!

Happy New Year Everyone!