I finally took — and passed — my Learner’s Permit test for driving today. Just 4 years after moving to Australia. Better late than never, as the saying goes. Honestly, getting engaged forced me to stop dragging my feet. I need to be able to drive if we were to buy a house (if we were to get our PR) because the only places we’d be able to afford is fairly far from the city :P

I’m starting the year feeling excited about so many things, so passing the written test after one try fueled my confidence for this new year. The happiness from our engagement is still fresh, giving me many distractions which I’ve been indulging the past week (looking for a dress, thinking of wedding options, and also looking at house listings to remind myself the house deposit comes first!!). Despite it all, I wanted to be able to cross something off my list. It’s easier to feel like I’m on track that way. So take the L test it was!

In my 20’s, every new year was an evaluation of my dreams for my career and my checklist towards success. Moving to Australia at the end of my 20’s, without any friends and without any family, shifted some priorities around. I was homesick, friendsick, and unsure about where I saw myself settling down.

Meeting my now-fiancé resolved many of those doubts and I now find myself rooted in my current lifestyle: a dog-mum of 2 yorkies, meals with good friends, fishing and cooking and sometimes-camping, with regional road trips and everyday adventures, with bubble teas and ice desserts no matter the season, and daily laughter in our small apartment. I was so focused on career goals in my 20’s, but that’s fallen lower on my list now. I want to be happy with my partner, enjoy life outside of work, get to know amazing people and befriend the best ones. My priority isn’t to prove myself to past ghosts or to the world anymore. I’ve done some of that and already feel somewhat accomplished getting to I am now and the hard work I took to get here.

This year, I want to accomplish things outside of my career and my old definition of “success”. There is a quality of life I finally enjoy which I want to keep. The things that I want for the next 12-24 months is a checklist of items for settling down: PR, a house, register marriage if we can’t afford the wedding, my driver’s license. Stability by being able to stay in Australia and build a family. And if some things don’t work out, the end goal is still the same: settle down with Dylan, wherever we end up going.

Given it’s the start of the year: I’m hyped. I’m hopeful. 2023 feels so different with borders opening, with family being able to travel and visit, with friends smashing their own goals alongside us. Last year was slow and steady, as if to prove that life goes on one way or another in spite of the pandemic, diseases, and wars. This year feels like we can dream big again, prodding me to do other things beyond the old normal’s that have slowly come back after 2 years of COVID, lockdowns, and closed borders. Maybe the last 3 years has delayed us from reaching goals and dreams because of things beyond our control, but this year feels different and I am so ready to slay and manifest all the good things that are yet to come!