Everyone seems to be looking at 2026 through millennial nostalgia-riddled glasses, as evidenced by how everyone is comparing it to the iconic, one-for-the-books, legendary year that was 2016. I am wishing, desperately at that, for this year to be as good to me in the same way 2016 had been easily among my most memorable and accomplished years. We shall see. I'm currently working on making it a fruitful one. Fingers crossed!
Dress: Zara | Mules: Amina Muaddi Lupita | Bandeau: Bench | Bracelet stack: Cartier love, Cartier juste un clou, Van Cleef & Arpels perlee clover, Tiffany & Co. knot | Ruby earrings and ring set from a jeweler
It only seems right that I update this blog with recent photos, something I rarely do but must do now because I need all types of alarm bells that I can think of to force my mind into focus. I have a goal this year, an extension of the previous year's goal, and just as I have done with the one before, I want to nail this one too. This was not a product of my usual bursts of sudden enthusiasm. This time, I'm trying to fulfill a goal that was set in motion when the pandemic forced me into a quarter-life crisis. I've no complaints whatsoever though. The self-reflection was long overdue, and without the distractions of everyday mundanity, it was bound to happen. Fast forward to now, where my two-fold plan has come to its 2nd leg. Come on, universe, work in my favor again. I need this win.
This year's birthday dinner was celebrated with my family (minus my younger brother who didn't return home from abroad. Boo, what a killjoy). Since this past year, I have been wishing that my beloved Nanay were still around to witness my recent 'milestone', so to speak. I bet she would've cheered the loudest. Thanks to my Tita, who lent me Nanay's ruby ring which became the focus of what I wore for the night, I had something of her to celebrate with (Side note: my celebratory cake was sent by my grade school best friends Frances and Emma who colluded with my Mom to surprise me. Those sweethearts!!)
So, what was it about my 2016 that I wanted to relive, if not to top it even more? See, 10 years ago, I had just been a few months into my 1st job when I bravely took on an additional challenge. I had so many things to prove then because I was, for a lack of a better term, a lucky hire. I applied for a position in an organization that was in no way near either the pay grade or the skills expected of a recent college graduate. I went into that office with no substantial experience, carrying a bucketful of confidence and the usual sprinkle of fake-it-til-you-make-it dust. Suffice to say, I passed that series of interviews and at the end of it, voila, I got the position. At that time, I was the youngest in the office by at least 5 years compared to the next. I celebrated that win for maybe two months, all while overcompensating for it by making sure that I learned as much as humanly possible in the shortest amount of time. My methodology was simple. I was the first person to come into my department and also the last one to leave, while also proving that I may be the youngest but in no way did that deter me from coming into work wearing a different pair of heels every single day. I was a post-college Aldo/Zara/Naturalizer girl then who used to obsess over quantity of shoes over quality. I will never forget the words from my seniors in the department: "don't be a hero," when they realized that I had been staying past office hours just to finish some files, or from the Manager, an equally shoes-obsessed woman, who commented that my pairs of heels were not as nice as hers (to which I cheekily responded, "I don't think so", which she eventually agreed to when we both attended a work-related party wearing the same pair of Louboutins). That first year of work was by far the most challenging period of my professional life. I never once thought of myself as stupid until then. Haha.
The challenge didn't end there, though. On the sideline, I let my friend talk me into opening our very own clothing brand, the now-defunct Arkipelago. She's obviously the brains behind our partnership. She introduced the idea to me and convinced me why our partnership would make sense. I was drowning in workload from the day job but I didn't want to disappoint her nor accept that I couldn't multitask. So for a good 2-3 months, we produced our own line of an 8-piece collection. I was responsible for the production side, given that I found the seamstress and eventually became her contact person, while my friend focused on sales and marketing. Well, she helped me with my role too because she was the one who drove us most of the time to Taytay where we sourced out our fabrics and other materials, and where our seamstress was based. In less than 2 weeks after our launch, we had already reached ROI. We didn't talk about how we'd like to market our clothes, but I guess our personal "hobby" at that time played a major role in it. We cemented our impending partnership by going on a quick trip abroad, and it was also around that time that I think I was indulging in as many trips abroad as I could with friends, on top of the family trips that we usually had, while her schedule involved being abroad for weeks at a time every other month, if not almost on a monthly basis. Thankfully, 2016 was also the time when the millennial travel culture was rapidly increasing and our market associated our clothes with vacations. We were lucky in the sense that, at that time, the Filipino influencers whom we approached accepted the clothes we sent them with no monetary compensation involved. They also validated our unintentional marketing campaign by wearing our clothes in their trips abroad too. Alas, all good things eventually came to an end when our schedules couldn't fully accommodate our increasingly demanding side-hustle. It even came to a point where I couldn't send out orders on time because the delivery rider was delayed. By the time he could collect the orders, I was already on a family trip abroad, while my friend also went on a separate sudden trip. Still, I consider Arkipelago among my fondest memories from 2016.
I celebrated my birthday last year on a last-minute decision. Case in point: except for my watch and the earrings, everything else I was wearing was bought just a few days prior. I thought that I would be in Manila, celebrating with my family as I had done for the past 3 decades of my life, but no. I was instructed by my parents to stay in Europe to fully experience the once-in-a-lifetime "I'm all alone" Christmas fun. And yeah yeah, it's typical 'woe is me'. I had to spend the holiday season with my friend and her family in Finland, among other countries, because again, woe is me. My parents thought that since I was on an independent run, I might as well have full experience of it.
After spending the holidays with my newfound friend and her family, I returned back to Lille, France in the middle of a snow storm, exactly a day before my birthday. I initially planned on getting a head start on my thesis but then the universe decided to work in my favor. What's a girl got to do except call her parents, convince them that she needs to be in Paris immediately, otherwise she won't be able to attend a crucial class, despite having just returned from a 3-week trip exploring the Nordics, and the fact that her birthday falls exactly on the date that she had to be in Paris? My parents didn't believe me when I first told them, especially since I was probably giggling in between presenting my request. I mean, it's just so funny, really. The universe has sometimes worked in my favor, yes, but never as blatantly as it did then. I guess the universe has concluded that I should never spend my birthday alone and quietly. Win!
So, since I was technically in Paris for a school-related class, I was allowed to stay in the heart of it where I got to enjoy daily breakfast buffet at the hotel, joined by my classmates who flew into the city fresh from their Christmas vacations, on the same day that I did, all for the purpose of celebrating my birth. I have to emphasize one thing though: the breakfast buffet at the hotel was really really good and filling. I was so happy, it's a far cry from my typical breakfast of the past year, and take it from someone who's been a breakfast person all her life, it's a big deal. My friend Jade who shared the room with me, and her notes for the upcoming class, was a great organizer. How lucky I had been, to have found friends who not only tolerated my presence, but even thought I should be celebrated. Aahh, universe, you seriously have been on a roll! My friends Nicole, Pielly, and Jade joined me as I celebrated that night. I chose the restaurant which was just a 5-minute walk away from the Eiffel Tower.
Have I mentioned that I lived abroad for a year? Uh huh. I did. But let's save the story, aka my existential crisis coupled with a bunch of rationalizations, for a different post because ding-ding, it is coming next. I have to talk about it, and post it here, if only to immortalize my attempt at independence for a year. Again, let's save the realizations for later, and let's feast on my usual 'woe is me, help me I'm aimlessly wandering' ramble.
I might be obsessing over chasing another 'illusory grandeur', but such is life, is it not? Let's see how far we can go before we accept that my entire belief system has been rooted in nothing but just that, a grandeur built on illusions. I can't wait to be in the same boat I was in 10 years ago, proving that I can rise to a challenge that's beyond an arbitrary line I have set for myself. Perhaps the only thing that I would change from my 2016 self would be the travels. I can no longer justify weekend trips abroad with a simple 'you only live once' mantra. Now, more than ever, I feel that my next course of action will have to be intentional if I truly want to succeed.
Come on, universe. Give me another shot.
