Firstly, happy new year everyone! I truly hope that the following year encompasses good health, success, happiness and is filled with many incredibly joyous moments. As I reflect upon the previous year, I remember how tough times became throughout the year, yet in turn, how many new friends were made throughout the process. I remember how inspired and motivated I became, and I wondered why it took so long for me to realise the goals I needed to achieve to be happy. I remember interning, finally completing my honours degree, going to see Linkin Park and enjoying copious amounts of Christmas shopping, good food and great times with friends and family. Finally, I remember thinking to myself, what a dreadful, tough, yet life-changing year filled with some of the most inspiring and amazing moments. I can only hope that 2013 holds more exciting and enticing opportunities to learn and grow from and as I begin my adventure and quest for success within the marketing and advertising industry, I feel positive, motivated and ready for whatever comes my way. This year I will not only challenge convention, but challenge myself.

My fortune cookie revelation

I started this year off by sticking to a goal that I had initially set for myself last year and wasn’t able to accomplish. In a previous post that I had written entitled “For the love of giving back” that was posted in July 2012, I spoke of how majority of us seem to overlook the little things that we have in our lives and often take so much for granted. I was reminded that we forget about the role that we have as individuals to give back to those in need and at the end of 2012, I found myself, yet again complaining about the lack of space I had in my cupboard. I suddenly remembered that I had told myself that for every item of clothing that I bought, I needed to get rid of another item of clothing. Thus, without hesitation, I got stuck into my cupboard and set aside piles of clothing that I needed to give away. This was an utterly exhausting task, but at the end of the day I had hundreds of items to donate and suddenly felt relieved upon looking at the space I now had in my cupboard.

Upon putting my clothing into black bags that I was planning to take to the Salvation Army the next day, I decided to give a portion of the clothing to a family I knew that had two little girls. Hence, the following day I took a trip to the Salvation Army and handed over the one pile of clothing to the person in charge, of which also included an old microwave that was added to the pile. The person who took the donation seemed rather overwhelmed and lost for words, but I know that he was appreciative for what he had received from us. Later that day, my remaining clothing was dropped off at the family’s house, only to find out afterwards that the sole provider of the family had recently been retrenched and that the family was struggling. Apparently the two little girls were ecstatic upon receiving the new clothing and even decided that they would wear certain items of the clothing to church. What are the odds that I decided to give clothing away to a family that needed help more than anyone knew? I couldn’t help but feel amazed at how appreciative people are at times in need and how things have a funny way of working out sometimes. And so, as I conclude this post, I can only hope that this year is filled with experiences like this one that continue to inspire me and challenge the way that I think.

Here’s to hoping that 2013 is anything but ordinary…

At the Salvation Army