What I’m Grateful For 2016

I still can’t wrap my head around the idea that 2016 is almost over. While this year has been quite crazy with all the politics that the world has been dealing with, (as selfish as this sounds) my life has been pretty amazing. There are many times when I feel like I could’ve done so much more with my time, but looking back, I realized that 2016 has been one of the best years of my life. While I was unable to meet my unrealistic expectations for myself, I still think that I’ve done way too much from what I initially planned, and for that, I am extremely grateful. I honestly feel very blessed, and I couldn’t be more thankful for the universe for letting me experience this kind of happiness.

I know that there are still so many things to be thankful for, but I’ll try to compress them here and make a comprehensive list of some of my year’s highlights.

Flying over Hundred Islands

Travel Opportunities

I couldn’t believe it myself but I have actually been to a lot of provinces in the past 12 months! For those who are wondering how I was able to do it, I did freelance work for almost 6 months, and in those months, I did nothing but grab opportunities to travel different parts of the country. Most of them are free, thanks to my gigs, while others are on my personal account. Come 2017, I don’t think that I’d be able to travel this often because I am now tied to my full-time job, but I still hope that I get to go out of town every now and then. I also hope that I would be able to grab the next travel opportunity for this blog (should there be any). I actually got invited for an international trip earlier this year, but unfortunately, I had to turn it down because of my work. It was devastating but I’m still hopeful that something like that would come again next time fingers crossed.

Here’s where I’ve been this year!

• La Union (January)
• Lingayen, Pangasinan (January)
• Bolinao, Pangasinan (January & October)
• Mt. Pinatubo, Tarlac (March)
• Tacloban (March)
• Kalanggaman Island, Palompon, Leyte (March)
• Inopacan, Leyte (March)
• Ormoc, Leyte (March)
• Baguio (April)
• San Narciso, Zambales (April)
• Marinduque (May)
• Calaguas Island, Bicol (May)
• Caramoan Islands, Bicol (May)
• Bohol (September)
• Alaminos, Pangasinan (October)
• Pampanga (September & October)
• Cebu (December)
• Antipolo (December)

Of Monsters and Men

Concerts

All of these are from WheninManila, and I couldn’t be more grateful for the opportunities to cover these amazing artists. I couldn’t get over the fact that I see some of my favorite artists perform before my very eyes!

• Boyce Avenue (February)
• GoodVybes Concert – Stars, Oh Wonder, Chvrches, Passion Pit (February)
• Nate Ruess (February)
• Summer Siren (April)
• Of Monsters and Men (May)

“Ang gustong baguhin, dapat banggain. Walang ibang daan.” Congrats for another masterpiece, PETA. 💕 #PETA3StarsandaSun

A post shared by Janelle (@jhanzey) on Mar 6, 2016 at 7:00am PST

Theater Plays

Some of the shows that I was able to see! Some of my closest friends are fans of the craft, and I’m so excited that I get to infect another close friend (Hello Cza!) to get into watching more plays in the future. Can’t wait to grab those tickets and watch more productions!

• Three Stars and a Sun (March)
• The Dressing Room (April)
• Tatlong Linggong Pag-ibig (November)

LASIK Surgery

Definitely one of the HIGHLIGHTS of my year! I’ve been talking about it on the blog non-stop, and I honestly can’t stop myself from being thankful for this opportunity. Being able to swim and see things in 20/20 vision is just AMAZING. Thank yous will never be enough to express how I feel for this chance. Never ending thank you to the good people of Medical City for being the bridge to this unbelievable experience. Special thanks to my orgmate, Elie, as well!

New Work

While my new work may sound like it had hindered me from doing many things, I’m nothing but grateful to find a team who are nice and fun to be with. I’m still adjusting a lot from doing full-time work, but I’m glad that I was placed in a work environment that I utterly enjoy. Also: Thank you, universe, for monthly paychecks.

Good health for my family

My grandma just turned 91 this year, and my family’s overall health has been great as well. I know we don’t pay too much attention to these things as it feels normal, but my parents and my grandma are not getting any younger, and seeing them in good health is definitely something that I feel happy about. As morbid as this sounds, the past few months had made me realize how life can be taken away from you way too quickly… and knowing that I wake up with everyone alive and well just feels amazing.

Survivor Caramoan Edition 📷: @markcaps

A post shared by Janelle (@jhanzey) on Jun 4, 2016 at 3:07am PDT

Caramoan loves!!!

Keeping old friends and making new ones

I am no extrovert and making friends has always been a struggle for me. Thus, I make sure that every friend that I make, I try to keep it as close as I can. This year, I’m happy to say that my friendships are still intact and that I even made new friends this year. I also get to meet great people on the road (case on point: people from Bohol and Bolinao Falls), so, hooray!

9th Year with Mark

Mark and I’s relationship went through a lot of tests in the past years, and I’m so grateful that this year, we were able to celebrate yet another year of love, friendship, companionship, and partnership. I know I’ve mentioned this so many times, but aside from being my boyfriend, he is also my best friend. I am thankful that we get to be with each other and that despite all the challenges, we’re still making it through. To more adventures and funny stories!

 

Other wins!

• Reading tons of new articles c/o Pocket (apparently, everything that I’ve read is roughly around 10 books)
• Watching movies and reading books. Did NOT meet the target, but I did enjoy every bit of it
• Being more mindful. To more mindfulness efforts in 2017!
• Boxing lessons!

 

How about you? How was your 2016? What are you most grateful about? Share it below and I’d definitely love to read them!