I cannot believe that it is already the end of the year, the end of a decade! Whaaaaaaat? During the first week of 2020, while I was still enjoying sunny Greece, I could not help but think about everything that happened between 2010 and now in my life. I was reading all these posts online that listed everything that defined this past decade and at the same time in my head, I was forming a list of everything that defined my own personal decade. So here it goes…..
🔹 First of all, I moved to Brussels.
And I am still here! If you’d tell me 10 years ago, that I would still be living in Brussels in the year 2020, I would laugh at your face. You see, the plan I had back in September 2009 was simple; study for 2 years in Brussels, get a job for another 2 years preferably in Paris -don’t ask why-, and then go back home! But don’t they say that ‘ if you wanna make God laugh, you should show him your plans’? Well God must have chuckled on this one for sure.
After a decade in Brussels, I can say that I am a local now. I drink beer in the winter, I eat mussels in a pot without using cutlery, I never put the words ‘french’ and ‘fries’ together and I too say “tu sais me passer le stylo?”
🔹 I speak a new language!
Mais oui les gars, je parle français maintenant! C’est magnifique je vous jure! Tout cela grâce à la Belgique! Ok, je n’écris pas super bien mais une chose à la fois SVP dit!
🔹I got my Master’s degree in Computer Science (and Engineering).
That was tough and I will never stop bragging about it. Honestly,I had no idea what I was getting myself into or how fucking hard this master would turn out to be. During my studies, which took more than the 2 years planned, I thought about quitting more than once. But I made it! This was an enriching experience that changed me forever and helped me get my act together – sort of-
🔹I met Tanguy and we got married!
I got married you guys 😍 Me! Before I met Tanguy, I always saw myself as a single, fat cat-lady, obsessed with eating tomatoes and feta. Now I am all that, but married. To the sexiest man on planet earth.
🔹 Wonderful, crazy people came to my life.
When you make room for new and different people in your life considering other perspectives is inevitable. Believe it or not, your character changes and more importantly, you become empathetic. The last 10 years, with this new start I made, I met people that changed me and became my new family. People that supported me, taught me new things, called me on my bullshit and helped me become less of an asshole.
It is a great coincidence that the same people host the craziest parties and that we get to be on stage together at least once a year. In drag!
🔹I travelled a lot and I finally went to New York.
From Bergen (Norway) to Amsterdam and Rotterdam, to Berlin and London, Italy, then Lisbon and Barcelona, I am grateful that the last decade was filled with these city trips abroad. My honeymoon trip to New York city is OF COURSE all over this blog and it was one of the best moments of the decade for me. I still keep all of the pictures I took in NYC on my phone. They will never -ever, ever, ever- be deleted!
🔹Netflix came into my life and changed it forever.
I <3 Netflix. Did you know that, one of the most popular conversation topics of our days is about the content you are watching on Netflix?
🔹My cat came into my life and changed it forever.
If you own a cat you know what I mean. If you do not own a cat, what are you waiting for? Seriously CATS RULE !!!!! adopt one today.
High hopes for the years to come
As far as the next decade goes or to narrow it down, as far as 2020 goes…. well, since I basically failed all the resolutions I made for 2019, I was not really encouraged to make new ones. BUT I will still try to adopt some good habits.
I made a list, I checked it twice, I have a plan. In fact, in January I really worked hard to follow through and I did….but there is one thing that I realised when I was writing this post and when I put together my ‘list of things for the decade past’.
I could take a bit more time to acknowledge what I have accomplished and appreciate the life I have built for myself. Say I love you to the people I love more. I am often full of stress and anxious about what will happen tomorrow. I overthink situations of the now. Writing this post helped put things in perspective at least for a while. It helped me set better goals too.
But then again, what do I know? I was supposed to be here just for 2 years.