New year, still me

The year, 2020, is finally over! It was hard for us all, it was difficult, a lot had changed and we had to find a way to normalize it. But in what we had gone through, we made it to the next year. Hoping that 2021 gives us a better year, hoping that better opportunities come by and positivities come into our lives. Every beginning of New Years' there's a trend that is about challenging ourselves to become a better person. Becoming a better person can mean differently to everyone, some want to stop eating sweets, get in shape, save money, or learn new skills. The one thing about this is that we had a lot of time to challenge ourselves, to learn, to reflect, to become a better person in the year 2020.

While most Americans and I were in lockdown for a couple of months. I didn't hesitate on figuring out a plan to become successful in my life. I realized that pandemics can happen at any time and I would be jobless again. I didn't like the idea of not having an or multiple income sources to take care of myself, my health, and my mental state. During the lockdown, I decided to start working on myself, started to have a workout routine, morning routine, study, and reading routine. I continue to educate myself to finance and understand how money works.

My current job does not have a 401k or simple IRA to offer me. In fact, I don't get any benefits as of health insurance, dental insurance, life insurance like most jobs have for their employees. I had to do something about it, I learned about different types of retirement accounts and IRA accounts. Foruntantly, I understand the basics of it and so I make many moves to get started. I decided to get three different platforms, Vanguard, Webull, and Acorn. I wanted to take it slow and to understand how it all works. The reason for getting these three apps was that I could put money in Acorn and forget about it. Acorn automatically puts my money in stocks and bonds that are progressing and making money. Vanguard is similar but I can open multiple accounts like Roth IRA or Traditional IRA, even 401K, I could put my money in any account and buy an index fund of my choice. Lastly, Webull gives me access to the stock market, I can buy individual stocks of my liking, it gives me more information so that I can study and understand it as a whole. My goal is to become financially stable, so in the future, if another pandemic hits, I will be sitting comfortably on my porch drinking an oolong tea. This goal is not a short term goal, but a long term, and it will be in my resolution every year.

I could talk about it all day but enough about finance! Another part of the plan is I want to be physically and mentally stable. With everything going on around the world, hurting us mentally and physically, I decided that I won't slack off and become a potato couch. Found in research, having a poor mentality and physical state, decreases our happiness, hope, strength, and the motive to complete any tasks. A part of becoming a successful person is to be on point, know what you want, and make the necessary actions. I made my actions to workout regularly, read at least one book for 30 minutes, and eliminate any bad habits that hold me back from my goals. To be physically fit, the plan is to work out four times a week. Exercising chest, back, legs, shoulders, and arms weekly. For being mentally stable, I'm reading books, learning new skills, going out for walks, and being exposed to the sun and fresh air.

These goals were a part of my last year and many years before that. I can't admit that I'm a new person in the new year because I've been doing them for myself since I decided to take a step forward in life. I do agree that there's always something to learn and there is. This year I'm planning to learn a language to connect with people from around the world. I want to go see different places, work in Australia, explore caves, try many kinds of foods, and just to be free, to be open-minded, and to live.

I started this year by finding a teacher that can teach me Vietnamese and fortunately I did. Now, I'm speaking the language more and more fluently. My first language is my mother's tongue which is Vietnamese. I lost it after I started learning how to speak English. I figure that I should pick it back up and keep the tradition to teach and pass it down from generation to generation. After I finish my study, I want to travel to Vietnam and speak it fluently to everyone and learn more about their culture.

There are so many goals and ideas I have for this year. To be completely honest, I may not start or finish them all. An important reminder is that it's okay to just focus on one idea, it's okay to take it slow, and it's okay if you're not ahead of people. It's not about impressing others, being someone that is not who you are, or looking good for someone else. It's about finding what you like to do, what passion speaks to your heart, being mentally and emotionally open to the people that you want to be open up to, and expressing your feeling, having a voice. Everyone's journey is a different story and the point of this journey is to learn and discover yourself.

To live is to be free, to be free is to be open-minded, and to be open-minded is to see. To see how the world works around you, to see happiness, to seek peace and harmony. This year, 2021, has been a good start for lots of people and me. I will always pursue my dreams and goals, I hope that many people will continue to reach for theirs.