50 Stories, And I’m Still Going 🌅

50.

I still can’t believe I’m writing that. 😂

When I started Beyond The Horizon, I wasn’t thinking about Post 50.

Actually, I wasn’t even sure how much I had to write about.

I’m not someone who shares everything with everyone.

If you’re close to me, that’s different.

Then you probably know too much. 😂

But normally, I keep a lot of things to myself.

Then someone once told me:

“Why don’t you start journaling? I’ll read it.”

Simple sentence.

I didn’t start immediately.

I took my time.

Then one day, I finally did.

One post became two.

Then ten.

Then twenty.

Somewhere along the way, I stopped counting.

And now…

50.

Apparently I had a lot to say after all. 😂

I Started Looking Back

When I knew Post 50 was coming, I started going through my photos.

I thought maybe I would choose my favourite travel memories.

That didn’t work.

Too many. 😂

Then I thought maybe I should choose my best photos.

That didn’t feel right either.

Because the photos that made me stop weren’t necessarily the most beautiful ones.

They were the ones that had something behind them.

Family.

Friends.

Work.

Travel.

People.

Different parts of my life.

And then I found this old one.

This Was Me

I think I was around seven or eight years old here.

My mum took the photo.

Me, my siblings and my parents.

Just a normal family photo.

Except today, it isn’t normal to me anymore.

It was the last complete family photo we had with Dad.

When that photo was taken, none of us knew that.

We were just there.

Together.

Complete.

I grew up in a middle-class family.

Nothing really came easy.

You learn quite early that sometimes things have to wait.

Sometimes family comes before what you personally want.

And you just move forward.

After Dad was no longer around, I felt more responsible for my family.

Nobody sat me down and told me that.

I just felt it.

I wanted to make sure my siblings were okay.

Taken care of.

And most importantly, loved.

There’s something I always think about.

Only in this generation are we siblings.

One day everyone will have their own family, their own children and their own journey.

But this relationship?

This is ours.

So yes.

Family means everything to me. ❤️

Starting Again

There are many years between that photo and the person writing this today.

A lot happened.

One period I won’t forget came after COVID.

I was retrenched.

Then I was jobless for 15 months.

Fifteen months is a long time when you’re waiting for another opportunity.

Eventually, Adecco gave me one.

And I’ll always be grateful for that.

I joined as a Client Executive.

Over the next four years and eight months, I worked across four departments, handled multiple clients and projects, and eventually moved up to Assistant Manager.

There were many memories from those years.

One of the proud ones was competing against seven APAC countries and winning recognition for our transformation work.

And then there was Adecco MyTime.

My baby project. 😂

I worked on it from demo to production, go-live, training and implementation in Malaysia.

Funny enough, years later that same project became my final MBA paper.

Something that started as work followed me into another part of my life.

Funny how things connect sometimes.

The People Along the Way

Then there are people.

This one is a little complicated for me.

Some stayed.

Some didn’t.

Some came into my life for a certain period.

Some gave me good memories.

Some taught me something.

Some probably gave me both memories and headaches. 😂

But there’s something about me I don’t talk about much.

I’m scared of attachment.

Because when I love someone, or when someone becomes important to me, I keep them close.

And I’m scared of losing the people I love.

Maybe that’s why when I look at old photos, I don’t only remember where I was.

I remember who was there.

Family.

Friends.

Colleagues.

People I met somewhere along the road.

Some are still beside me today.

Some are now part of a particular chapter.

But they were there.

And that matters.

Apparently One Hobby Wasn’t Enough 😂

Looking through the photos also made me realise something else.

I really don’t know how to choose one hobby.

And I don’t want to.

I don’t want to stay inside the same cocoon doing the same thing.

If something interests me, I want to try it.

Hiking.

Running.

Diving.

Travelling.

Photography.

Long drives.

Go-karting.

Coffee.

Okay, coffee isn’t a hobby.

Or maybe it is at this point. 😂☕

Some things I try once.

Some become part of my life.

I don’t need to be good at everything.

I just want to experience it.

Even go-karting started from one company outing back in 2014.

Years later, I’m still putting on a helmet and trying to beat my own lap time.

First lap, understand the track.

Second lap…

Hammer time. 😂

Seven Days 🇳🇿

Then there is New Zealand.

Seven wonderful days.

I’ve said before that New Zealand made me feel happy and almost complete.

I still think that’s the best way to describe it.

The “almost” was simple.

I wanted more time.

Seven days wasn’t enough.

There were more places I wanted to see.

More roads I wanted to take.

I left knowing I wanted to return.

And somewhere inside those memories is something called:

Thana Boeing Concussion Theory.

Don’t ask.

I’m not explaining it. 😂

It came from one completely random conversation with someone close to me.

It made sense to us.

It stuck.

That’s enough.

Same with Medusa.

Some things here will make sense to everyone.

Some will make sense only to certain people.

And some things?

I can keep those for myself. 🙂

Somewhere Along the Road 🐾

Then there are the things I never thought would become stories.

Like keeping dry dog food in my car.

It started with one thought.

When we’re hungry, we can ask.

We can buy food.

We can tell someone.

But what about the animals outside?

How do they ask?

I know I can’t feed every animal.

But if I see one and I can help that one, I will.

So yes, sometimes my journey gets interrupted because I spotted a hungry dog beside the road. 😂

That’s part of me too.

It Was Never Only About Travel

At first, I thought Beyond The Horizon would probably be about places.

Travel.

Nature.

Photos.

The usual things.

But somewhere along the way, other parts of my life started sneaking in too. 😂

People.

Work.

Family.

Random thoughts.

Things I missed.

Things I wanted to remember.

And sometimes just a good day.

I like that.

I don’t want every story to end with some big lesson about life.

Sometimes I went somewhere.

Had a good time.

Took a photo.

Ate something nice.

Came home happy.

Simply lovely. ❤️

That can be a story too.

One More Photo 🎓

Then I reached this photo.

MBA.

35.

Mum beside me.

And an award I wasn’t expecting.

There’s a whole story behind this photo, but I literally just told you that story in Post 49. 😂

So I’m not going to tell it again.

There were things I couldn’t do when I was younger because life and family had to come first.

This was one of them.

It took a while.

But I got there.

And seeing Mum there with me made it enough.

Dad, I completed it. 🎓

50

And somehow…

that brings me here.

50 stories.

I really didn’t think I had this much to write about. 😂

Maybe at the beginning I thought I needed something important to say before I could write.

Turns out I didn’t.

I just needed to write about what was already happening.

A trip.

A person.

A cup of coffee.

A long drive.

A good day.

A difficult one.

Sometimes something important.

Sometimes absolutely nothing important. 😂

And I think that’s what I like about this place now.

A story doesn’t have to mean something to everyone.

It just has to mean something to me.

A few people who read the blog have told me that when they read it, they can feel Thana in the writing.

I really like that.

Because that’s exactly how I want this place to stay.

Not perfect.

Not trying to sound like someone I’m not.

Just me.

And I’m Still Going 🌅

So I’m not going to finish Post 50 with 50 lessons about life.

Thank God. 😂

I’m just happy.

Happy that I finally started this.

Happy that some of you actually read it.

And happy that after 50 stories…

I haven’t run out of things to say.

There are still places I want to see.

Things I want to try.

People I want to spend time with.

Probably more animals I’ll stop for.

Definitely more coffee. ☕😂

And there are stories I don’t even know about yet.

That’s the part I like.

I don’t know what Post 51 will be.

I don’t know what Post 75 will be.

And I definitely don’t know what we’ll be talking about when we reach 100.

We’ll find out when we get there.

For now…

50 stories.

And I’m still going. 🌅

Simply lovely. ❤️

Just here.

— Thana

Beyond The Horizon 🌅