"Introvert Talks" is meant to be a new initiative or theme, where I myself as an introvert, just talk about reflections and thoughts about my life, or maybe share more personal stuff. :)
This is my weekly post under this "Introvert Talks" theme and let's see where it takes me and us.
As you probably know (from my earlier post), I just celebrated my birthday and grew one year older (hopefully wiser). So yesterday, as I was scrolling through Spotify to explore some tunes, and I came across an interesting artiste with some covers of hit songs in the 1990s and 2000s. So I clicked in to listen, and wow, the voice was so crisp and so emotional, and the amazing voice led me into a somewhat emotional and meaningful reflection of my younger self and life while I was younger.
This year 2026 has been a milestone for me, not so much about the extra one added to my age number, but my personal progress and personal life. As I reflected back my younger days, I have nothing but a whole bunch of thanks and gratitude to my younger self, for building my foundation bit by bit, day by day, consistently, even when the future looked certain.
I thank my younger self for taking care of my body. I don't ace my health screening reports, or neither am I a model by any standards, but being average with okay health indicators and minimal illnesses, even at my age, is such a great blessing. Of course, I am not perfect (no one is), I still indulge in unhealthy foods once in a while, but I try to keep everything in moderation, and occasionally make the effort to exercise, and go for my annual check ups. These things might not seem ground breaking but looking back, it's the daily consistent efforts that make a lot of difference in the long run. During my first or second year, I might not see any difference but over 5 or 10 years, now I am really thankful that my younger self didn't give up in this process and have always tried to put health as one of the important priorities in my life.
I thank my younger self for being frugal and careful in my spending. After being in the workforce for close to 14 years, I now a roof over my head and I am being able to take care myself, be it day to day expenses like transport, food, utility. And I have a little surplus that I can occasionally splurge on myself to travel and see the world and indulge in my favourite cup of matcha. I never wanted or expected myself to become some mega rich person, I just wanted to live a simple and happy life without having to worry about basic or emergency expenses (especially when city life can be quite expensive), and I think I am now in a good place. And this couldn't be possible if I didn't keep a tight watch over my expenses when I was younger. I might be overly frugal or overly careful in my spending back then, but if that was the price to pay for a stable and secure life now, it was definitely worth. It's always tricky and sensitive to talk about finances with people around us, but I am glad I took the effort to read and learn a lot of stuff during my free time.
I always knew I was different from most people because my mindset is sometimes a little unconventional. But like what they say, all roads lead to Rome, we find our happiness and satisfaction in our little ways. And in 2026, I know I wouldn't be where I am without my younger self putting in all the hard work. So even as I celebrate growing older, I just want to take this moment to thank him in this post.
Ending this post with one of my birthday cakes that my friends bought for me. On a light hearted note, so I actually searched the artiste to see who was this singer with such a great voice, and guess what? It turned out to be an AI voice. Haha.