For the first post on this blog that isn’t about food, but me. First birthday as a non-student, many transitions, and where I am at this moment, I thought it is a good opportunity to write down some of my thoughts and show some gratitudes that I never had a chance to do so.
第一次寫中文，也是跟美食無關的文章，而是「我」。第一個非學生的生日，完全脫離學生生活後的這幾個月，生活上有很多不同的轉換。剛好趁這次的機會把一些平常沒機會說的事情用寫的來表達。
Growing up, our family doesn’t really celebrate birthdays. I was being taught that birthday is also my mother’s suffered day, hence I should be appreciating what my mother had gone through to bring me to this world. I guess that’s why birthdays were never a big deal, because it’s not just about me.
從小到大，家裡並沒有過生日的習慣，頂多就是去間高級一點的餐廳（其實也都平常偶而就會去的…），也沒有生日蛋糕，更不用說有多大的派對。因為小時候就被教導生日是母難日，所以比起慶祝「我的」生日，更應該要去體恤媽媽的辛苦。
This September (2017) is definitely has much more meaning and more special to me up till this stage of my life. Quite a few milestones/major life event has happened that somewhat have a significant impact.
- Graduated from undergraduate, facing the reality like a newbie.
- Officially a permanent resident of Canada!
- Received my first full-time job offer after a long period of job hunting.
Since i graduated, I’ve been working as a freelancer, which I always considered it as a part-time job that branched out from the blog. I am grateful for all these opportunities and appreciate the flexibility I had as a freelancer. But honestly, it’s unstable. That being said, I couldn’t have asked for a better birthday present than a job offer!
比起往年的9月，對我來說2017年的更別具意義。
- 從大學畢業的（還在摸索中的）社會新鮮人。
- 終於成為加拿大的永久居民！
- 經過幾個月漫長的求職生活，終於收到第一份全職的工作機會。
自從畢業後，因為部落格的關係，一直是位以接case、跟不同公關公司合作維生的自由業工作者。原本的副業突然變成了主業。我很感謝這些所有的機會，以及喜歡這工作的靈活性。可是，老實說，這種職業收入很不穩定，尤其是剛起步的（再加上這裡的部落客工作生態）。話雖如此，我不能要求比這個全職工作機會更好的生日禮物了！
Now that I live 7,500 miles (~12,070 km) apart from my family, I’ve learnt to cherish every moments I get to spend with them. My family always try to coordinate as least one travel every year, and fortunately, we had two earlier of the year! I had the chance to visit few cities in Vietnam and Okinawa. Both countries have its distinct food cultures. I fell in love with Vietnam instantly, and Okinawa was an eye-opening experience as it is totally different than mainland Japan!
由於現在跟家人的距離隔著一個太平洋，我也學會珍惜每次跟他們相聚的時間。雖然在別人眼裡我可能很常回台灣，可是對我來說不管多頻繁，應該都不夠吧！ˇˊˊ每次回去，我們家也一定會安排旅遊，一年一次已成為例行公事了。今年年初，在回去的短短一個月中，很幸運的去了越南及沖繩 。完全沒有抱著任何的期待第一次去了越南，卻深深的被這個國家的民俗風情吸引！而沖繩雖然屬於我永遠都去不膩的日本，卻跟本島有極大的反差。
I’m blessed to have parents and an older brother that allow me to just be myself and explore the world the way that I want to. They give me a lot of space, time, and patience. Though we do fights sometimes, but conflicts are part of the journey to be a grown up(?).
我很幸運的擁有一對跟一般亞洲父母不一樣的爸媽，還有一個任我使喚的哥哥，讓我有時間跟空間去找尋我自己想要做的事情。雖然這之中當然會有些不愉快，可是他們是慢慢的push我，而不是一次就直接把我推出去。
In terms of the blog, I’ve gone from a free WordPress.com to buying a domain and self-hosted .org site. This is a big step and commitment. Blogging is constantly work (and learn) in progress. I’ve learnt so much about social media, photography, SEO (still struggling…), and working with PR companies and brands. I’ve also gotten to meet some awesome people along the way who I’m glad to call friends now. Although working full-time meaning that I’ll have a rigid schedule, less flexibility, less “me” time, but I’m not going to give up the blogging side of me. After all, I’ve dedicated quite a lot of time in it, so don’t worry!
至於部落格方面，我從免費的Wordpress.com到購買自己的網址以及自己架構網站，這算是蠻大的一步跟承諾。經營部落格是個持續性的工作（及學習）。在這過去幾年，我學到了很多有關社群媒體、攝影、搜尋引擎優化（仍然在摸索中…）以及跟不同公關公司和品牌合作事宜。我也認識了很多人，有些很高興的能成為朋友。雖然之後有了正職的工作，時間上可能少了彈性、少了自己的時間，可是這並不代表我需要放棄這份我已花很多心力及時間的成果。
Looking back at my journey, I didn’t really set a goal for the blog. I started it just for a simple reason – share my love of food. I’ve never thought about how far I would have gone or even with all these different collaborations and opportunities. Though compare to a lot of influencers out there, I’m like nothing, but you know what, I am proud of what I have achieved so far, and I look forward and ready to embrace another milestone of my life. I may not be the best or most consistent blogger out there but my love of food and travel isn’t less than others. I love sharing my adventures with you, so thank you for all your support! It’s all just getting started…
回顧這一路來的旅程，我並沒有真正的為這個部落客之路設定一個目標。一開始只是為了一個單純的原因 – 分享我對食物的熱愛。我從來沒有想過我會走到今天這個地步，甚至沒有想到這個平台給我帶來的不同合作和機會。雖然與其他有影響力的部落客相比，我只是個小人物，但是，我為迄今為止所取得的成就感到自豪，我也期待著另一個里程碑。我雖然可能不是最好的或發文最頻繁的部落客，但我對食物和旅行的熱愛不會少于其他人。我喜歡和你（妳）分享我的心路歷程，所以感謝你（妳）的支持！新的一篇才剛剛要開始…
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