2020 has brought me with too much uncertainty, the plan needed to change and shape into the new reality, and I can’t share my happiness and gratefulness with my dear friends and parents in person.
It’s a bit frustrating, to be honest, but luckily we make it through successfully to 2021! And despite those highs and lows, I’m still looking forward to the upcoming Chinese New Year in February, having dinner and celebrating with my family (online for sure). To ease the loneliness and celebrate another Chinese new year in Brisbane, I decided to do a barbecue in advance.
Before the barbecue, one of the invited friends came up to me, asking help to help him move house. I learnt that he was moving from an inbound suburb to an outbound suburb, taking him nearly double the daily traffic time. Due to travelling and the time we spent on packing and unpacking the luggage items, we had to change the date.
Finally, last Friday we could do the barbecue. Although it is not a big fancy barbecue, as my friend and I usually do before, we still have good food and good conversation. We worship each other, comfort each other. We exchanged thoughts regarding 2020, sharing stories about what we had been through and what we needed to prepare for the coming months in 2021.
This new year means to be a brand new ‘new year’ for me. Most of my known fellows have already gone back to China, and the others will have to find a job to sustain life and study here. With the strong support from my family, I don’t need to spend extra time looking for a part-time job and stay focus on fulfilling my dream and finishing my study in Brisbane. When the entire economy is not as good as it used to be, I need to rethink daily expenses and save more money for the future. And from this barbecue, I learned how lucky I am to have those perfect friends who can open heart accept me, listening to my complaints and help me deal with the stress and anxiety that I expose to them.
With those supportive friends and a strong family backup, I believe that this year will be a brand new beginning for me, and surely I will become a much better me in 2021!
一眨眼之间，2020年已经离我们越来越远了。回顾在过去的12个月里，由疫情所带来的种种不便已经对我的生活造成了极大的影响。其中最大的影响便是我父母和好友没办法来参加我第一个学位的毕业典礼。
纵使现实中的种种不便令我感到十分沮丧，但值得庆幸的是我和我的同胞朋友们都平平安安的来到2021年！虽然经历了各种潮起潮落，我还是很期待和远在故乡的家人在除夕夜之际通过线上视频实现共进团圆饭。为了缓解长期独自生活的孤独感和庆祝在布里斯班度过的第三个春节，我决定通过举行小型烧烤聚会的形式提前庆祝2021年春节。
在我定下日子之际，一位接受了邀请的朋友联系我，想让我帮帮忙搬家。当我知道了他新家的地址后，我知道我需要把这个聚会的时间往后延迟。由于个人经济的原因，他不得不从原本市区的家搬到通勤时间两倍的近郊区。
忙活一番之后，我们终于能把聚会的日子定到了上周五晚上。因为节俭生活的原因，我和朋友们无法像以前一样准备很丰盛的食材，但我们也是准备了充足的材料。在这个周末的夜晚，我们倾心而谈在过去一年里我们各自遇到的种种不顺，交换了对未来的计划和现实情况的看法， 同时也排解了一下因疫情而积累已久的压抑和不安。
在这次短暂的烧烤聚会之后，我感到2021年对于我来讲绝对是‘新的一年’。在经历了一年的不确定后，我认识的同胞们大部分已经回到各自的家乡，剩下的也多数需要在这里找份兼职帮补生活。我很幸运，我有一个全力支持我的家庭。他们的百分百支持和安慰让我不需要分散精力去找工作，让我能够全身心地为我的梦想和在布里斯班的学业努力；在整体经济环境不好的情况下，我意识到理财和存余对生活的重要性，让我开始学会如何管理自己的日常花销和合理分配资源。
这次聚会后，我坚信，有一群这么支持我的同胞朋友和全力支持我的家人，在新的一年里我一定能成为更好的自己！
