2021 kicked off no differently from most of 2020: depressed and utterly lost on the purpose of my life. Once I accepted an offer at Personify and resumed a full-time career on April 12, 2021, following over 15 months of unemployment, I no longer took working for granted. From being the applicant who submitted thousands of applications over several years to becoming a recruiter experiencing the other side, I could not help but empathize with candidates more personally, especially towards the beginning, at the height of COVID-19, when finding a job remained a challenge for many. Every morning, I prayed to God for heavenly wisdom, understanding, and knowledge and to refresh my soul, renew my strength, endurance, and motivation, and let His Name be glorified, honored, and praised in all I do. I worked with all my heart as working for Him and let Him take care of the rest.

My racing streak carried on; I managed to squeeze in 15 races, tied for most in a calendar year and which included a 32-miler, a marathon (in Germany), 11 half marathons, and 2 10K’s and totaled 216.3 miles. When my two-week trip to Korea at the end of the year, for which I saved up my PTO, to see my family, faith mentors, and friends for the first time in nearly two years was canceled at the last minute due to the country’s sudden implementation of a 10-day quarantine, I had in mind as backup to participate in a 48-hour race in Tucson, Arizona, but I had just missed the registration deadline. I had prayed about this for a few days with my close ones and asked God to give me an answer environmentally whether or not I should be doing this, so, albeit humanly disappointed, I took this as His answer. Spending the holidays alone yet again upsets and depresses me, but I do not want this to overshadow the abundant blessings God has bestowed upon me this year; I found a rapidly growing company with healthy and positive work culture and the right church for me immediately, rent a beautiful studio apartment, continue my hobby in running, and maintain good health. Acknowledging nothing can be worse than my life prior to the turnaround, I find being grateful quite easy. I cannot wait to witness what God has in store for me in 2022.