We all like to reflect at the end of the year and find a way to grasp all the quickly-passing snapshots of previous year. Yesterday night, I came back from an amazing family trip to Yosemite. As I sat on my bed writing in my journal, I realized I never did a in-depth reflection of 2014. I began to flip through the pages. Some entries I read with the sadness a parent might feel when seeing their children go through hardships, knowing and dreading what would come next in the sequence of events. Some entries I read with a feeling of euphoric throwback. As I was reading, I would close my eyes and remember various moments of the past year. I reminisced riding home at night in a taxi in a faraway country, feeling the warm wind whip through my salon-straightened hair. I smiled thinking of all the special dates like birthdays and Christmas that I spent with loved ones. I recollected playing piano in a beautiful chapel in Massachusetts. I remembered relaxing in my best friends backyard, feeling as if we were transcending the grasp of ticking time. I remember snapshots of people’s smiles, fragments of their countless kind words, encouragement, and kindness. As I read back on entries, I rediscovered so many subtle intricacies that I had experienced. Here’s a post to my beautiful 2014!
I think the three biggest themes for the past year were travel, meeting new people, and career (mainly reaching blog milestones!)
I had the hands-down most amazing summer of my life. I spent two weeks in Shanghai, spending time with extended family, exploring the city with best friends, networking, and doing modeling work. Before I left, my cousins took me on an amazing road trip to the countryside for a few days, and we drove around listening to old Chinese country music, staying up playing poker, hiking, and having an all-around blast.
It is very rare that any experiences outshine Shanghai in my books, but my summer entrepreneurship program at Babson College did just that. I met an amazing group of outstanding students from around the world, many of whom I still consider best friends. I received so much insight on entrepreneurship, business responsibility, leadership, and communication. I discovered so many beautiful places on campus. I tasted and fell in love with a sense of freedom that I experienced at camp, while embracing my individuality through personal time within the quiet campus.
I met a boy this year, and he showed me that even small things like letters and phone calls could give me infinite happiness. Our memories are like fairytales. In 2014, I fell in love. 
Last year year, I became even closer to my clickPA team. ClickPA is an organization I founded for the city of Palo Alto in 2012. I met new mentors, became friends with new team members, and was proud that we became finalists in Palo Alto’s Hackathon 2014. Cheers to my amazing team!
I had the opportunity to meet and work with so many photographers this past year. I admire them all so much for being able to capture their subjects beautifully. All the photographers I’ve worked with have captured me in unique and memorable lights. There is a different Ally in each photo! I became friends (online and in person) with many fellow bloggers and fashionistas that I look up to.
I met many new blog readers in person last year, and was even spotted and recognized by some during my travels. (Those moments are definitely highlights in my career.) Thank you to all my amazing and constant readers who always comment, follow my social media/instagram, and support me as I go through my day-to-day. Nothing puts a bigger smile on my face than hearing your kind words and being friends with all of you over the years. 🙂
Another highlight of the year was being able to represent, model, and review products for so many amazing companies! Through my collaborations, I’ve discovered so many brands with amazing missions and commitment to their customers. Thanks to everyone who has worked with my blog over the past year. This year, I became a proud contributor to the Lucky and Teenvogue community, and made it to Teenvogues Top 100 Bloggers a few months ago. Although I have been posting to this blog since 2011, I watched it really grow and change this year.
In 2014, my loved ones gave me many beautiful and warm memories. Everything comes and go, but I’ve learned that friends are truly forever. I am amazed that some of these people have stuck by my side for so many years! My best friend Derek and I went on so many memorable adventures while he was back, from San Francisco to China. When he’s not home a few houses down from mine, I feel like a sense of true companionship is missing from my life. We talk about everything and he made the beginning half of my year fly by. My best friend Erica traveled all the way to California from Pennsylvania to be with me on my birthday weekend. She made it one of the craziest, funnest weeks of the year. It’s so heartwarming to think we became friends over one year but managed to visit each other and stay in touch for the next three! 🙂
My best friend Tiffany has been there for me since kindergarden, and she is like part of my family. I love this girl to death, and I don’t think there is an Ally Gong without a Tiffy S!
Thanks to my hilarious crew of four for being with me all the time and making me smile and laugh every day. There are no besties in the world like Noa, Esther and Neta. Looking forward to a ridiculous, free-spirited semester ahead of us.
Lastly, my family has really been a source of strength and support for me this past year. I hang out with my little sister all the time and we could fill an anthology with all our inside jokes and memories. She is a jewel in my life.
I think 2014 was the most progressive year I’ve ever had. I stepped out of many shells, and learned to acknowledge and be mindful of the many more that I will continue to break out of. We can’t fix everything about ourselves , but it’s always important to take note of victories along with losses. I spent a good portion of the end of the year feeling very stressed, worn out, and unhappy with where I was. However, as I began to reflect, I realized that each time I thought of all the amazing places and times I had over the past year, I became convinced that 2014 had been a blessed year. I will always hold it close in my heart. In the past 365 days, I feel like my life has had the fullness of an entire lifetime. I have been a thousand different girls in so many beautiful worlds. I have worn the clothing of a million characters, and exchanged stories with everyone from drivers in Asia to successful entrepreneurs in America. Smiles from the heart are precious, and I think that anyone who revisits the happiest moments of their past months will experience genuine happiness. I urge everyone to keep some kind of record of precious moments. 365 days passes in the blink of an eye, but when you begin to scroll through old records (even photo galleries on phones), we see how quickly we fly through it all. Hold on to those precious moments.
Let’s take on 2015 together my loves! Love and blessings.
