In a blink of an eye, 2023 has ended. 

Unfortunately in 2023, Isabelle was only able to get out for a whopping total of...5 times. When life gets in the way, something's got to give. But when I could go out as Isabelle this year, it was always enjoyable. Some were simple trips out alone while others were more epic, like Cosfest at Gardens by The Bay in April. I wanted to attend AFA in November 2023, but because all my stuff was in storage and I didn't have a safe space to dress up, so attending AFA as Isabelle wasn't possible.

2023 was however, a year of action. I finally took action and started removing my facial hair (still in progress, because permanent removal takes around 1.5 years). I spent a bit of money to get rid of prominent acne scars that were annoying me, especially those of the icepick and boxcar variety. I began taking better care of my skin and religiously applied sunscreen and creams at night. And of course, I decided that I had enough of my receding hairline making me looking way older than I actually was and went for a hair transplant. All of these blew a bit of a hole in my savings, but the return on investment for most of these were well worth it (especially the hair restoration. the before/after photos are pretty darn amazing).

So what do I want to do in 2024 for Isabelle? Top on the priority list is to get a new home, so that I once again have a safe space to dress up. I'm looking at a place a bit bigger than my previous 3-room HDB, so hopefully I can carve out a corner for proper photoshoots. With a new home, perhaps Isabelle will have more opportunities to go out in 2024. Oh and of course, I hope to blog more in 2024. This medium has its purpose as a sort of time capsule of life events and my perspectives at certain points in time, so I do plan to keep on writing.

So goodbye 2023, hello 2024. May the year ahead bring more opportunities and adventures!