Hello, hello my loves~ It’s Minty, back after my little winter holiday break! It’s been awhile! Honestly, I didn’t mean to take a month off… So, my bad… As this is my first post for 2022, I just wanted to say Happy New Year!~ I hope you all had a wonderful start to your 2022 new year~ I also hope you all enjoyed your winter holidays as well. I know I had fun seeing my sister again, and finally being reunited with my bestie for the first time since winter 2019. That being said, I thought I’d do my annual post of looking back at the past year~No Music Monday post this week, but you can expect one next week~

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First off, 2021 was hella rough for me…

That’s an understatement, really… First off, I had a bad knife accident around last Christmas. I basically almost chopped my finger off… It was pretty bad and took me about 3 weeks to recover to a point where my finger wasn’t killing me. 2021 started off rough because I had yet another bad knife accident (this time on a different finger) in February… While not as painful, it was actually worse than the first accident since the bleeding didn’t slow down until the next day… About 2-3 days later, I had another accident. This time a big icicle fell on my head. About a week later, my stepdad had a bad asthma episode and had to go to the ICU and stay in the hospital for a week. April…that was the start of a particularly difficult time for me in 2021. I was suddenly told my little cousin was in critical condition at the hospital. She was declared brain dead and we had to let her go. I spent the next month with my uncle’s family. It was a month of grieving, consoling, and taking care of my other little cousin. It’s been hard. The first several months right after were especially hard. Let’s just say that while I put a strong front for my little cousin, I was under a lot of stress and depression myself. My anxiety and insomnia were particularly bad too. So my mental health took a hit as I was grieving, dealing with the funeral rites during that first month, mediating things between family and relatives, dealing with the 100-day memorial service, and a whole lot of other things throughout the following months. There were a dozen other big personal things within my family that happened throughout the rest of the year that I was preoccupied with too. So yeah…2021 was incredibly rough on me and gave me no breaks… This was on top of the burnout that was already kind of hitting me, and I got sick quite a few times too. So as you can imagine, I wasn’t able to be as active or consistent as I wanted to be. It was hard to focus and commit to my plans when life was throwing a lot of curveballs at me. I wasn’t really in a mental state to put out content. Still, I felt really bad about it. Especially because blogging has always been my creative outlet and form of stress relief. I did try my best to keep the blog alive by doing Music Monday still, and I had hoped I could find the time to work on and put out other content. However, it got to a point that I even skipped my Music Monday posts a few times. Music Monday posts were supposed to be my easy posts too. Our daily and monthly numbers did take a bit of a dip. While numbers aren’t important, our stats had been on an upward trend since 2020 and it did serve as a motivation for us. I just kind of felt bad and a bit regretful I couldn’t keep things consistent.

2021 wasn’t all bad though!!!

Despite 2021 being incredibly rough for me, there were still so many wonderful things that happened. 2021 was rough, but BAYOG still managed to hit some new records, we made so many new friends, and we gained so many new and interesting experiences as well. Simply put, 2021 kicked me down A LOT…but it also pulled me up with so many unexpected opportunities!

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BAYOG Records!~

Even though we weren’t as active as we would’ve liked to have been and our stats dipping here and there, we still hit record numbers for ourselves. We beat our previous highest daily views. We also actually managed to outdo ourselves from 2020 by actually reaching over a quarter of a million views for 2021! We went from last year’s 142k views to nearly 255k views this year. Again, this is despite us actually have been less active than 2020. It’s just mindblowing because we’ve been able to have such wonderful support from old and new readers and friends. It’s also been such a pleasure to get to know everyone too. It’s also just so surprising to see how far we’ve come since when BAYOG first began. Again, back when we started in like 2017-2018, we were happy if we could even get double or triple digits for the whole week. I think the bros had started the blog back in the middle of 2017 with the annual views tallying up to like 7.5k views? In 2018, we had an annual total of nearly 50k views. As I said in my [2020 reflection post], it’s an unexpected surprise and journey to see how far we’ve come. We’ve always been so incredibly grateful for the love and support that we’ve received. Of course, we’re also especially grateful for the friendships we’ve made along the way as well! So to see us actually outdo ourselves in 2021, despite our shortcomings and struggles, is just such a wonderful surprise.

2021 was also the start of some very new and unexpected surprises and experiences as well. Like we made friends and connections with companies?? Also, I kind of got paid to talk about webtoons and novels…??? More on that later, but this was something absolutely surprising and unexpected. I’ve been blogging with BAYOG for a little over 4 years now. As I’ve said in my previous reflection posts, I never expected myself to be a blogger and it took me a while to realize that I am one. I literally only accepted this fact like last year too. Even so, blogging has simply been a hobby for me. Never in my life did I think I could make money from my interests??

Kinda getting to work with Manta
(and getting money for being manhwa trash???)

@Irina_the_Great we both got mentioned in a Korean article by RIDI (company that made Manta) ~ I found out about this late, but it's a pleasant surprise haha~ pic.twitter.com/cLOb7Wzxmg

— มิ้นท์ • Minty⁷🧋| BAYOG (@piecesofminty) May 6, 2021

I was just doing me, found a new webtoon app followed me on Twitter. [Reviewed] their app on the blog, cuz again…just being me. It was RIDI’s [Manta], y’all. If you’ve been following me, you’ll know that they unexpectedly also followed me on Instagram and hit me up [after seeing my blog post]. It was really interesting because they wanted to get my opinion on some things on how to improve their app and service. The amazing thing was that they actually did take all my opinions into consideration and actually implemented them into the app really quickly. They took more care with fonts and typesetting, adding a search function, added a calendar, and a bookmark/favorite function. I was honestly so flattered and over the moon to think that a company and service would reach out and actually value my opinion and suggestions. Not only that, but they also mentioned me and my post (as well as our lovely friend Irina) in their Korean article as well. I think this was a moment where it really hit me that I’m actually a blogger (cuz they literally mentioned me as “blogger piecesofminty” lol). It may seem like something small to others, but it was a “Holy shit!” moment for me.

I thought that would be it, but nope. Since Manta was fairly new, they sought opinions to continue improving their app and service. Basically, they asked users to fill out and survey and join some discussions with them. Turns out that they would compensate people for their time too. I was one of the people who did several of these discussions and sometimes had been asked to come and join more discussions as well. I got to make like $200-300 to talk about things I really love like webtoons, Korean novels, dramas, and whatnot. Which just makes it seem all the more amazing. Plus, it was a fun flex to finally retort with “Yeah! I got paid for it!~” whenever someone would tell me “What’s the point of reading all those webcomics, you can’t even get money from it.” It was also really cool to kind of see the behind-the-scenes aspect of Manta and their growth. Like one of the discussions had to do with how they’d market Finding Camellia, and my opinions on various romance series. I also suggested novels would be interesting. I later got to do a discussion about novels, and the novel for Finding Camellia was also launched on their app as well. It was also really cool they took my opinions and my experience with other services to add to and improve Manta. I got to be a tiny part of that change and see my suggestions be implemented into their services. Although truth be told, I wouldn’t have minded not getting paid because I genuinely enjoyed getting to know the Manta team. I really did just love the service, and to be able to see their growth and journey. It was just a really nifty and fun experience.

It was fun to feel like I got to be a tiny part of Manta and their journey, but getting to know the Manta team was one of my favorite parts. I’m hella introverted, and super awkward when it comes to talking to and meeting new people. Even more so since the pandemic started since I rarely get to interact with people anymore. However, it was always such a joy talking to the Manta team like Se Eun. It was fun to see and meet the hardworking team behind the service. Every time I use Manta or see something Manta-related pop-up, I just think “Wow!” Because they’ve truly done an amazing job within a short year. I hope they realize what a great job they’ve done. I hope they’re all doing well and I wish them the best~

Our Partnership with WordExcerpt!!!

This one is truly the biggest highlight of 2021 for me! Again, y’all know I love my Korean novels. WordExcerpt used to be a fan-translation site of novels, and what originally got me into Korean novels. I was really thrilled when they decided to become a legitimate publishing house. Especially because there really hadn’t been any officially translated Korean romance novels. It was also interesting that they had planned to have their web service follow a subscription model. Y’all know me, I love to post and talk about things I love. So of course I planned on reviewing their service once it launched. Originally, I had planned on immediately doing my review after their launch. Although, we know [I didn’t get around to it until like August].

Hello, hello!~ We have some exciting news… We're proud to announce that BAYOG is now a press media partner with @wordexcerpt ~ You can look forward to more K-novel reviews on the blog and lots of fun things in the future! 💜😊 pic.twitter.com/JJj5fAoA5v

— BAYOG | Black & Yellow Otaku Gamers Blog & Podcast (@WeAreBAYOG) August 29, 2021

The mindblowing thing though is that WordExcerpt contacted us in June for talks of possible collaboration. Y’all. When Loha told me that we had a message from WordExcerpt, I legitimately screamed and freaked out. First of all, it was also the first time a company ever reached out to us for a collab or anything of that sort. But it was crazy that it that it was WordExcerpt, a service I was subscribed to, loved, and actually loved even before they went legit! I lowkey cried haha. It was just unexpected. Anyway, they had reached out saying that one of my Korean webtoon posts caught their attention and so they were interested in a collab where I could receive and review advanced copies of their novels. Of course, I was totally down. I know they love Korean novels, and I love Korean novels. So it’s an honor to work with them to spread attention to these works. Thus, by August, we officially became WordExcerpt’s press media partner. Our partnership allows me to receive and review their novels, cover updates and news about them, as well as do other collabs…like the giveaways that we’ve done the past couple of months~ There are also plenty more exciting things to come in the future.

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I do admit, I feel a bit bad as I’m incredibly behind on a novel review. Again, 2021 has not been kind to me… But I am working on it. I’m trying to get that out as soon as possible. I do plan on being much more active for 2022. I want to put out posts reviewing some of the webnovels on the platform that I enjoy, and not just the ones that they’ve sent me. Again, I’m just super honored to be working with WordExcerpt. They’re a great team that cares about the quality of their work too. They’ve also been so kind, and such a pleasure to work with. I’m also just super proud of them to see how they’re growing as well. So I really can’t wait for all the amazing and exciting things they have in store. I never would’ve thought we’d ever get a partnership with a company. Especially in regards to something that is my particular interest too. And for it to be WordExcerpt…it still leaves me awestruck. It really is an honor and dream come true. I’m really am looking forward to spreading awareness about these amazing works with WordExcerpt, and to be able to witness WordExcerpt’s growth as well.

TokyoTreat Reaching Out Too

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Back in October, we received a message from TokyoTreat for a collab as well! They wanted to send out a free TokyoTreat box for us to try and review. This also completely caught us off guard. Again, we’ve never had companies reach out for things like this. So it was really unexpected and cool. I absolutely loved the opportunity to try all these different Japanese snacks. I was able to try new varieties of some of my favorites, but also try out things I’ve never had before. I got to enjoy the snacks with my mom and grandma too. I also actually ended up getting some for TokyoTreat boxes for my sister and her boyfriend too.

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If I were to just be brutally honest, 2021 was truly abysmal for me. However, I was also able to have such unexpected opportunities and experiences that I’m so truly grateful for. Each and every single one was unexpected, but I loved every bit of it. Again, I joined BAYOG in 2017. I didn’t think I’d be a blogger. I originally thought I was just filling in and helping some friends for a bit for fun. Originally, I thought it’d be temporary. Yet, here I am over 4 years later. Even then, blogging is just a fun hobby for me. It’s not like I had any serious plans or expectations. If I had to say it, I’d just consider ourselves to be very small creators. After all, I just like to rant about things I like and think about, as well as make friends from it. We did joke around about how nifty it’d be if we ever got business opportunities or sponsorships. I always thought it’d be a nifty dream to maybe one day do a collab or get sent things to review. Who knew that would manifest itself in 2021? Never did I think we’d ever be reached out by a company for a partnership! Nor did I think I’d ever work with a webtoon platform under a big company like RIDI, and a Korean company at that! I never thought I’d see my name in a Korean article. I never would have even dreamed of making some money from reviewing webtoons. Never did I think a company, and one in Japan at that, would reach out and send me free stuff to review. It was honestly mindblowing for me. I truly enjoyed every bit of it, and I’m so incredibly grateful for these experiences. Of course, it wouldn’t be possible without all of you: the BAYOG Fam. Thanks to you all, I’m still here writing blog posts and able to experience such opportunities. So thank you.

It’s kind of funny because at first, I thought I hadn’t really done much for 2021. Again, I wasn’t able to be as active due to all these curveballs. But looking at it now, I did accomplish [the goals I mildly hoped for last year]. I wanted to continue making new friends and expanding my network. We definitely achieved that. We also gained more followers and have more BAYOG Fam on the BAYOG Discord Server too~ As for 2022, I hope to do more webtoon and novel posts. I hope I can go back to a regular posting schedule again. Life has been tough, with 2021 being so incredibly bitter for me. However, 2021 was able to be a bit sweeter and brighter to me because of all of you and these experiences. So truly, thank you from the bottom of my heart. Thank you to all our friends, new and old. Thank you for being on this journey with me. Thank you for giving me love, comfort, and support through everything. I hope you can all continue watching over me on this journey, and I hope that 2022 brings more fun and joyful things for us all~ I wish you all love and joy in 2022! Stay safe and take care y’all~

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