Happy New Year from BAYOG! | Minty Reflecting on 2022

Hello hello BAYOG Fam~ On behalf of BAYOG and myself, I’d like to say HAPPY NEW YEAR FRIENDSSSS~ I hope y’alll had a fabulous start to your new year and that you enjoyed the winter holidays. It’s been a while friends… I know. It’s a new year so it’s also that time when we take a look back at the past year~ 2022 was honestly…hectic to say the least lolol Of course I’m just speaking for myself. Can’t really speak for Lauren or the Bros. But I know everyone has been busy with various things. I myself also took a step back. Despite the craziness, there were some fun times too. But yah, let’s get into it and talk about 2022 vs 2021. BTW, forgive me. I’m on holiday and using a laptop that I’m not quite used to yet… lol

First off, HOLY CRAP. I can’t believe I’ve been blogging for FIVE years (as of November) now??? Again, I initially joined BAYOG on a whim to just help out occasionally. But I’ve really enjoyed it and been here ever since haha. Minty BAYOG origin story [here] or [here] if you wanna know the detailed version LOL. Again, this was a project started by the bros, and I just happened to join in on a whim back in 2017. I never thought I’d become a regular(-ish) blogger. Definitely didn’t expect myself to do this for more than a year haha. But it’s been fun. Despite the struggles, I did enjoy it. I really enjoyed meeting new people and making friends~ I’ve honestly met so many lovely people. It’s also thanks to BAYOG and blogging that I’ve been fortunate enough to have such unexpected fun experiences such as networking and working with different people and companies. Like I said in my [2021 reflections post], I never would’ve expected to connect with publishing companies like WordExcerpt or RIDI’s Manta, or even to get an opportunity to review TokyoTreat.

However, 2022 was really tough for me, in a different way from 2021 or 2020. My family and I are still affected by my little cousin’s death from a year ago. I’ve been trying to help my surviving little cousin who is still feeling the loss of her twin… I was still struggling with family drama and things whenever our families and their friends got together to the memorial services and things. My stepaunt in Thailand was suddenly diagnosed with cancer and is in the hospital getting chemo. My mom was having health issues. I had some health issues. My stepdad’s always had health issues. I started a coding course. Which was going well at first… But well… it honestly was too much. Adding that to all the other things I had on my plate, I was feeling super overwhelmed. So yeah… my mental health took a pretty big hit… Especially during October/November. I was in a bad headspace. My mental and physical health was suffering pretty bad… Ultimately though, I made some tough decisions to put myself first. It sucks, but I gotta do what’s best for me and to prioritize what’s more important. I’m doing much better now though~ WOO. So yeah, continuing into 2023 I’m going to continue prioritizing myself and my own happiness~

So because I had all this and alot of other stuff going on, I was on semi-hiatus. I really took a step back from blogging. So I wasn’t as active. Actually, this was probably the one time I was most inactive. Like I was hella held up by everything that I think I didn’t even talk to friends on Discord (basically my only channel of communication these days) for several months, minus just a handful of people. I wasn’t able to play video games or really enjoy anything for 4 months l…ol I felt bad cuz I always enjoyed blogging too. Again, it’s part of my stress relief and I enjoy talking about and sharing the things I enjoy. Lauren did an awesome job holding down the fort too. I just wish I could’ve done some more blogging. Like I have so much stuff in drafts… I’m hella behind…

So obviously the blog didn’t do as well as previous years. We did break that upward trend we had going for 3 years. Still, considering how inactive we were…I think we still did a great job. We definitely did way better than I expected lol. In 2021 we had just under 225k views. For 2022, we had just under 135k views. Which is still incredible and really unexpected. So thanks everyone~ Again, numbers aren’t important. But it gives a good idea of people who are interested in the content that we make. Which again, we just make for fun and for ourselves~ I’ve enjoyed the conversations and friendships I’ve had through all of these too~ It’s also just like a reminder to show me how far BAYOG has come too~

Also, I just wanna say I do appreciate y’all still coming on to the blog to read our posts. And I do appreciate the comments. Some of them are hella funny tough LOL My favorite comment will be the one where someone commented “I’m a fujoshi…. If I pay for it, I better see some light sabers.” I definitely snorted when I read that haha. For context: that was on one of my Manta post. Look, Manta unfortunately can only do the R15/All-Ages versions of the series. They might have an option for the uncensored ones in the future. But regardless, their subscription was like $4/month (now like $5/month). It’s still a good deal considering you have unlimited all-access to their entire catalogue…. Still, this comment was hilarious lol

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And despite everything, I still had cool experiences and networking opportunities. Again, I’ve kinda worked with Manta [for years]… since when they first launched. I got the cool opportunity to be selected for their Manta Friends program. I can’t spill alot of details because we did have to sign forms and things. But basically, we were a group that got to have bi-weekly one-hour discussions with Manta. We gave our honest feedback and ideas on improvement for their series and service. It was honestly alot of fun. And I was also able to make new friends. Which is fun for me cuz I’m an introvert and basically no longer socialize since the beginning of the pandemic… The other girls were super sweet and chill. They were fun to talk to. I also just loved meeting the different faces of the Manta Team and getting to know them as well. Of course, it’s also just fun to be a part of some behind-the-scenes aspects of things. Plus, It was awesome to get paid for it. I got $30 in Amazon gift card credit for every meeting. Also, they sent us some exclusive merch! I’ll talk about that later in a different post though.

I also got a chance to kinda get to know [Editio Publishing]. Again, I don’t have any like partnership or affiliation with them. I just stumbled upon them and found out their another new publishing company that’s officially releasing several series in English. I love what their company is about, and I’ve really loved their series so far. So I just wanted to support and show my love for their work. Plus, I wanted to let friends know that there was another provider of official English releases. I guess I kinda caught their attention. I had the pleasure of messaging one of the founders for a bit, and they offered to send me some goodies of their first prints when they’re available. So I’m looking forward to that~ But yeah, definitely check out their series! Especially if you’re looking for series that don’t promote problematic and toxic bullshit. My favorites so far are [The Obsessed Hero and the Villainous Family’s Daughter] and [The Tyrant’s Etiquette Tutor]. All of Editio’s series have been enjoyable so far, but those are my faves~

2022 has been hectic and honestly it was difficult for me to find time for myself and my hobbies. But I did manage to read more novels for a while (before shit started going downhill for me in October/November anyway). Again, I’ve read through most of Editio’s catalogue and a bunch of other novels. But I also managed that cuz I was using text-to-speech apps so I could listen to my novels while working lolol I definitely found alot of gems. I got alot of different series I wanna talk about, both novels and manhwa. So I’mma try to get back into that in 2023~

If y’all didn’t know, before I joined BAYOG and became a blogger, I was known for writing and singing covers that I’d post on my YouTube. I mostly wrote and sang English covers of my favorite Thai songs. Also cuz I like translating things for fun and wanted to do more accurate English covers. My friends liked the Thai songs I’d recommend. So around college, I started these little fun projects. I also, once upon a time, wanted to be a singer in Thailand. Though I’m too shy for that so I just post my stuff on YouTube haha. But yeah, I hadn’t had time to post as much over recent years. Surprisingly though, I did manage to post a couple this year. I’m actually more surprised that I got a bunch of new subscribers and likes on my videos despite my lack of activity. One of my old videos somehow blew up this year and I got like over 13k views~ So YAAAAY~ I thought about making YT content to talk about stuff I talk about on the blog too. But… I don’t have the time for it. Also, I know I lack the kind of personality to be talkative and interesting lolol I’m much better at writing it out than saying it. Also, I get super self-conscious on camera haha

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Anyway, I think we can all agree life has been hectic since the pandemic. I legit had not seen BAYOG since 2019!!! Of course, we still chat and hang out online. However, we hadn’t physically seen or hung out with together (at least with me) since 2019… But, we were able to have a mini-reunion. At least me, Loha (loheezy), Kenny (blackatron), and my bestie Jess (aka Loha’s Jess). We planned our reunion for the [2022 Epik High tour]. Unfortunately, the concert was pushed back cuz of the snow. So Kenny wasn’t able to fly back and enjoy it with us. Still, we had a blast hanging out.

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Jess, Loha, and I also had a blast at the concert. I swear it’s officially tradition to go see Epik High together now. There were some issues… but we still enjoyed ourselves. I was also just happy to finally convey what I wanted to tell Tablo and Epik High during the last concert we went to!

I screamed so loud and died during DPR IAN's perf lololol pic.twitter.com/VnsUXPlhgD

— มิ้นท์ 🧋 Minty⁷ | BAYOG (Semi-Hiatus) (@piecesofminty) September 12, 2022

I also got to see DPR Regime~ I absolutely love DPR IAN and DPR LIVE. I’m definitely a huge fan of DPR IAN. So I was super excited to see that they’d have a concert in my home town. Which of course I went back to visit and to attend the concert. I also had a reunion with a college friend. We message all the time, but literally hadn’t seen each other in 7 years! So it was awesome. It was also a great show~ Also have a deeper respect for Christian. He’s such a sweet and genuine guy. Dude genuinely cared about the fans who fainted (there were 4 separate incidents). I meant to do a post on this concert too, but again…it stuck in drafts lolol

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Can’t forget me seeing ONE OK ROCK again back in October. This show was sooooo freaking good! Again, detailed post [here]. It was so much fun. OOR was amazing as usual. I also got to discover a new band to check out, Fame on Fire. Also, it was a great show because it was my first concert in years that had no problems! No fights or nothing! WOOOO!~ I loved this concert alot~ It was also good to reunite with Jess again, even if it was only for a day.

Of course, I was also able to finally do some real traveling and vacationing because of these concerts~ I had a blast visiting places I’d never been to, and doing things I’d never done. I honestly had never been to Colorado before. So it was alot of fun new sights and things to do. Definitely gonna go back again Also, ALPACAAAAAASSSSS~ I also was able to spend more time with my sister and her boyfriend. So that was super nice too~

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BAYOG and friends also did Secret Santa on Discord. It was super fun and super cute. I’m super thankful to Justin. The dude did such a great job haha. You know, I never thought I was a plant person. But I’m so excited to have this cute lil No-Face succulent haha. I absolutely love the earrings. BTS Love Yourself era was my favorite and made such a big impact on me. So I just love it~ And of course, I’m excited to display Jiji on my desk when I get back home~

Anyway, that was it for my 2022. I can’t speak for the rest of BAYOG on how their 2022 went. But I will say that BAYOG and I would like to wish y’all a happy new year~ We hope your 2023 is full of fun and wonderful experiences~ I’m thankful to have met everyone here and to have made such wonderful friends~ For me, I hope I can continue blogging with BAYOG and bring you guys more fun content~ Hopefully I’ll be back to posting more regularly. I’m also hoping to watch more dramas and finally finish my dramas from 2020 LMAO You’ll also probably see another post from me soon about my Manta goodies hehe~ Anyway, stay safe and take care friends~

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