The Bad Boy, Cupid & Me: 10 Years Later

10 Years Later: Q&A

Welcome to The Bad Boy, Cupid & Me: 10 Years Later Q&A session! 

To celebrate 10 years since I (Hasti aka @Slim_Shady) first published TBBC&M on Wattpad, I thought it would be nice to reflect on what came to be known on this platform as an iconic bad boy/good girl teen fiction story, and answer the most-asked questions submitted by readers.

I had a lot of fun answering your questions and taking a trip down memory lane. This activity made me very nostalgic but it also really warmed my heart to know that a story I wrote when I was 15 years old touched so many people around the world, and still does.  

I hope you enjoy this Q&A and find clarity (and perhaps even closure) in my responses. 

Let's jump straight in!

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1. Tell us about your life. What did you go on to do after finishing TBBC&M?

Okay, I'll try to summarise the past 10 years of my life as briefly and comprehensively as possible...

So, I finished TBBC&M when I was near the end of year 11. In the author's notes, I wrote about how I was going to "start year 12 next year". Well, I did, and I completed that, and then I went to university and studied a double-degree in law and science. 

During university, I worked casually (mostly weekends, for that increased pay!) at a large Australian retail company called MYER. I also volunteered at disadvantaged schools to mentor year 8 and 9 students in chemistry and biology, which I absolutely loved and found personally rewarding.

After graduating from university in 2018 (age 23), I decided I needed to take some time off after all that study. In fact, on one random day, I booked two separate trips that were about 4 months apart (Thailand and Japan). Very occasionally, I'd submit a job application for a role I was interested in but I wasn't really looking. 

Then, as I was roaming the streets of Bangkok, I got a call from one of the departments I applied to, telling me that I was being offered the job! It was such an unexpected call and completely turned my life around because... the job was in another city to where I lived!

Now, I know for a lot of people, moving to another city isn't a big deal, but this was a very big deal for me. I was going to move out of home for the first time to a city where I didn't know a single person for what was the dream job at the time. 

Almost three years later, I'm still living alone in that city, working as a lawyer. I've had the most wonderful and challenging experience and I'm so glad I took the opportunity when it presented itself. 

Of course, the experience didn't come without difficulties. For 10 months, the Government imposed state border closures due to increasing COVID-19 cases, so I wasn't able to see my family back home. I tried to focus on the positives, though. Being grateful that I could work from home during these crazy times (and that I had a job!) and that I was able to complete my masters degree remotely too. I would also go out for a walk everyday (we had a two hour limit on being outside) and started watching watching all the marvel movies in order with one of my best friends (I'm up to Captain America: The Winter Soldier).

Finally, I was able to go back home in December 2021, where I stayed with my family for 2 months and got to catch up with my friends, too! It was amazing. I even got to attend one of my best friend's wedding!