Full stop. Periodt.
I don’t need to touch on anything else really because that is the truth. Not just for me, but for millions of people. Often I do reflections and intentions, and I will still do that, but I’ve been struggling to *want* to write stuff out like I’ve done for years. I will. Writing is another wellness practice and I know if I don’t do it I’ll regret it. Now, it may look different than previous year, but it’ll get done. Writing is therapy for me.
2020 was a hard year. It was a year I’d been looking forward to: I’d just turned 30 and was embarking life as an newly unemployed, recently married jawn.
So let me run through some good:
Went to a dermatologist the first week of 2020, and soon after my face started clearing up. It’s much better, but I still have to work at it.
Went to Seychelles to celebrate Valentine’s Day w/ the hubz. I want to go back there because wow..it was beautiful and I need to learn about their culture & history.
Started working part time as an assistant strength and conditioning coach at a private school.
Started another new job <another part time gig> in maternal and child health systems.
musologie grew- WAY more than I expected and wow, that has been a blessing.
Celebrated 1 year of marriage.
I re-realized I LOVE the outdoors: hiking, kayaking, paddle boarding and any recreational activity outdoors
We adopted a precious beagle mix- Darcy Ann aka DAP. This is my first dog ever and wow, what a transition. She’s pretty great tho.
trump lost the election.
I reconnected with old groups while also connecting with some new people (thanks Zoom!)
Verzuz. What has been your fav? I loved Jilly & Erykah. But Teddy & Babyface is forever a classic.
TikTok, well social media. Black people joke way too much. I love us.
I’ve begun gardening again and it a forever practice. Once again a wellness practice.
Mutual Aid.
PUZZLES!! I’ve done so many since march. From 300 to 1000 pieces. I have a 2000 piece puzzle READY for me.
Now let’s talk about some challenges:
So many deaths!!! From January until today- so. many. deaths! Currently there have been 19.8 MILLION coronavirus cases and 343,000 deaths in the United States. WTF?
trump has been such a horrendous president. We are worst off because of him. (I’ll repeat these sentiments.)
I realized I’m an extrovert. (wait is this a challenge??)
Blatant Racism. The deaths of countless Black and Brown women and men at the hands of police and white supremacists and our countries lack of acknowledgment that it happens AND lack of action to fix how we’re treated.
Fallout from trump doing an absolute abysmal job containing the virus in addition people not doing their part to minimize the spread has done irrevocable damage to small businesses, off wall-street economy and many other aspects.
Some relationships with my friends have been altered. I saw a tweet which said, “i have friends that really isolated themselves in ways that hurt me and worried me. i had to find new ways to communicate AND still understand shit is WEIRD, and not personal. i also have friends i grew strong with. i love all my friends” [x]
There have been people I haven’t heard from much. People I’ve held close. And I know we were/are all going through our own stuff…I wish I could explain this better. Let me try: I will always reach out to a friend because friendship relationships are vital and maintaining them takes work, but friendships mean everything to me. At the same time, there’s some reciprocity that I need. Just a little. Some people communicate with me only on IG. Some only on Facebook. Some only via text, so forth and so on. I lost some friends this year. We’ll hang out and grab drinks on a rooftop in 2021 at some point. But, as Drake once said, “Nothing was the same.“ I tried not to take things personally, but how can I not if I rarely hear from you in 10 months? No response back? Nothing. Sais Pas
My pop-pop passed away in June leaving me with no more grandparents.
Looking at a computer for 3+ hours straight IS NOT OKAY. I caught a mean headache after a 7 hours work event.
Digital Wellness…I ebbed & flowed. I spent more time scrolling than i have in all my life.. yuck.
I am looking forward to this year. I think this year will be pretty challenging, but I have big goals for myself (professionally and personally) and I am ready to work towards accomplishing them.
2020, What a year.
2021, hello.
Share whatever you’d like about 2020/2021…It was a hard year.
XO-JM
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