Looking Back At 2021 And Ahead To A #Hygge 2022 - #AmReading #Blogging #AmWriting #PersonalGoals

WOW! We're already a week in to the new year.  Can you believe it?

 

Since this is my first post for 2022: Happy New Year!

 

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I actually did something to ring in the new year this time, since I participated in the ACB community athon, which ran from 3:00pm EST on December 31st 2021 to 3:00am EST on January 1st 2022.  I stayed up for almost all of it too (apart from a quick power nap during one of the hours I knew I'd have nothing to contribute) despite me being five hours ahead of that timezone.  And I'm glad I did, because it was awesome! They did it the year before too, and I hope will do it this year as well, because I'm already looking forward to it.  That's right.  Me.  The person who doesn't usually care about staying up to see in the new year.  Not only did I see in the new year properly awake, but I did so twice.

 

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Anyway, now it's 2022, and I hope the year is treating you well so far.

 

But, before we get too carried away with looking ahead, let's take a look back at 2021 though, shall we? And then we can start looking ahead to 2022, and hoping it will be a good year for us all.

 

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First of all, let me just say: I'm not going in to the way the year was for the country or world as a whole.  We all know there have been, and still are, a lot of awful things going on in this world - including, but not limited to, the continuing threat of Covid - so you don't need me to talk about them, and I don't really want to.  So I'm just going to focus on how 2021 was for me on a personal level.

 

It was a year of ups and downs.  For me 2021 was better than 2020 in some ways.  We didn't have to move, which was a nice thing for a start.  However, the year certainly wasn't one of the best I can remember either, and in many ways 2021 was worse and harder to deal with than 2020 - perhaps not helped by the fact we'd just gone through the mess that was 2020.  I know I'm not the only one who felt that way, because several people mentioned it to me throughout the year.  Of course, all  years have their ups and downs - that's just how life goes.  But I spent 2021 trying to deal with mentally processing the things I hadn't had time to process with all that 2020 had thrown at me, while at the same time dealing with constant health issues, along with a few other things the year decided to throw at me, and let me tell you it's been an uphill struggle.  Some days more so than others.  And, quite frankly, I'm incredibly glad 2021 is over, despite the positive aspects of it.

 

And there were positives, even if they felt like they were overshadowed by the negatives.  So, let's leve the bad stuff from 2021 alone for now, and focus on the good points of the year, like how we're glad to be living back in Wales (I am especially) and how I finally got to visit Dan Yr Ogof National Showcaves, which I've wanted to visit since I was a child.  Not to mention all the awesome things I've been doing with the ACB (American Council of the Blind) and the friendships I've formed via the calls I've attended with them- getting involved with the ACB community was definitely the highlight of my year, even though it's something I wouldn't have imagined this time last year I'd even want to be a part of, let alone enjoy as much as I am.

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Anyway, I had six goals for 2021.  You can read full details of my 2021 goals here, but I'll give you the short version, and tell you how I did with them, in this post.  So, let's take a look, shall we?

 

Reading:

I had just one reading goal for 2021, which was to read at least 104 books.  But I only ended up reading 75 books - you can see my year in books ohre on Goodreads by clicking here (you don't need to be a Goodreads member to check out my year in books).  But, as you're likely thinking when seeing that number, that's a lot of books anyhow,, so that's OK.  I mean, sure, I didn't quite make my reading goal this year, but I did enjoy most of what I read, and that's the main thing.  As I always say: it's not about how many books you read, but about whether you enjoy the process of reading them.

 

Blogging:

My blogging goal was to blog once a week (on Fridays).  Not only did I do this, but I also ended up blogging on a few other days too sometimes due to having a lot of things I wanted to get posted at times.  So this one was a definite success.

 

Writing:

My writing goals were to publish the poetry collection I've been working on, as well as to finish writing, and then publish, a story.  Well, I ended up doing that and more.  I published two poetry collections ("Pawfect Pet Poems" and "Born From Stardust And Other Poems") as well as having three of my poems appear in an anthology ("Poetry Treasures").  I also finished and published two stories ("Tedi And The Soothing Snow" and "Jelena").  So another definitely successful completion of a goal, despite health issues, life, and procrastination - because I do admit there was some of that too - trying to get in the way.  I even have two of the books I published this year available in all formats I publish my books in (eBook, paperback, and audio).  It would have been three, but there have been production issues with the audio version of one of the poetry collections, so that one still isn't available yet.

 

 Personal:

The first of my two personal goals was to finish unpacking, and settle in to our new home.  Besides some books and DVDs that still need organizing properly on their shelves, I can say with confidence that we achieved this.  It took much more of the year to unpack than I thought it would (at least partially due to health issues getting in the way) but we did it, and things in boxes now are in them for storage because they need to be, not because we haven't unpacked them.  Something I haven't been able to say for about a decade.  LOL! And, as I said near the top of the post, we're glad we made the decision to return to Wales when we were forced to move the second time in 2020, since we're loving being back here.  Don't get me wrong, Hastings was great, but it's wonderful to be back home.

 

My other personal goal was to practice better self care.  It was the goal I wanted most to achieve, and yet the one I failed at most spectacularly.  I was doing great at first; the first couple of months of the year went wonderfully as regards self care.  I even had a self care plan, which I was doing a reasonably good job of following.  Then I shut my hand in a car door twice in as many months (breaking my middle finger the first time, and badly bruising my thumb the second time) and soon after doing that the first time had a bad reaction to the Covid jab that irritated existing health issues (which have stayed irritated) and brought others to light.  And after that I just haven't been able to get back on track with my self care.  I've had several hygge moments throughout the year, but my plan for better self care went out of the window, and somehow never found its way back in.

 

 

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As for this year...

 

 Other than the Goodreads reading challenge – which I’m doing mainly because it would feel weird not to considering I’ve done so each year since I’ve been on there – which I’ve set to 52 books (a nice low goal to me) I’m not setting any goals for 2022.

 

Sure, there are some things I’d like to do this year.  But I feel like the right thing for me in 2022 is to enjoy the process of doing them rather than worrying about tracking them on a list, or the pressure of completing them on time to meet a deadline.  I think that's what I need this year: pleasure in the experiences rather than pressure.  Does that make sense? I hope it does.

 

Like I said, there are some things I'd like to do.  I'll also still be writing, blogging, getting involved with the ACB, crafting, etc – hopefully plenty of all those things.  And I’ll share any news on projects I’m working on, as well as random stuff from my daily life, throughout the year in blog posts as and when it’s appropriate.  But beyond that I have no plans or goals for 2022, so no goal list to share.

 

I’m looking forward to 2022 with a hopeful heart.  But what it will hold in store for me is anyone’s guess right now, and remains to be seen.  So, I’m just going to try and enjoy the ride as best as I can, and see where I end up by the time this year is over.  Hopefully I’ll have plenty of happy memories and hygge moments to look back on, which I can enjoy both at the end of this year and further in the future.

 

I don't usually pick a word for the year, but perhaps that should be my word for the year: Hygge.  Yes.  I need the cosy comfort of Hygge this year for sure, so I'm going to have Hygge be my word for 2022.

 

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 How about you? Did you do anything fun - or at all - to ring in the new year? And how was your 2021? Did you have any resolutions or goals for it? If yes, how did you do with them? Also, do you have any goals or resolutions for 2022? Or maybe you pick a word for the year? Or, perhaps, you're just looking forward to the year with hope, and crossing your fingers it's a better one than the last couple have been? Whatever the case, I'd love to hear about it in the comments, whether directly on this blog post, or via whatever social media platform you're reading this through, or even via eMail, so please share.