Happy last Sunday of 2020 everyone! This is the last post I will share with any readers that come along to my page here of this year, and I wanted to keep the tradition alive and take this last post to reflect on the year and talk a little about looking towards 2021 and what that means to me. I think it is safe to say that this year had plenty of ups and downs, more downs than most would like to admit, so looking back is going to be interesting to say the least. As always I want to put a positive spin on things, however, and talk about what we can look forward to in 2021.

2020 in so many ways seemed like the gift that kept on giving... but by gift I mean that one gift you would like to forget about yet it keeps on getting worse. Think about all we have been through in just the past 366 days (because remember people this was a leap year too!) We have been through a global pandemic that has killed millions of people and infected millions more. We have been through a civil rights movement that is still going but more notably sparked protests all over the world, not just in America, back in May/June. America also had a record breaking election, that in some ways still seems to be never-ending. We spent a lot of the year away from the ones we love because of this pandemic to ensure our and their safety. Not even to mention that this pandemic has brought out the very best and the very worst in people all over. We saw selfless acts all over the place during those first few months of the pandemic. Neighbors helped each other out, all while others acted incredibly selfishly. But I am not here to get into politics or preach about right and wrong. My point is that we all as a human race have been through so much this past year and no matter what we did and how we handled it, we deserve to celebrate that we have made it this far.

So what did 2020 look like for me? Well if you follow this blog at all I have been sharing my thoughts every week as always, but lets talk about the highlights a bit. I have been taking this pandemic very seriously along with my parents so we did not see anyone for months. I had my very first piece of published work come out in March, and have since been published in an online poetry magazine. I am grateful to have kept my job throughout this entire pandemic and that my financial situation did not really change at all, I know many were not so lucky. I drank a lot of cold brew coffee, did a number of workouts from home and realized just how much I love the gym, read a lot more than I have since college, did A LOT of baking and started to genuinely enjoy baking fresh bread like so many others during quarantine. Sadly in late October we had to put our sweet pup Tobie down, but on the very same day the world gained another sweet soul when my best friend had her baby. This year was full of so many ups and downs and it is pretty crazy to look back and realize that all of this was in the span of the year.

So what about 2021? Contrary to what it seems a lot of people think, the pandemic does not just disappear at the stroke of midnight on New Year's Day. That does not mean, however, that things will not look better and that we won't move on and forward. I think a lot of people, myself included, gained some weight this year. I know it is so very stereotypical but with the new year approaching it is a good idea to work on that again. Look, a few weeks ago I decided to just call this year a wash and just focus again in January. No that does not mean I stopped working out completely or went totally crazy during the holidays, but overall I just lost focus since it was such a crazy year. In my opinion that is okay but I am going to do my very best and really focus on the gym and nutrition again in 2021. Do your best to forgive yourself for anything you may have been lacking with this year and just work on trying again in the future. I plan to focus on my health again and spend more time on things I love to do. I plan on making myself a priority when this past year as I have mentioned I was focusing more on other people. 

The best thing we can do while reflecting on this past year is look back and applaud ourselves for getting through it. No matter how much you lost this year, you got through it and that means you are strong. We skipped family gatherings, we said goodbye, or in some cases were unable to say goodbye, to ones we lost, our mental health went on a serious rollercoaster, along with our physical health from being stuck inside all day. None of that goes without acknowledgement. Realize that you would not be reading this right now if you did not get through it. Realize that you are strong. Realize that things will get better but only if you keep looking and walking forward. Thank yourself for getting you through this year. Treat yourself with kindness, and lets all work on loving ourselves even more in the coming year. Let's make it a great one, as best as we can! Happy New Year to all of you!