I’m not a new year’s person. By that I mean, I
find the countdown to midnight more underwhelming than exciting, I don’t start
each January with a new year, new me attitude, and I don’t like new year’s
resolutions. (Bear with me.)
There is something I do find satisfying
about the new year though, and that’s the idea of it being a clean slate. Like
a bare canvas or a brand new notebook – waiting to be filled with paint
splatters and stories. It doesn’t mean the colours and words from the past year
lose their magic, it just means it’s nice to keep things organised. To me, at
least. I’ve got a full shelf of notebooks – most of them still untouched, with
perfect spines and crease-free pages (I may have a stationery-hoarding
problem), but there is method to my madness. I simply like each notebook to
have a different function. I like to keep my work notes separate from my
shopping lists, and my shopping lists separate from my this-thought-just-randomly-popped-into-my-head scribbles. Each of those, in my mind, requires a whole new notebook. A blank, shiny
new notebook.
Well, the new year is my metaphorical shiny
new notebook.
As for new year’s resolutions, I know for a fact I’m not the only person who isn’t a fan of this concept. I think they’re generally becoming a bit outdated now, but I’ll share my reasons anyway:
For
starters, there’s the whole toxic cycle of being encouraged to change your entire
appearance and personality every January, only to deflate into a mid-year slump
when you realise you’re still the same old you in May (duh). Since when does
self-growth happen overnight? But more than that, I just don’t find
resolution-setting realistic or enjoyable. And you might be sitting there
thinking, it’s not supposed to be enjoyable, it’s supposed to get you back
on track/help you regain some discipline. Well, to that I say, where’s the
fun in that? I’m all about self-discovery and setting intentions, but doing
that with a load of resolutions just feels like pure homework - and I waved
goodbye to homework a long time ago (2022, as it turns out, was also the year I
had to come to terms with the fact that I’m officially in my MID-twenties,
thank you very much).
So, instead of writing out a list of painfully-specific resolutions, I like to set myself a theme instead. I say this like it’s something I’ve done for years – it isn’t. In fact, 2022 was the first time this properly took shape for me. In the slow-living universe, it’s quite common to set a theme or ‘word of the year’ instead of an exhaustive list of new year’s resolutions, and as someone who feels incredibly overwhelmed and – to be frank - bored by the idea of writing a list of goals at the start of each year (but who still likes to have some kind of ‘guiding thought’ to help me grow), this was the perfect solution.
And so, after two years of feeling stuck and isolated
during the pandemic - and a little too comfortable being in my bubble - I decided
that 2022 was going to simply be the year of more. More experiences,
more social events, more of saying ‘yes’ without overthinking every little
detail. It was easier for me to keep this one theme in mind throughout the year
rather than ticking off a list of individual goals. And where did it get me?
Well, after having not been abroad since I was 18, I went abroad twice this
year – and for the first time without family (real grown-up things happening
over here). I rekindled old friendships. I stepped into a new role at work,
taking on responsibilities that terrified me, but also, as it turns out, excited
me way more. I said ‘yes’ to as many social invites as I could without getting ‘the
fear,’ (I also got the positive covid test to show for it, but swings and
roundabouts, hey?). I continued dedicating time to reading, and the little bookstagram blog that I started back in 2021 celebrated its one-year
anniversary. I went on a UK roadtrip with my parents and got to see a bunch of
new places (the small-town Cotswolds life stole my heart just a little bit). I celebrated
my birthday - a day that I never used to particularly like - in the most
special way with my sister. I unashamedly listened to Taylor Swift’s new album a
lot (thank you Spotify Wrapped for once again making me question my own
sanity). Oh, and I tried my first deep-fried Mars bar – an actual bucket-list
item for me, believe it or not. (Verdict: it’s deep-fried chocolate, of course
it was amazing.)
In all seriousness…I don’t like reflecting on
a year as being ‘good’ or ‘bad’, because each one is filled with so many moments, and 12 months is a whole lot of time to tarnish with the same brush.
But, what can I say? As the sun sets on 2022, I wanted to give it the send-off
it deserves before 2023 comes bounding in with its puppy eyes and thirst for
attention.
So…thank you 2022. After two years of feeling lost, isolated and a little bit hopeless - I needed you.
