2021; it has been a ride
I am shocked at how fast 2021 flew by. The other night, I was getting ready to write in my journal, and I came across the journal entry I wrote on 31st December 2020.
Check it out:
So many things came to my mind; where I was mentally (I mean, we were in a lockdown, so I was at home!) and what I didn’tidn’t what was to transpire this year and boy, was I in a shock, but it’s its lessons have and will be learnt. It is my speciality.
Relationships will run their course and that is ok
Relationships both young and old may come to an end. It is hard, but it’s the time course of life. My relationship with my ex went to an end, and it caught me off guard. Life does that.
At first, it was hard to pick up the pieces, but I did it! I have picked myself up time and time again. When I thought that I couldn’tldn’tI did
Read here for more on that.
In hindsight, perhaps that needed to happen. To teach me and show me what I want my next relationships, both intimate and not, to look like. And most importantly, how I want to show up in relationships, like attracts like. So that heartbreak took me to sit back and be like, girl, what do I need to work on for me? What will and will not compromise? I did a lot of compromising, and I need to reclaim my time back, purr!
Plans, yeah..we can’t plan anymore
Plans…do you remember those? Think back to when we could plan freely with limited restrictions, plan vacations, make plans to spend time with your loved ones? Yeah, those days need to find their way back to us. We need them.
Now, we have to think of plans, wait, and maybe go ahead. MY friends and I were planning on travelling to Portugal and Italy for wedding festivities in 2020. It got postponed to 2021. Did I touch the airport? Nope.
My passport is booking dry and lonely. It began to collect dust in 2021. It needs a tan. Fingers crossed; I am going abroad more than one next year. I have to make up for lost time.
Change is scary but necessary
Changes, changes, changes…it is terrifying for things you are used to changing and throwing you into a new orbit. Many changes came my way this year from different jobs, different cars, relationships ended, career progressions, loss of loved ones…it has been a lot. However, it has pushed me into a new space. It made me grow and appreciate it tremendously, showing how resilient I am.
Resilience is my middle name
Word! After encountering things that broke me down, somehow by the power of God and the universe and me, I got back up and dusted off my shoulders (word to jayz).
I thought it was in the midst of pain; I couldn’t find the way out. But I had to sit in pain instead of trying to escape it and trying to run away from it or sweep it under the rug isn’t the best coping mechanism for me. I did it before, and I used alcohol to hide my emotions—no more of that. Now, I stand in pain, uncomfortable and all, but it has helped me deal with a lot of my issues.
I need to but myself first more
I have become far too used to putting myself last at work and outside of work most of the time. It became second nature for me. In many of my relationships, I always put others needs before my own. When my connection was needed, it forced me to focus on myself. I needed to for my well-being. I needed to focus on Candice and what Candice wants and identify what is best for me. And I did that. I left a toxic work environment, and everything else started to fall into place.
I started counselling again, got my ADHD diagnosis, and started reading a lot more. I started saving more, reconnected with some friends and continued to speak my truth, and it freed me. It’s freeing.
Although it has been a tough and sometimes dark year, the sun came out a few times and reminded me that I will be ok.
Take Away
To those reading, I am glad that you made it here.
Goodbye, 2021.
Thank you for taking the time to read this post.
I hope next year is a good year for you.
Great post! Thanks for sharing!
Thanks for reading!
I totally agree with this… one of the hardest lessons i learned in 2021 was “the cost of success” i learned that i would have to walk alone for a while in other to achieve my dreams and that’s completely okay.
That is a great one. Success comes with sacrifice. Thanks for sharing.
Awesome post! 2021 did fly by, it’s hard to believe we’re already in 2022! Thank you for sharing!
Thank you for reading!
More and more, I find myself saying that it is hard to believe how fast time goes by. I said it again as I gathered my New Years thoughts. Many lessons learned this year.
Definitely, a lot of lessons were learnt in 2021. Thank you for reading.
A great post! 2021 wasn’t my best year but I learned a lot too x
Same but hopefully this year will be better! Thank you for commenting.
Another great post Candy! I love what you said about being caught off guard, and that being OKAY! We don’t need to be hard on ourselves for our reactions to being caught off guard. Half the time, we are way too hard on ourselves and put so many expectations about how we THINK we should act. Acknowledging and moving on is so much healthier! And being able to go with the flow when plans change is a big part of that. So many wise words here 🙂
Being caught off guard was my theme for last year ha, but that’s right. It is ok to be caught off guard; that is how life works. Thank you for taking the time to read my post!